The 5-Minute Career Hack That Changes Everything with Candyce Hunt

Please enjoy this transcript of the Crown Yourself Podcast, with leadership strategist, Candyce Hunt [@candycehuntenterprises] and, your host, transformational story coach, Kimberly Spencer (@Kimberly.Spencer)

Candyce Hunt is an international and TEDx speaker, leadership strategist, and the creator of the Get Off the Clearance Rack® Movement, a transformational framework helping professionals recognize, communicate, and own their true value.

With nearly two decades of executive leadership experience overseeing multi-state operations, Candyce empowers high-achieving professionals to increase their visibility, negotiate their worth, and advance into leadership positions with greater clarity, confidence, and strategic influence.

Her expertise has led her to deliver leadership development and compensation strategy programs for organizations including Dell Technologies, the University of Texas, SHRM, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, The Vitamin Shoppe, Jotun Paints, Payscale, and many others.

Known for her engaging, practical, and research-informed approach, Candyce equips women and emerging leaders with the tools to advocate for their growth, elevate their presence, and pursue new opportunities without shrinking themselves or burning bridges. Through her work, she is helping a new generation of leaders step off the "clearance rack" and fully embrace their value, voice, and potential.

Connect with Candyce Hunt.

 

Website: https://www.5minutecareerhack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candycehuntenterprises/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candyce-hunt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candyce.alycya

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/5MinuteCareerHack

Twitter: https://x.com/5mincareerhack

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your next level of success isn't a lack of skill, talent, or experience?

What if you've simply been accepting a price tag that was never yours to begin with?

In this powerful conversation, Kimberly Spencer sits down with Candyce Hunt, founder of the Five Minute Career Hack and creator of the viral "Get Off the Clearance Rack" framework, to unpack why so many brilliant professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders unknowingly undervalue themselves—and how to reclaim their true worth.

Together, they explore the hidden costs of burnout culture, the difference between self-worth and external validation, and why freedom—not status, titles, or income—often becomes the true North Star of conscious leadership.

Candyce shares her journey from corporate leadership and burnout to entrepreneurship, revealing the mindset shifts, practical systems, and self-leadership habits that helped her stop shrinking her voice and start owning her value.

This episode is a masterclass in sovereign leadership, confidence, visibility, career growth, personal branding, and sustainable success.

If you've ever felt overlooked, underpaid, overworked, or uncertain how to communicate your brilliance without feeling arrogant, this conversation will help you rewrite the story.

Because your next level isn't waiting for permission.

It's waiting for you to stop standing on the clearance rack and claim your crown.

In This Episode:

• How to identify hidden self-undervaluation
• The mindset shift that changes your career trajectory
• Burnout recovery and sustainable success
• Self-leadership habits for entrepreneurs and executives
• Building confidence through action and repetition
• Why freedom is the ultimate success metric

*Transcripts may contain typos. We do our best to catch any human or robot errors prior to release. And we thank you in advance for your understanding. Enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast platform. And, you can always watch the episode on YouTube here.

Before we dive in, boundaries are everything to protecting your energy and your empire, so please note some legal boundaries before we dive into the full episode transcript:

Crown Yourself LLC and Kimberly Spencer own the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of the Crown Yourself podcast, with all rights reserved, as well as outright publicity.

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For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above release.

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We good? Great. Let's get to the goods.

___________

How to Get Off the Clearance Rack: The 5-Minute Career Hack for Owning Your Value, Visibility, and Leadership

Crown Yourself Podcast featuring Candyce Hunt

[00:00] Why Being Brilliant Is No Longer Enough

Kimberly Spencer (host):

Being brilliant is no longer enough.

You also need to know how to communicate your value, own your story, and strategically position yourself for opportunities that arise in your career and in your business.

If you have ever felt overlooked despite being highly capable and experienced, if you've ever wondered why less qualified people seem to be getting the opportunities, or if you've struggled to confidently articulate your value in leadership, business, or career spaces, this conversation is going to unlock something for you.

In this episode, we are posing the question:

How do you strategically position yourself for the opportunities, visibility, and leadership you know you're meant for without burning out, over-complicating it, shrinking yourself in the process, or getting stuck on the clearance rack?

Success isn't just about what you know anymore.

It's about how you communicate it, how you embody it, and how you position yourself so that others can clearly see the value that you bring to the table.

And when you master that, you stop waiting to be recognized and you start becoming undeniable.

Like our guest today, the fearless Candyce Hunt.

She is the founder of the 5-Minute Career Hack, where she helps people strategically elevate their careers, leadership presence, and opportunities through practical, high-impact shifts that create real momentum.

Her work is rooted in helping people stop underestimating themselves—or as she calls it, staying on the clearance rack—and start recognizing the value they already bring to the table.

Because often the difference between staying stuck and stepping into your next level isn't years of work.

It's one powerful shift in how you see yourself and communicate that value to the world.

Meet Candyce Hunt and the 5-Minute Career Hack Framework

[02:31]

Kimberly Spencer (host):

What does it mean in short to get off the clearance rack? And how do you know if you're even on that rack?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Such a great question.

And how you know you're on the rack is once you start to listen to what I'm talking about and you hear yourself in those stories.

I think the resounding response from just about everybody is, “Goodness, that's me. I think I'm on the rack.”

The clearance rack is where you are in a position where you are internalizing, believing, and behaving based on the price tag, the value, and the worth that somebody else put on you.

So that's accepting low salaries.

Accepting your shrinking voice.

Accepting limiting deposits that people make.

And really just saying that that's your truth.

Then that shows up in the way that you live life and the way that you behave in the workplace.

And you end up undervalued.

When you are accepting someone else's value versus the value that your experience, your exposure, your education, and simply your birthright says that you should have on yourself, then you're on the clearance rack.

The Hidden Cost of Undervaluing Yourself

[04:20]

Kimberly Spencer (host):

When did you realize that you were putting yourself on the clearance rack?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

There's a lot of different points that I realized that I was putting myself on the clearance rack.

Before I tell you a specific point, I think what I want to make clear to everybody listening is there is no perfect part of a journey.

In my TED Talk, I talk about my journey from childhood of first being put on the clearance rack as a kid.

And that's what followed me throughout my career.

I spent about 30 years undervaluing myself when I received my first limiting deposit as a young child.

I'm turning 40 this year.

I didn't really start this revolution until I was 35 years old.

I'm only about five years on the other side of getting off the clearance rack.

So there are ebbs and flows to it.

Some days I'm like, “Ooh, that's an old thought. That's an old behavior. That's clearance rack.”

There's clearance.

There's discount.

There's market.

There's premium.

And there's dominion.

Dominion is the framework of walking in your purpose.

This is going to be a lifelong journey for many of us, especially women who were marginalized from childhood all the way into the workplace.

There is no arrival point.

Why Confidence Is a Lifelong Journey

[06:53]

Candyce Hunt (guest):

The biggest mistake we make with this is thinking that there's an arrival point.

If I just do this work...

If I just finish this challenge...

If I just heal this thing...

Then I'll be free.

You're not going to be freed from the rack.

You're constantly going to have to challenge old beliefs, old habits, old deposits, and old ways of thinking that fueled the way you behaved in life and in the workplace.

It's definitely a lifelong journey.

And there is no arrival point.

Burnout, Healing, and Finding a New North Star

[08:05]

Kimberly Spencer (host):

What mindset shift did you have to make?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

I remember starting this intense healing journey back in 2020 after burnout.

I had a therapist.

I had a coach.

I was healing childhood trauma.

I had recently divorced.

I had revolutionized myself away from a toxic workplace.

And yet I still didn't feel better.

Because I was expecting what I had always known:

Candyce does the work and the problem gets solved.

Then I realized something.

I was trying to solve the wrong problem.

I was trying to return to who I once was.

What I actually needed to focus on was where I was going.

I started asking:

Whose dreams are these anyway?

Where did I learn that I wanted to be an executive in corporate America?

Why do I feel like if I'm not that, I'm somehow going backwards?

Then I realized my North Star had changed.

My North Star became freedom.

Freedom to choose.

Freedom to choose how I wanted to live.

Freedom to choose how I wanted to work.

And I'm building confidence day by day because I'm willing to try.

The mindset shift was realizing my North Star changed and allowing my community to help guide me toward my true purpose path.

[13:00] The 12-Week Year, Time Blocking, and Sustainable Success

Candyce Hunt (guest):

What's happening is you're not getting anything done because you're doing too much.

You're still shooting toward the wrong thing.

If I'm overextending myself, I'm not valuing myself.

That is a way to be on the clearance rack.

The game changer for me was reading The 12 Week Year.

When I started operating in quarters instead of trying to chase yearly goals, everything changed.

If my awareness and my body are saying:

"This isn't working."

"You are out of alignment."

Then I ask:

Does my bullet journal match my goals?

Does my calendar match my goals?

Does my bank account match my goals?

Because if my goal is freedom, I can't be free if everything is all over the place.

I'm just stressed.

I'm in survival mode.

And that's counter to what I'm trying to achieve.

[15:57] The Self-Leadership Lesson Every Entrepreneur Needs

Kimberly Spencer (host):

What are the biggest lessons from corporate that you wish more entrepreneurs took into their businesses?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

One of the things that challenged me going from corporate America to entrepreneurship was not having a boss.

There was still this subconscious belief of:

"I have to wait on my boss."

"I have to wait for permission."

"I have to move in someone else's direction."

But the reality is, I was always about self-leadership.

When I wanted to make a move, I made a move.

If something didn't feel right, I changed it.

If I wasn't making enough money, I found another opportunity.

The biggest challenge I see is people not owning their development and truly leading themselves.

Then they get into entrepreneurship and struggle because they don't have someone telling them what to do.

I had challenges with this too.

I don't have a boss.

I have to lead myself.

But I just want to go to bed.

I'm burned out.

What I had to remember was:

Candyce, you owned your development then.

You were structured then.

Everything is at stake now.

This is your ownership.

Behave accordingly.

You don't have to produce at the same level of output.

But you do have to lead yourself.

I hope people can embrace the ways they activated self-leadership when they were employees and bring those same lessons into entrepreneurship.

Because if you lead yourself more effectively, everything changes.

[19:32] Why Hustle Culture Is Keeping High Achievers Stuck

Kimberly Spencer (host):

What is one thing you wish more leaders would not take from corporate into entrepreneurship?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Hustle culture.

I know it's cliché.

But it's true.

I know what I was able to produce while hustling.

Burned out.

Barely sleeping.

Not spending time with my family.

Grinding all the time to hit goals.

Then we leave those environments and carry the same behavior into entrepreneurship.

The problem is that hustle is often just survival mode.

And survival mode isn't sustainable.

I always want to be loud about this:

That is not the behavior you want to bring into your business.

Because you are sure to burn out.

Now, are there seasons where hustle is necessary?

Absolutely.

Even today there are moments where I say:

Okay.

I've got to put my head down.

I've got to get this done.

There's a deadline.

But I know when I'm coming back up.

I know when rest is scheduled.

I know when recovery is happening.

If hustle becomes a way of life, that's when it becomes dangerous.

Burnout becomes harder to recover from.

It takes longer.

And we don't have to take the long route.

The entire philosophy behind the 5-Minute Career Hack and Get Off the Clearance Rack is helping people create success they can sustain.

Not just success they can survive.

[21:05] Flow Versus Force: How to Know You're Out of Alignment

Kimberly Spencer (host):

How do you recognize when you're slipping back into survival mode?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

I journal a lot.

I take inventory constantly.

I call it the Reflection Revolution.

I'm always looking at:

How am I spending my time?

What are my goals?

What is actually getting done?

When I look at my calendar and it starts looking chaotic, that's usually my first clue.

When key priorities aren't moving forward, that's another clue.

Then I start having a physiological response.

My body starts telling me something isn't right.

That's when I know I'm out of alignment.

The difference now is I notice it faster.

Five years ago I wouldn't have noticed.

Now I do.

So what do I do?

I pause.

I rest.

I recalibrate.

I open my bullet journal.

I do a brain dump.

What's working?

What's not working?

What's creating stress?

Then I reorganize my week, my days, and my time blocks around my goals.

Because life is going to happen.

Burnout moments happen.

Curveballs happen.

You can't avoid them.

But you can create systems that help you recognize them sooner.

That's the difference.

[24:41] The Reality of Building a Business and Raising a Family

Kimberly Spencer (host):

One thing I love about this conversation is the honesty around success.

Recently, our team was helping launch a client's first live event.

We were working late nights.

We were pushing.

But I knew it was temporary.

I think of it like labor.

You don't spend nine months in contractions.

There is a season of pushing to bring something into the world.

Then there is a season of recovery.

After the event, I blocked off two days where I was simply Mom.

No meetings.

No business.

Just presence.

I think there is something powerful about successful women admitting that we don't have everything figured out.

We just have habits, systems, and rituals that help us come back into alignment.

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Absolutely.

And I think one thing we often miss is paying attention to the physiological response.

Our bodies tell us when something is wrong.

Our bodies tell us when we need to sit down.

But we ignore it.

There's this misconception that if we heal enough, we'll never experience stress again.

That somehow we'll get to a place where burnout and overwhelm disappear forever.

That's not reality.

Stress is inevitable.

Stressors are part of life.

Getting married is stressful.

Buying a house is stressful.

Starting a business is stressful.

Being a parent is stressful.

The goal isn't eliminating stress.

The goal is responding to it effectively.

[27:18] The Burnout Recovery Habits That Actually Work

Candyce Hunt (guest):

I've learned that stress isn't the problem.

Ignoring stress is the problem.

The habits that matter most for me are simple.

First: sleep.

I am serious about getting seven to nine hours of sleep.

I spent too many years surviving on four or five.

I'm not doing that anymore.

If I stay up late talking to my sister, I'm adjusting my schedule.

I'm still getting my sleep.

Second: move your body.

The best way I know to respond to stress is movement.

I'm not saying you need a gym membership.

I'm not saying you need to become a fitness expert.

But your body needs movement.

I get outside.

I walk.

I move.

Because stress lives in the body.

And movement helps release it.

[29:44] The Body Knows Before the Brain Does

Kimberly Spencer (host):

The body knows before the brain does.

One of the biggest lessons I learned through Pilates and studying the nervous system is that our culture rewards logic.

We reward thinking.

Strategy.

Reason.

Planning.

But the subconscious mind runs the body.

And the body is often giving us information long before the brain catches up.

When we learn how to listen, there is incredible wisdom there.

Candyce Hunt (guest):

That's such a powerful point.

One of the greatest revelations my body has given me is realizing I can build new muscle memory.

I spent years believing I wasn't athletic.

My father told me I wasn't.

Those were some of my earliest limiting deposits.

Then I started moving my body as part of my healing journey.

At first, I hated it.

I thought:

This isn't who I am.

I'm the academic.

I'm the problem solver.

I'm not the athlete.

But eventually I built new evidence.

I trained my body.

I trained my mind.

And now movement is part of who I am.

That taught me something powerful:

My brain is a muscle.

My body is a muscle.

Confidence is a muscle.

And all of them can be trained.

[37:12] Confidence, Self-Doubt, and Playing Bigger

Kimberly Spencer (host):

When you see the greatness you're stepping into, do you still catch yourself in moments of self-sabotage?

What are the big goals that still feel stretchy for you?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Absolutely.

And I try to be as open about this as possible because sometimes people look at me and think:

"She's got it all figured out."

"She's confident."

"She shifts rooms."

"She knows exactly what she's doing."

And while some of that is true...

I still get afraid.

Sometimes when I negotiate a speaking fee or tell someone my rate, I still get nervous.

Because I accepted so little for so long.

I still wonder sometimes:

Will they say yes?

Will they think it's too much?

Will they understand the value?

I'm still going to ask for it.

But I still feel it.

And I think that's important for people to hear.

The fear doesn't disappear.

You simply become more willing to move through it.

The Dominion Code: Trusting Your Truth

[38:36]

Candyce Hunt (guest):

One of the concepts I talk about is what I call the Dominion Code.

The Dominion Code is truth.

The truth says:

I deserve this.

The truth says:

My experience matters.

My education matters.

My exposure matters.

The truth says there is value in what I bring to the table.

Even when fear is present.

Even when self-doubt shows up.

Even when I wonder if I'm making the right decision.

The truth remains true.

And the courage comes from acting anyway.

Because confidence isn't built through certainty.

Confidence is built through reps.

It's built through trying.

It's built through asking.

It's built through putting yourself out there again and again.

One of my favorite definitions of confidence is being willing to try.

That's it.

Being willing to try.

[40:50] "Press Send": The Simple Confidence Strategy That Changes Everything

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Sometimes I get scared.

Sometimes I get fearful.

Sometimes I question myself.

And when that happens, I literally tell myself:

Girl.

Press send.

Send the proposal.

Send the email.

Submit the application.

Raise your hand.

Ask for the opportunity.

Because they're either going to say yes or no.

But you'll never know if you don't send it.

So much of growth comes from being willing to act before you're fully comfortable.

That's how confidence gets built.

Not by waiting.

By doing.

Corporate Salary vs Entrepreneurial Freedom

[41:41] Why Success Isn't Just About Money

Kimberly Spencer (host):

One of the biggest fears I see among people transitioning from corporate into entrepreneurship is replacing their salary.

When did you begin to see the scalability of entrepreneurship instead of attaching your income directly to your time?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

That's a great question.

There was definitely a period where I limited myself because I kept comparing what I made in corporate America to what I was making as an entrepreneur.

And eventually I realized:

There is no comparison.

This is better.

Here's why.

I made a lot of money in corporate America.

But I missed family events.

I was exhausted.

I was burned out.

I wasn't present.

Now?

I'm present.

I'm a full-time mom.

I'm here.

I'm living my life.

And I've figured out how to generate revenue while maintaining that presence.

That is worth more than the paycheck ever was.

[43:05] The Shift That Changed Everything

Candyce Hunt (guest):

The breakthrough happened when I stopped comparing.

The way I earned money then is not the way I want to earn money now.

I don't want to go back.

Instead, I started asking:

How do I create this differently?

How do I build this sustainably?

How do I create freedom?

The answer was consistency.

Small daily habits.

Strong routines.

Systems.

Processes.

Learning from mistakes.

Adjusting quickly.

Maintaining momentum.

The Compound Effect is one of my favorite books because it reminds us that success isn't built overnight.

It's built daily.

Once I stopped comparing entrepreneurship to corporate life, I started seeing possibilities instead of limitations.

And honestly?

It looks better now than I ever imagined.

Rapid Fire with Candyce Hunt

[44:43] Quick Questions, Powerful Answers

Favorite Female Character

Kimberly Spencer (host):
Who is your favorite female character in a book or movie?

Candyce Hunt (guest):
Olivia Pope.

She's the fixer.

She solves problems.

Someone You'd Trade Places With for a Day

Kimberly Spencer (host):
What person would you trade places with for a day?

Candyce Hunt (guest):
My daughter.

She's 11 years old and so confident.

I would love to experience what it feels like to have that level of confidence at such a young age.

I didn't find that until I was 35.

Money Habits and Wealth Building

Kimberly Spencer (host):
What is your money routine?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

My biggest habit is simple:

Check your money.

Every day.

One of the lessons I learned from Rachel Rodgers' We Should All Be Millionaires is that awareness creates better decision-making.

Know what's there.

Track it.

Pay attention.

The more aware you are, the better you manage it.

Defining Your Queendom

Kimberly Spencer (host):
What do you define as your queendom?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

My dominion.

My confidence.

My governance.

I have reconditioned myself to believe that I am God's favorite.

I believe I can accomplish whatever I set out to accomplish.

I believe I shift rooms when I walk into them.

I believe my voice transforms lives.

I believe in my brilliance.

And I move accordingly.

That's my dominion.

That's my queendom.

What Does It Mean to Crown Yourself?

Kimberly Spencer (host):
What does it mean to crown yourself?

Candyce Hunt (guest):

To crown myself means affirming myself.

One of the biggest shifts in my healing journey was changing my self-talk.

I stopped waiting for other people to affirm me.

I stopped waiting for validation.

I started having those conversations with myself first.

When limiting deposits come my way...

When undervaluation shows up...

I can still say:

I believe in myself.

Because I've already affirmed myself.

That's how I crown myself.

Final Takeaways from the 5-Minute Career Hack

[48:17] How to Get Off the Clearance Rack

Throughout this conversation, Candyce Hunt shared a powerful truth:

The difference between staying stuck and stepping into your next level isn't always another certification, another strategy, or another year of experience.

Sometimes it's a shift in how you see yourself.

The 5-Minute Career Hack philosophy reminds us:

• Stop accepting someone else's valuation of your worth.
• Confidence is built through action, not certainty.
• Self-leadership is the foundation of entrepreneurship and career growth.
• Burnout isn't a badge of honor.
• Freedom requires alignment.
• Sustainable success starts with awareness.
• The body often knows before the mind does.
• You don't need permission to own your value.

Closing Thoughts

Kimberly Spencer (host):

As always, my fellow sovereigns:

Own your throne.

Mind your business.

Because your reign is now.

Candyce Hunt (guest):

Thank you so much.

The Crown Yourself Podcast is a fast-growing self-improvement podcast, ranked in the top #200 personal-development podcasts in two countries, so far,  out of 4.5 million podcasts. Each week, you get the conscious leadership strategies you need to help you reign with courage, clarity, and confidence so that you too can make the income and impact you deserve. Imagine this podcast as your royal invitation to step into your full potential and reign in your divine purpose. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.