Do you love entrepreneurs stories as much as I do? It is always this fascinating, windy, bendy road that feels like chaos in the thick of it, but all makes sense when you look back on the journey.

Here is my story and it follows 3 likely steps towards financial security and freedom.

Many of you know I started my business 4 years ago. I was 31, married, leading a team, rising up the corporate ladder, and desperately miserable with my job and where I saw it going. I knew I needed to work on my terms before we had kids. So I jumped.

I did all the naive things to build my business like set up a website, get business cards printed, and rattle off a list of services I could support. I chatted with a few people on LinkedIn, but didn’t do much else to find a client. After a few weeks (yes weeks!) without making money, I panicked.

I had made a steady paycheck my whole life and I was not quite prepared for the financial ups and downs of entrepreneurship. So I found a gig I like to call, Entrepreneurship Lite. Have you had one of these?

Step One: Entrepreneurship Lite

1099 contract work devoted to one client with a full employee mindset. Yes I was technically a business owner because this client paid my LLC, but all I really got out of the deal was the privilege of paying my own taxes and health insurance. I got that steady paycheck, but I had no boundaries, my time was devoted to this client’s needs, and all my eggs were in one basket.

Step Two: The Real Deal with Ebbs & Flows

Entrepreneurship Lite lasted about a year and then I got more comfortable with the idea of a diversified client list. I was looking at the positives - it was risky to have my company’s revenue tied up in one client. I chose to ignore the negatives - that many clients with smaller projects meant getting comfortable with feast or famine.

Step Three: The Real Deal with Predictable Income

This takes us to step three. Predictable income and a predictable, flexible schedule is the holy grail for working moms. You get the best of Entrepreneurship Lite (the steady pay) with the best of Real Deal/Ebbs&Flows (the freedom). Every mom entrepreneur I’ve spoken to is trying to get here.

So how do you do it?

YOU SELL THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

  • Do you sell a physical good? Sell it over and over again.
  • Do you sell a digital product or book? Sell it over and over again.
  • Do you provide a service? That’s right. Sell it over and over again. Gone are the days of “custom every time”. You’re an expert in your field. You know what works. Take what works + what you like to do, package it up, and sell it over and over again. Find your audience, discover exactly what it takes for them to buy your package and do it over and over again. Automate and refine the delivery of your package and do it over and over again.

That is how you go from feast or famine to booked out 3 months in advance with just the right amount of clients to deliver security and freedom.

It is summer after all - you need the time to splash with your kids in the pool.