Having a job or running a business is one of those fundamental things you need to be able to sustain a living. To pay your rent, your mortgage, and your bills.​​​​

But why does it have to come with so much excess baggage?

• Those Sunday woes as the weekend draws to a close.
• That sinking feeling you get when your alarm clock sounds in the morning.
• The dread of the rat race as you set off for your commute.
• Working long, tiring hours for minimal appreciation.
• The stress of making sure you’ve got enough put by.
• Feeling like you haven’t made a difference, or seen the reward for the hard work you put in.
• A lack of work-life balance, taking your work into the evenings and weekends.

And this barely scratches the surface.

I know what it’s like. I’ve been there.

But a few years back, things changed forever…

My Mother passed away.

Mum and I were really close. She was the most loving person I knew.

She never pushed me to do the things I didn’t want to do, nor prevented me from doing the things I loved.

Needless to say, the loss of my Mother left a huge hole in my life – one that led to a realisation of change that I needed to pursue.

See, whilst I had created and grown a successful, profitable business over 15 years…

…I just wasn’t happy.

The day to day was an absolute grind.

And I knew that if my Mum knew how I was feeling – she’d have given me that ‘kick up the bum’ I needed to implement change.

To take things from where they were, to where I wanted them to be.

Shortly after my Mother’s passing, my beautiful daughter Emily was born. Another life changing experience.

Now, the thought of leaving my family at home whilst “Daddy” went off to work left a sick feeling in my stomach.

That’s when I knew my business could no longer support the lifestyle I wanted to achieve.

And it all came down to one question. A question that I implore you to ask yourself today…

And as a business owner, I knew I had two options:

1. I could take one of my BIG ideas and go down the start-up route, work tirelessly to gain traction, and spend 80 hours a week to get it off the ground.
2. OR, I could pivot – and build a business that supports and provides for my family, while having more freedom to do the things I really wanted to.

What would you do?

The second sounds infinitely more alluring, right?

So what if I told you that it is possible, and that I’ve done exactly that…

We pivoted.

And now my business and lifestyle looks considerably different.

I took my ‘regular old’ service-based business and created a self-sufficient income machine that works for me, allows me to dip in and out as I choose, and take lengthy holidays with my family …

…. without the worry that things are going to come to a grinding halt.

In fact, the two years have been so successful, that I’m utterly convinced that for the majority of the people with entrepreneurial aspirations…

… you’re far better off building a business that supports your lifestyle, than pursuing a start-up or that ‘next BIG idea’.

There’s NO ‘heavy lifting’.

Work with outsourced teams and use automation in your business to do all the heavy lifting for you. It’s like your business is on auto-pilot. Package your expertise or services and you can ‘set and forget’ as the sales stream in.

Size DOESN’T matter…

It’s a popular misconception that a business built to fulfil a lifestyle, equates to running a tiny business as an alternative to having a job – when in fact, it doesn’t have to be small at all. The main requirement is that it allows the entrepreneur / business owner to live how he or she wants to live, while running a business. Whatever that looks like for you.

You can package and sell your ‘expertise’.

Most people wouldn’t dare declare themselves as ‘an expert’, but the truth is your experience is invaluable. You can package your experience, pin-point your ‘expertise’ and create a recurring business out of it. Think now, what experience do you have that would be beneficial to other people that don’t know that topic inside out?

Stress is SIGNIFICANTLY minimised.

As a business owner / entrepreneur, stress will never go away completely. It comes with the job! BUT, the great thing about pursuing a quest for financial freedom is that you have no one to answer to but yourself. Vastly reducing the stress that comes with common business problems.

You can work from wherever you want.

With your laptop and phone to hand – anywhere can be your office. Your home, your local coffee shop, a shared workspace, the park – literally wherever you want it to be.

Perhaps you’ve read the ‘4-Hour Work Week’ by Tim Ferriss. A dream we all aspire too right?

Well it is possible.

In fact, just last month I was fortunate enough to take my family abroad for two weeks, checking in on my business just ONCE as it ran on auto-pilot.

Not bad (if I do say so myself!)

The answer is NO.

But…

If you are looking to maximise your enjoyment while having the freedom and security that comes with knowing you have full control of your life, then it’s a journey well worth considering.