What it actually takes to stop trading time for dollars

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“Serve one to many and stop trading time for dollars!”

"Launch your course and make money while you sleep."

"Stop trading time for dollars so you can SCALE!"

If you've spent any time in the Entrepreneurial Casino, you've heard these promises.

You're just one course or group launch away from glory—and the spacious calendar that supposedly comes with it.

And this year, I did it. I crossed six figures in revenue from leveraged offers: group programs, courses, a membership, and a book.

But here's what they don't tell you:

That result took me five years working in my business full-time and this is the first year that side of my business has been meaningfully profitable—yet still not enough, on its own, to pay my bills.

This is the behind-the-scenes version of what it actually took to build leverage while running a full-time services business.

The reality I was dealing with

I started my business full-time in 2021 as a business consultant/Fractional COO for small businesses. I had strong credentials (a Harvard MBA with prior Nike and McKinsey experience), but zero network with the small businesses I wanted to serve. I had a teeny email list of about 50 people, built when I was side-hustling as a coach while still working in corporate.

I needed to bring in at least $5K a month in post-tax income to cover my share of household expenses. That meant I couldn't afford to build an audience unless I was willing to pull from savings.

So for the first year, I focused on what paid my bills: subcontract consulting and building my Fractional COO business. That work took 30+ hours a week. In the margins of my time, I wrote and posted regularly to build my email and social media following.

In late 2022, a year and a half in, I launched my first business-building group program. After a year of weekly writing and audience building, I'd grown my list to 145 subscribers. Five people enrolled in what's now called Define Your Foundations, grossing $11K in 2022.

It was enough to prove I could make money in group offerings—but it barely covered a month of my expenses.

The revenue trajectory

From that first launch, I ran my cohort every six months, gradually growing from 5 students to around 20 students per cohort.