We talk a lot about how to build a successful business. I’m sure you asked these questions: how to get clients, how to grow an audience, how to create content, how to make more money, how to scale, how to become more visible. But there’s a question I don’t think we ask nearly enough: what do you actually want your business to make possible in your life? Because if the answer is freedom, flexibility, time and choice, what you’re actually looking for might be a freedom business, not just another business that happens to be online.

Is your business actually built for the season of life you’re in right now, or did you just keep going in the direction you started in? You can accidentally build a business that gives you the opposite. I know that, because I’ve done it myself. And I see so many women do the same.

Working from Spain didn’t automatically make me free

Ten years ago I moved to Spain. One of the reasons I was attracted to an online business was the freedom it seemed to offer.  No office, no commute, no one telling me where I had to be. The promise of working from wherever I wanted.

And yes, being able to work online can give you incredible freedom.

But there’s a catch.

You can build a business that is completely location-independent… and still find yourself working all the time. You can work from Spain, from your laptop, on your own hours, and still feel like you can never really switch off.

Because the problem isn’t always where you’re working.  Sometimes it’s how your business works.

When your business becomes another job

This happens easily when you start with a service.  Whether that service is coaching, designing websites or doing done-for-you work doesn’t matter that much; it’s about this issue that may seem like a luxury issue on the outside.  You have a skill, someone needs that skill, they pay you, you do the work. Then another client comes along. And another.

Before you know it, your income is directly tied to your availability. More clients means more hours. More income means more work. Time off means less or no income.

From the outside, it looks like freedom. From the inside, it can feel suspiciously like just another job.

There’s nothing wrong with a service business, in fact it’s often a great way to start. The problem shows up when you never stop to ask yourself: is this business actually creating the life I wanted it to create?

I felt this more sharply as my 40s turned into their 50s and the side effects of perimenopause got added to the mix. Some weeks I simply have less energy and a business that only works if I’m always running at full capacity doesn’t leave room for that.

So what does a freedom business actually mean?

For me, a freedom business isn’t simply an online business. It isn’t necessarily passive income. It isn’t working from a beach with a laptop. And it certainly isn’t never working again.

A freedom business is a business intentionally designed around the life you want to live. That means asking yourself questions like:

• How many hours do I actually want to work?
• How much of my income needs to come from my time?
• How many calls do I actually want to have?
• When do I want to be available?
• What happens when I take a week off?
• What kind of work gives me energy, and what kind drains me?
• Do I want to build a team, or work alone?
• Do I want recurring income? Digital products? A mix of services and scalable offers?

There isn’t one right answer. That’s the whole point. Your business needs to fit your life, not you burning out trying to make it work somehow.

Did any of these questions catch you off guard? That’s exactly the kind of clarity we dig into in the Income Compass inside my Freedom Biz Studio, and in my free Freedom Biz Kickstart Kit.  Grab your free Freedom Biz Kickstart Kit below and start exploring what your freedom business could look like.

Your business doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.

This is something I wish more women were told when they start an online business or even when they’re years into their business.

Here are 10 things I wish I could make you realize today:

1. You don’t have to copy someone else’s business model because it worked for them.
2. You don’t have to become a coach because everyone else is coaching.
3. You don’t have to keep your coaching practice because you’ve done it for so long.  You’re allowed to go in a new direction.
4. You don’t have to exhaust yourself in your work, whether that’s a job, business or business on the side.
5. You don’t have to post seven times a day.
6. You don’t have to build a giant team or want a huge business.
7. You need to understand what you want your business to make possible.  Then you can work backwards from there.
8. Maybe you want 3,000€ a month and lots of free time.  Or you want 10,000€ a month and you’re happy to work harder for it.
9. Maybe you want a small number of high-value clients.  Or you want memberships and digital products and run it all as passive as possible.
10. Maybe your biggest priority is simply being able to take your laptop with you when you travel.  Or shut down your laptop at 5pm and be done with it.

All of those can be valid.

The business model comes after the life vision when your 40s turn into your 50s.  In your 30s, the other way around still worked.  You could easily set a goal, follow someone’s blueprint and get results.  Now, it starts to clash inside you.  And the longer you push through, trying to cling to an outdated model, the worse it gets.

The question I’d love you to ask yourself

Forget what everyone else is telling you to build for a moment.  Forget the latest business trend, what the person you follow on Instagram is doing and what you think you should want.

Ask yourself:

What do I actually want my business to make possible in my life?

1. More time? More money? More flexibility? More creativity? More travel?
2. Less pressure? Fewer calls? More control over your schedule? The ability to slow down when your energy is low? Spending January somewhere warm?
3. Or simply the feeling that your business belongs to you, rather than you belonging to your business?

Getting that clear is a great place to start.  Because once you know what you want your business to make possible, you can start making much better decisions about what to build.

This is why I created the Freedom Biz Studio

The Freedom Biz Studio is for women who don’t just want to ‘have an online business’.  They want to build a business that actually supports the life they’re trying to create.

Inside the Studio, we’re working on the practical side of that:

• Figuring out what kind of business makes sense for you.
• Getting clarity on what offers feel aligned with who you are now and what you want to focus on moving forward.
• Getting accountability and taking action on that new vision, that new or finetuned direction.
• Thinking about developing multiple or extra income streams and usins tools and systems to deliver them on autopilot so you can take time off.
• Creating consistency without relying on motivation.
• And actually moving from ideas into action.

Your 40s turning into your 50s are a confusing time.  In your body, mind and life, so much is changing.  And that reflects into your business too.  So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, unhappy about how things are going now or want to figure things out but have too many ideas and no clarity, simply the feeling that there has to be a better way…  I want you to know that there’s a space for you where we get you.

If you’re ready to explore that, doors to the Freedom Biz Studio are open.  You can check out the Freedom Biz Studio membership here and get your business back on track so that it aligns with the woman you are today.