Build a Business Around the Life You Want

Many people leave the corporate world because they want more control over the work they do and how they spend their time. Yet they find themselves back in the same pattern: they work, and then try to squeeze their life around their work. Only difference? They're self-employed. They've recreated the same rigidity that they were trying to escape, with the added stress of running their own business.

Sound familiar?

When solopreneurs first start their businesses, they immediately think about how they can get clients and earn money. But the path to a sustainable business needs to put life first and then design your business to support it.

4-part framework to determine your life-first business

Your business model, services, revenue streams, and even your schedule are shaped by your priorities. That looks different for everyone.

I have three kids and live in a suburb of Chicago. I have a house I love, which also has a mortgage. My goals with building a sustainable business are to 1) be available for my kids and 2) earn enough money to match my corporate salary.

But I know other solopreneurs who prefer to travel or work as few hours as possible. Everyone is different.

Business coach Jenni Gritters directly asks her clients about their priorities. She says:

I ask questions like, "What are your values? What do you care about right now? What are your priorities? And how do we structure work based on those things?" It's very life-first. It feels a little rebellious, too.

As you think about your offers, pricing, and marketing, you need clarity about the life you want to live. Don't be vague about it. The life you want will impact your day-to-day decisions in your business.

1. Determine how much flexibility you want

Start with your ideal day.

• Do you want slow mornings?
• Do you need to be available for school pickup?
• Do you prefer long stretches of uninterrupted deep work?
• Do you want the option to take a random weekday afternoon off?

Because I have three kids, I need to shape my workday around the school day. That means no meetings after 3:00 p.m. I also need to think about days when my kids don't have school (like spring break) and summer.

Your daily rhythm should influence everything: the services you offer, how often you meet with clients, your communication style, and the boundaries you set. For example, if mornings are chaotic, you can choose to only take calls after lunch.

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2. Identify your ideal client profile

Who you work with matters as much as what you do. The wrong client can consume your mental bandwidth, drain your energy, and create unnecessary stress. (Think: the clients who demand too much or are consistently late with payments.)

This is particularly true if you've had bad experiences with managers or co-workers when you worked at a corporate job. You'll find yourself asking, "Didn't I quit my corporate job to escape the drama?"

Think about the types of clients that are aligned with your values and lifestyle.

• Do you prefer clients who communicate async?
• Do you work best with teams that give you autonomy?
• Do you want clients who understand and respect your boundaries?

Your ideal client profile (ICP) shapes the way you market yourself and how you vet new opportunities. You’re not just looking for people who will pay you — you’re looking for people who won’t make your business harder than it needs to be.

3. Understand the work you want to deliver

Not all work is created equal. Some projects light you up. Others feel like they are sucking your soul dry.

I got to the point in my business where I dropped a client that was giving me mind-numbing work. I had built enough of a business around the work I enjoyed that I was able to say, "I don't need this work anymore."

Think about the types of work you actually want to spend your day doing.

• What projects give you energy?
• Which ones feel like a slog?
• What skills do you want to use more often?
• What tasks do you never want to touch again?

These questions help you shape services aligned with your strengths, interests, and desired lifestyle. If you hate long project cycles, for example, you don't want to offer services that can stretch on for weeks or months. Your offerings should be designed around the kind of work that feels like a sustainable business.

4. Do the math with your financial priorities

Money matters, without a doubt. But the way you want to earn money matters just as much.

• Do you want to earn more, or do you want to earn enough?
• Do you want a business that maximizes your income, or one that maximizes your time?
• Do you have financial obligations that you need to meet?

There’s no “right” answer, but the business model you choose will determine your earning potential, your availability, and your stress levels.

High-ticket, low-volume work offers more income with fewer clients. But these offers may require deeper expertise or more client interactions. Low-ticket, high-volume products give you more scalability and less client management. However, these take a lot longer to build, and usually require a consistent online presence.

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Reverse-engineer your business model

Once you’re clear about your priorities, the next step is designing a business that reflects them. Instead of starting with services or pricing, start with your life constraints and work backward.

(If you've already established your business, think about the changes you need to make to build your business around the life you want.)

1. Time structure

Decide how many hours per week you want to work — not how many you could work. Any solopreneur could work 12-hour days, but that's not necessarily what you want to do.

If you had a defined start and end to each workday, what would that look like? Consider any non-negotiables you have in your schedule, like childcare or going to the gym.

From there, you can design your schedule: meeting-free days, your response times, and any time you need to set aside for deep work. If you only want calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can structure your calendar around that. If you want Fridays for admin or creative work, you can block them off permanently on your calendar.

2. Service design

Make sure your services fit your lifestyle, instead of disrupting it. If you want predictable weeks, retainer work, or long-term clients may be a good fit. If you thrive on variety, project-based work might be better. If meetings drain you, make sure you offer services that don't require a lot of client interaction.

You'll also want to identify any services you offer that aren't consistent with your goals. If a type of work is stressful, difficult to scope, or hard to fit into your ideal schedule, you can phase it out. Replace it with something that serves you better.

3. Pricing and packaging

Pricing should support both your financial goals and your desired schedule. Many solopreneurs fall into the trap of charging more but also working more.

Instead, you should price your services to reflect the value you deliver. And, over time, you become more valuable because you have more experience.

4. Boundaries and expectations

From my experience talking with fellow solopreneurs, boundaries are something they struggle with the most. They want to make their clients happy, so they respond at all hours or agree to additional work within the project.

Boundaries are about protecting your time and energy. It's also about protecting your pricing. If you agree to do a project at $1,000 for 20 hours of your time, and then end up spending an additional 10 hours on the project, you've effectively lowered your rate.

A business without boundaries will quickly grow into something you resent. Set expectations early and clearly: how quickly you respond to messages, when you’re available for meetings, what’s included in your services, how revisions work, and whether you charge rush fees.

Design your business around your energy, not just time

Taylor Swift said on the New Heights podcast, "Treat your energy as if it's expensive. Not everyone can afford it."

Time management is helpful, but energy management also has a huge impact. You may only spend five hours per day doing client work, but they are exhausting hours. As a result, you feel drained for the rest of the day.

You should also recognize when you think and work best. Are you more focused in the morning or the afternoon? Do you get tired after back-to-back calls? Are there certain tasks that drain your energy more quickly?

Time-tracking apps or a weekly audit of how you spend your time help you understand how your energy fluctuates. This awareness allows you to schedule your work in ways that reduce burnout and preserve your energy.

Let your business evolve as your life evolves

Without a doubt, your life priorities will change. Your kids get older. Your interests shift. Your energy levels change. Your financial needs evolve. And you should build a business so it can evolve with you.

It’s normal for your goals to shift throughout different seasons of life. A business that once felt perfect may no longer fit. You've got to recognize the signs that things aren't working anymore and have enough mental flexibility to make a change.

Regularly revisit your goals, your ideal day, your services, and your systems. One of the best benefits of being a solopreneur is that you get to decide. You don't have to ask for anyone's permission or "wait until next quarter" to make a change. You get to build a business that supports the life you want now, however and whenever those changes occur.

Want to build a life-first business?
These reflections will help you determine your priorities.

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