Read time: 2.5 minutes.

Many online business owners I’ve worked with over the years share a common frustration: they feel they work too hard for the results they're getting and often feel overwhelmed. They desire a steady income stream, a business that is enjoyable and easy to run, yet still challenging and offers growth opportunities.

A common mistake leading to these frustrations is trying to build a business that isn't in line with their desired experience. This can result in misalignment with their goals, dreams, and family plans. They often end up following gurus and trying to create massive, complex businesses that are difficult to operate and scale.

I’ve worked with clients who run companies that bring minimal returns and massive headaches. An example was a $200k/month business that generated $20k/month in pre-tax profit. The owner worked 60+ hours per week and couldn't spend much time with family or go on vacation.

Instead, they should "slow down to speed up" and design a business compatible with their overall life strategy, such as a highly focused and aligned $250k/year business at 86% profitability (approximately $18k/month in pre-tax profit).

Here are the facts and numbers behind the "aligned" business:

Type of business: one-person/solopreneur consulting
Team: a junior consultant at $25/hour, VA at $10/hour; paid hourly depending on needs
Revenue: $20k/month in revenue; $700/day;

Here are a couple of scenarios on how to achieve that:

1. Three one-hour consultations per day. 15 hours of work in a week + content creation for traffic and brand awareness.
2. 10 clients on a $2,000/month consulting package. Each package includes one call/week + Slack access. Approximately 12 hours of work in a week + content creation for traffic and brand awareness.
3. 100 customers buying your digital product at $200. That's 250 visitors to your website daily at an average 1.5% conversion rate. 15 hours of content creation per week to drive traffic to your website.

Working 15 hours per week leaves you with 25 hours + weekends off and complete flexibility in life. Even when traveling, you can manage 3 hours of calls per day.

The old way: building a complicated business

The new, streamlined way: building a simple, lean, scalable, and profitable business

What would you do with 25 "free" hours weekly and $20k/month in profit?