How to Escape Your 9-to-5 and Get Paid to Work for Yourself

So, like always, I’ll come right out with it: The best business to start to get out of your 9-to-5 isn’t your dream business.

And I’m going to tell you why—and what to do instead. But first, a quick story?

I’ll never forget the journey leading up to knowing I couldn’t stay in a traditional 9-to-5 job. 

I always knew I wanted a big family and a big career. But I definitely didn’t always know that the traditional 9-to-5 system would leave me feeling like I was failing at both.

It wasn’t uncommon for me to sit in my car on my lunch break and just cry. Sob. Exhausted. Stretched too thin. Stuck.

I was dropping my baby off at daycare too early and picking him up too late. I was missing his milestones, his moments, his life—for a paycheck that barely kept us floating and a career that didn’t feel meaningful.

I wanted OUT. I needed out. But I had no idea how.

All I knew for sure was that staying wasn’t an option.

I didn’t have everything figured out. I didn’t have a perfect plan. And I definitely didn’t feel ready. But I had always wanted to work for myself, be my own boss, and create something more for my life... 

So I LEAPT.

And—I didn’t build my dream business.

But I was stepping into my dream life.

Here’s how: I got myself paid to do my own thing—while taking back ownership of my time—and that’s what allowed me to create the life I have now.

So if you’re sitting in your own version of that car, feeling stuck, exhausted, and ready for something more, let me show you the fastest, easiest, and simplest way out.

Not the slow, exhausting path where you spend years trying to build the “perfect” everything before you can finally make your move or collect consistent coin.

This is how you quit your 9-to-5, get paid to do your own thing, and build your dream business—the smart way.

1. The biggest misunderstanding about leaving a 9-to-5

When you feel trapped in a 9-to-5 and can’t see your way out, it’s easy to think the people making a big impact (with big influence and big income) had it all figured out when they started. That they knew things you don’t. That they had a perfect plan before they leapt.

Nonsense.

You do not have to have it all figured out before you go for it! 

So many women stay stuck in jobs they hate because they think they need:
✅ A fancy business plan
✅ A fully built-out website
✅ A massive social media presence
✅ A list of waiting customers
✅ An offer that feels 100% aligned with their soul’s purpose on Earth

Yeah, no.

The only thing you actually need is a simple way to get paid doing your own thing.

And guess what? That part is easier than you think.

2. How to get out of your 9-to-5 with a simple business

The easiest way to leave your job isn’t by launching a business fueled by your deepest passion… that you have no idea how to start and grow. It’s by creating a simple business that solves one problem for one type of person—and gets you PAID.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Pick a problem that people will pay to have solved.

For me, this was basic admin skills—solving one problem for one specific type of professional.

Ask yourself:

• What skills or knowledge do I already have? What am I good at?
• What problem could I solve for someone today? If I was forced to go solve a (common) problem for one type of person right now, what would I do?
• What is something people are already paying for that I could do just as well (or better) than others?

Examples:

• If you’ve worked in marketing → offer social media management, email marketing, or content writing.
• If you’ve done admin work → offer virtual assistant services (or a specific admin service for a specific type of professional, like I did).
• If you’re organized and detail-oriented → offer systems setup for business owners, event planning, housecleaning, or auto detailing.
• If you know your numbers → offer bookkeeping or payroll for small businesses.
• If you love working with kids → offer daycare, tutoring, or nanny services.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, or never-before-heard-of. It just has to be a solution to a problem that people are already willing to pay for.

Step 2: Create a simple offer

The goal here is to be specific. The more specific, the better, because specific = clear.

Use this formula:

“I help [who] with [problem] so they can [result].”

Examples:

• Bookkeeping: “I help small business owners get their finances organized so they can stop stressing about bookkeeping and focus on growing their business.”
• Social Media Management: “I help busy entrepreneurs create and schedule engaging content so they can stay visible online without spending hours on social media.”

Now, get clear on what is in your offer—and what isn’t.

• What things will you do?
• What things will you NOT do?

Create a one-page document outlining the details, and end with your pricing.

Boom. Offer = done.

Step 3: Sell the offer

• Find 3-5 places where the people who have the problem you solve are already hanging out (online or in person).
• Show up there. Be friendly and helpful. Tell them what you do. Offer to help. Offer your offer.
• Reach out to people you already know who might need this. Who do you already know that is paying to solve this problem or has this problem and needs a solution?
• Bottom line: Start before you’re ready, because you will NEVER feel fully ready. Offer to solve the problem you know you can solve, and charge for it. 

Step 4: Execute

Do the work. Deliver results. Get paid. Repeat.

That’s it. That’s the formula.

Now—do you have a system that allows you to do each of those simply and repeatedly? If not, create one.

Ask yourself:

• When, where, and how will you execute on / deliver your offer?
• When will you get paid—before or after work is complete? How? (Literally—what kind of payment can you take, and how will you collect it?)
• When, where, and how will you show up to create more clients?

This is exactly what I did to get out of my 9-to-5.

I built a simple business that solved a problem for one type of person. I showed up consistently. I did good work. My clients liked what I did, and they told other people who had the same problem.

That business grew to six figures.

THEN I started working toward my dream business—getting certified, learning, and growing—because I had the time and financial resources to do it.

To be clear: It’s totally okay to go deep into what you’re passionate about and build a business that way. 

• It’s okay to take the time to get certified.
• It’s okay to invest in learning and growth.
• It’s okay to start something that requires more expertise, training, or experience.

That’s all epic and awesome and great! But it takes longer. So do that after you own your time and are enjoying the journey.

3. Owning your time is the biggest, most powerful shift you will ever make.

Right now, your job owns your time. You sold your time to your employer for whatever your pay rate is, and they control your schedule. When you own your time, everything opens up.

• You get to decide how and when you work.
• You can organize and schedule your work around your kids, your family, and your life.
• You have the time, space, and money to invest in learning, growing, and expanding—and diving deep into your passions—so success becomes a natural result of how you’re showing up.

This is why getting paid first matters so much. It gets you out of survival mode, and takes back your time.

THEN you can start building the business of your dreams—and making the impact you feel called to make—without the pressure of your family’s financial future riding piggyback on your dream.

4. Once you own your time and know how to get paid by solving problems, everything gets easier.

There’s a learning curve to building any business. That’s just reality. So the simpler the work—and the more certain you are that you can execute well—the bigger an advantage you have.

Building any business builds skills, confidence, and experience, and all of that helps you create the business (and income) success you want. Even if your first business isn’t your forever business, it teaches you how to:
✔️ Sell
✔️ Work with clients
✔️ Deliver results
✔️ Navigate challenges
✔️ Make money without a paycheck
✔️ Handle the unfun stuff—like taxes, invoicing, and figuring out whether you need an LLC or if you can just roll as a sole proprietor for now
✔️ Be disciplined—because suddenly, there’s no boss to be accountable to, and if you don’t do the work, no one’s coming to save you
✔️ Protect your time and set boundaries—because the second you’re “working for yourself,” your family will assume you’re free to do everything from running errands to attending midday school events to having long chats to solve their problems (all of which you absolutely can do, but not all day, everyday)

And those skills? They all transfer to anything you do next. So it’s like getting paid to practice building a business—while gaining all the benefits of time freedom, flexibility, and ownership over your life.

Side note: Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t go straight into your dream business. If you know, you know—go for it. Always trust yourself over what some “expert” says. But if you’re looking for the fastest, easiest, and simplest way to ditch your 9-to-5—and the whole damn traditional system that was never built for women like you anyway—then give yourself permission to start with something simple.

Make money.
Take your time back.
Then build all your biggest dreams.

After I left the traditional 9-to-5 world, I had the freedom to:
✔️ Invest in my coaching certifications.
✔️ Spend three years in advanced learning and grow into the coach I wanted to be, so I could make the impact I wanted to make.
✔️ Learn everything I needed to know about starting and growing a freedom-based digital coaching business (which was very different from the simple service-based business I started with).

Real talk: The life and business I have now is literally the life and business I was putting on my dream boards back when I thought I needed to manifest my way to success. (Spoiler: That didn’t work. I had to actually build it. 😂)

And none of it would have been possible if I hadn’t owned my time and created income that supported the bigger moves I wanted to make.

If this helped you or hit home and you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start getting paid to do your own thing, let’s stay connected!

I help ambitious women break free from the grind and rewire the patterns keeping them stuck, so they can finally create the money, freedom, and lifestyle they’ve been dreaming of—and build a business on their terms.

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