How I turned over six figures in my first year of business

A combination of business, mindset and magic

When I finished my first English degree, I was excited. I started applying for jobs at London-based newspapers and waited for the interviews to roll in.

Only, they didn’t. I received several rejections and the rest of the newspapers ignored my applications.

A little miffed - but undeterred - I started interning at the Independent, ITN and the Times, while working nights at a club in Camden.

Soon, I discovered that most papers wanted you to have an NCTJ qualification or an MA in journalism. I opted for the latter and spent a year working on a print and online journalism MA.

Out the other end, I nearly got a job at a paper but it was then handed over to an unsuitable male instead. 

I was now living outside of London (in Somerset) and sexism was still rife in the industry.

I got a job running an art gallery and when I returned to London, a year later, did some freelance journalism before getting a full-time job as a copywriter.

It was well-paid and I suddenly had more money than I knew what to do with at the end of each month.

A first.

A year in, I became pregnant with my first baby and thought it couldn’t get more perfect: I’d have a baby, a great job to return to - making money from writing - and my future was set.

But it didn’t quite pan out like that, as the HR department told me they were going to terminate my contract as soon as I left to give birth.

I’m a firm believer in all things happening for a reason and while what they did was 100% pregnancy discrimination (I spoke with a lawyer but decided not to pursue it), I paved a new path.

With my baby in a rocker by my feet, I looked into jobs I could do from home, eventually taking a part-time job on a digital magazine and when that folded, I launched my own.

Over the first few years of my daughter’s life - and then with two young children, when my middle son was born - I published daily articles on my digital magazine.

It got featured in national press and I was invited to speak on panels about running a business around two young children. I spoke on BBC radio and TV, too.

Soon, I’d developed a niche (freelance mum) and was being commissioned by the Guardian to write articles, as well as Red Magazine, Grazia, the Telegraph and more.

And after that, I was offered a book deal to write The Freelance Mum, my first non-fiction book. 

It was a guide to freelancing around young children: choosing the focus of your work, setting up a website, social media, networking, confidence exercises and how to get your own PR.

And that last one was of interest to lots of other freelancers and small business owners, who knew the power of press coverage and growing an online profile.

I created an online course and excitingly, it filled up in just two days (I sold 10 spaces, at £300 a pop). I would be offering reading materials, and giving weekly feedback for a month.

When I launched the same course a month later, many of the women who’d signed up for the first one then kindly shared the link and encouraged their friends/followers to join.

That time, 30 women signed up. 

I’d gone from scraping by each month - earning £2000 a month from blogging and writing copy for a client - to having surplus cash.

It felt really good. I felt confident, and more secure. At last, I’d made it work as a self-employed writer by turning my words and knowledge into a course.

I launched some other courses - how to start your own business and then - the most popular - how to launch your own online course.

It was around this time that the pandemic hit, and we swiftly went into lockdown. Now, a course that taught other freelancers how to shift their skills online was pretty useful.

The business boomed, and in its first year, turned over £120,000 (only £10,000 of which was overheads/costs).

Some think it’s a little uncouth to talk about money like this, especially if you are a woman. But I think that it can be very helpful to talk more openly about what we earn, and how.

Especially when we are earning while caring for others. Finding ways to flex our careers around family life, or caring for elderly parents.

I am not a money coach but if women come to me because they would like to earn more money, I will help them to work towards that. However, my bottom line (and tagline, if you like) is that I encourage women to reach for whatever it is they want.

For some, that will be money. For others, it will be rest. Some women want to have just enough money so that they can pursue their creative interests. Others want to work less and spend more time with their kids, or working out or travelling.

We all come from a different place - with different experiences, support systems, privileges, subconscious beliefs and - importantly - desires.

I’m not saying that all women should be striving for a six-figure business in year one. But I am saying that if that is what you’d like, there are certain things that will help.

There were several reasons those courses took off and they can be applied to any business, in order to work towards turning over six figures in year one.

Here’s what they are (and how to apply them to your own business)…