how i became a soft life ceo
a business that serves my life instead of swallowing it. here's how i got here - and what a soft life ceo actually means.
on paper, i'd made it
i spent 15 years climbing the corporate ladder and made it all the way to a £100k director. on paper, it looked great. underneath, i was drained and anxious, crying almost daily on the way home - and even at the top, london was so expensive we were still slipping into debt. then one morning i had a panic attack on the central line, passed out, and my first thought wasn't my health - it was that i couldn't get to my meeting. that's when i knew i had to get out. so i started a side hustle on etsy, selling little digital products i made in canva.
my first sale was $7. that tiny sale showed me there was a way out.
then i was made redundant
i'd been building my little business on the side for a while when the decision got made for me. on a friday afternoon, i got the call - after 15 years, i was being made redundant. it was terrifying. it was also the most freeing moment of my life. i took it, and that monday i sent one email: peace out. i knew right then i'd never apply for a job again.
i was finally free - but i took a wrong turn first.
i fell into the high-ticket trap
so i went all in - and fell hard into the high-ticket trap. everyone swore it was the way: charge more, chase the big clients, and you've made it. and for a while, it really looked like i had. but the money only showed up when i did. back-to-back calls, selling all day, every day - still trading my hours for money. i hadn't built a business. i'd built myself another job.
so i tore the whole thing down - and rebuilt it around one idea.
i went all in on low-ticket digital products
so i went back to what had worked from the very start - small digital products that loads of people could actually afford. but this time on my own terms. i built automated funnels that do the selling for me, so someone can find me, buy, and get everything they need without me ever hopping on a call. and i let AI do about 80% of the work behind the scenes.
that's the shift that changed everything - the business sells while i live my life, instead of me trading my hours for it.
what a soft life ceo actually means
it's not doing nothing. it's building a business that fits around the life you want - not the other way around.
your business serves your life
the business comes second and the life comes first. it supports your life - it doesn't swallow it whole.
an empty calendar, on purpose
no back-to-back calls, no performing every day. space to be with your family and do the things you actually want to do.
money, time and location freedom
not just financial freedom. the freedom to work from anywhere, on your hours, on your terms.
build your soft life ceo business
two AI tools to start with, depending on where you are - no product yet, or a product that needs eyes on it.
see the two tools