Your “Safe” Business Model Is a Trap! Here’s How to Build Real Freedom Instead [Ep 72]

Welcome to the Thriving Therapeneur podcast. The show for ambitious therapists who are ready to unapologetically make more money, scale.

Their impact and build their dream coaching business.

I'm Carly Hill, therapist turned coach turned CEO of a seven figure online business. I created the Thriving Therapeneur podcast because I'm obsessed with helping big hearted therapists outgrow the office and build successful and sustainable online businesses. So if you are wondering how you can continue to make an impact without sacrificing the life you love, welcome Therapreneur. This is exactly the place for you. Think of it like the business school we never had. I am so excited to dive in with you. Let's get started.

Hello friends. Welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Carly Hill, and in today's episode, we're going to talk about freedom and how freedom doesn't just happen. Freedom is built. One of my favorite quotes is the best way to predict your future is to create it. And it just couldn't be more true. If you have visions for your future, which I'm sure you do, you get to make that come true. You get to have all the freedom that you want. Freedom doesn't just happen to you. Freedom is built. You get to predict your future. You get to create your future. So this episode is all about freedom. It is one of my deepest core values. And the funny thing is, I was looking up the meaning of my name the other day and it means free woman. I don't know if I ever really processed that before or if I heard it once years ago and it went in one ear and out the other. But when I read it the other day, I had this moment where I thought, wow, of course this is what it means. This has always been who I am. This has always been what I have been chasing, or maybe more accurately, what I've been claiming. In my life, in my business, I've always valued freedom, time, freedom, energy, freedom, travel, freedom, financial freedom, all of it. Even when I was working as a therapist, I valued this freedom. And let me be clear, I love being a therapist. But what I loved even more was the idea of living a life where I wasn't owned by my schedule, I wasn't owned by my caseload, or even owned by a system that didn't value me the way I valued my work and my license and what I was doing with clients. Back when I was in community and mental health, when I was at a 9 to 5 therapy job, brick and mortar, they didn't value me. And Even when I was in my successful private practice, I was stuck trading dollars for hours. I valued my freedom. I was like, there has to be a better way. And I saw how many other brilliant heart centered therapists they were stuck too. They were overworked, they were underpaid, they were running on fumes. And I remember thinking like, this can't be it. This can't be the only way. I couldn't even fathom, I just couldn't believe it. That we as therapists, some of the most highly educated, deeply giving, were among the lowest paid and the most burned out. It had me frazzled. That's why I started my very first networking group. It's called Therapists Unite. It's locally in South Florida. And it was just to help therapists beat burnout. That was the sole mission. To create a space where people like us could imagine something more. The system was broken. So I set off to find solutions. Solutions for therapists to leverage their time, get paid for their knowledge. Solutions to not only work with clients, but work with clients who were their absolute dream clients, perfect fit clients. Solutions to create better systems and strategies to bring clients in, but without sacrificing their soul and their life in the process. I am an innovator at heart and I just went off not to crack the code for anyone else, but just for myself. I never thought that I would be sitting here teaching on all of this. I am a natural teacher at heart and I did always want to be a teacher when I was a little kid. So it's the absolute full circle moment for me. But it was just for me. I needed to figure out how I could have freedom. And it ultimately led me to discover high ticket group coaching. To tap into the one to many model and get out of trading dollars for hours. To master organic lead generation, to create my own signature framework. I call it the modern marketing master plan. I didn't know any of this and I had to learn all of it. These solutions that I searched for, they worked. They changed my life. They allowed me to go from zero to a hundred K months in record time. And not because I worked more hours. Yes, building my business did take hours. It took years. It took a lot of effort. It's not rainbows and butterflies. Being an entrepreneur is not for the week, but it's worth the reward because I built freedom. I built freedom into the foundation of my business. And here's the thing, when I talk about freedom, I don't just mean making money. I mean the real kind of freedom to design your days. To say no without guilt. The freedom to take a trip without your income taking a dip. The freedom to be present with the people you love, with friends, with family, taking that trip. The freedom to live in your purpose. The freedom to have decisions and. And options, not just to work in your profession. The world is your oyster. That's what this entire episode is about. Not just talking about freedom, but defining it, building it, living it. Because my mission is to share every single piece of knowledge I've gained along the way so you can create your own version of this life. You deserve this life. You can have it. I want this for you. And if you've ever felt like freedom was reserved for other people, not you, it's reserved for the influencers. The entrepreneurs who are waiting ahead of me. The ones who have more time or more money or more luck, you're wrong. I'm here to remind you that freedom is a choice. Freedom is waiting for you. And again, the best way to design your future, decide your future, is just to create it. So let's dive in. Let's talk about 2025. It's been freaking wild. I had a baby. I moved into my first home. I scaled my company even more. Duh. That's what I do. I've helped hundreds of service providers achieve freedom. And you want to know what's even more wild? Some of the best decisions I've made this year, they didn't look or feel good at first. I had to let go of team members I loved. I had to hire new members. I had to sit with discomfort of rebuilding new systems from scratch. I had to recommit to what I want my life to look like, not just what business should be doing. I had to invest. Well, I didn't have to, but in my eyes, I had to. Because this is just who I am. I constantly invest in my business, in myself, in my health. I invested in new mentors and consultants. It's all been a bit scary and out of my comfort zone. But this is how we grow. And if you're anything like me, you're probably already thinking about 2026. I start my yearly planning for the following year in September or October. Quite literally, what I do at the end of the year determines my quarter one revenue. I have to reverse engineer all of my marketing plans. It's very strategic planning. And checking yourself as you pivot, as you reinvent and grow and scale in your business and yourself is incredibly important because the business you want isn't built by accident, just how freedom is not built by accident. And it's built by choice, it's built by leadership, and it's built by you. So now, right now, as you're listening to this episode, it's really a critical time to check yourself. I say that with love, but let's check ourselves, okay? It's a critical time of the year. You have to really be thinking about not just where you want to go and what do you want to do next year, but your business model as a whole, your offer suite, those kind of things. What do you want to experience in your business? How do you want to walk through life next year? How do you want your business to feel? Let's talk about some of these hard truths that we have to face in this season of change as we move into a new year. And as I made these changes in my own business, there was really nothing wrong with the business. The systems, the offers, the infrastructure. It was going smoothly. It was a okay. But it only served me in the season I was in. My team members helped me build. They supported the vision I had at the time. But here's the truth most people don't like to face. What got you here won't get you there. Hey there. Did you know we give away one of our incredible digital products every single week? All you have to do is leave a review for the show, then submit proof using the link in the show notes and you'll be entered to win. Prizes include amazing resources like our passive income course, the license protection bundle, top business trainings, my best selling book, and so much more. It's super simple and your review helps us reach more listeners just like you. So take a moment to share your thoughts, enter to win and and maybe you'll be our next winner. The economy is shifting. It has been. The online marketing world is shifting too. The strategies that once created it wild momentum don't always work the same way. Now you have to stay relevant. You can't keep operating as if nothing is changing. I knew that to rise to the next level, I had to be willing to make some uncomfortable moves. Not because anything was broken, like I said, but because staying still in a moving market is a form of decline. I had a one to one client tell me the other day, they're like, Carly, you just always seem to be cranking things out. You're like a machine. And it just got me thinking. I don't stay still. Staying still in a moving market is a form of decline. That meant shifting how I lead. It meant evolving my approach to business. It meant upgrading my mindset and my energy So I could hold a bigger vision without gripping onto what felt familiar. So and so I did. I moved. I shook things up. I changed my client infrastructure. I rebranded. I rebuilt my team. I refined my offers. I changed the rooms I was sitting in. I made new mentorship investments, working with consultants, just as I always do when I want to stretch into the next version of myself and my business. And I'll say this because this is a big one. So many entrepreneurs, especially women, they stay stuck way too long in outdated models because they feel safe. And I've been there. But here's the the truth that changed everything for me. Safety is not the same as sustainability. If your current model can't carry the weight of your next level you. Your next level business, then it's not safe. It's a trap dressed up as comfort. I had to look in the mirror and just get radically honest with myself. Do I want to scale my business? Yes, of course I do. Am I scared to break what's a. Okay, what's working? Yeah, I'm scared. Absolutely. But does fear get to run my business? No. Fear can sit in the backseat. I run my business. I'm the CEO. I trust myself to rebuild. I trust myself to evolve. I trust myself to create something better and bigger over and over and over again. Because true power isn't protecting what you built. It's in the knowing that you can build it again, stronger, anytime you freaking choose. And here's something I haven't said publicly yet. I plan to get pregnant again in 2026. I don't know if you can hear my baby crying in the background. My husband's not doing a good job of entertaining him for bath time. But I love this life. I plan to get pregnant again in 2026. And that one decision is shaping everything I'm doing in business right now. Every funnel I build, every SOP we document, every hire I make. Because I'm not just building a business that makes money. I am building a business that keeps making money. When I am not glued to my desk, when I'm holding a baby on my hip, when I'm choosing to live the life I want to live, that I built this business for. I want a company that serves my life, not one that consumes it. What does that mean, Carly? Well, to me, it means automated, low ticket trust building funnels that lead seamlessly into high ticket backend offers. It means a team that knows how to lead without me. It means evergreen content that keeps converting long after I've logged off. It means a brand that's positioned powerfully enough that opportunities come to me. It means launches reverse engineered to hit my delusional revenue goals. It means a book I'm writing in Q1, not just to share my story, but to expand my platform, build authority, create an asset that sells, just like my other book, to help me grow and make a larger impact while I'm living my best life. This isn't about checking out. To me, it's just about fully stepping into the role of CEO. The kind of CEO who doesn't just work in her business. No, she builds a business that works for her. This is what it's all about. Having assets, not just offers. Building legacy, not just launching all the time. Because again, I'll remind you for maybe the fifth time now in this episode, your business isn't built by accident. Freedom is not by accident. Your business is not built by accident. It's built by choice. It's built by radical ownership and leadership. It's built by the vision you hold. And here's some more real talk. If you're not where you want to be yet, you gotta take a look in the mirror. It's not your coach's fault. It's not the algorithm's fault. It's not the market's fault. It's not your team's fault. No, you're the CEO. The only person who controls your business is you. And that's not something to carry with shame you. It's actually really powerful. I want you to carry that with power. Because when you fully own that truth, I'm the CEO. I have full control. Everything shifts. You can change anything. You can rebuild anything. You can rise again as many times as it takes. But again, it starts with that radical ownership, that foundation. That's the move. That's the legacy. And yeah, the economy is shifting. Yes, online business is louder, more crowded, more saturated, more competitive than it used to be, but for a reason. That's because there's a market need for it. People are spending every single day. And yes, people are spending differently. I would say that we're in a trust recession, but here's the truth I stand on that doesn't mean there's less money available. I had a 600k increase in a year and I'm on track to double that. Again, there's not less money available. I've actually never been more confident in my business. It just means that fewer people are positioned to receive it because they don't have the mindset to stick it through. We're entering a new wave of business this is one that to me is defined by more discerning buyers. It's like this more strategic marketplace. So gone are the days where you can just throw something together, slap it on the online space and then hope it sticks. People are going to vet you out like crazy. The next era belongs to leaders who know how to adapt, innovate, lead with precision. Know that they're the CEO, they have that strong mindset because expectation creates preparation. If you can expect this market change and evolve, you can prepare for that. Preparation drives execution. So when you're prepared, you're going to reverse engineer and you're going to execute. If you have a plan, of course, which exactly why I'm here for, I can help you with this plan. And then once you execute, boom, you get results. That's the chain. Expectation creates preparation. Preparation drives execution. And then the execution delivers the results. And guess where it starts with you. It starts with you. And I've lived this too. I'm in it with you. The strategies that I teach are the exact ones I use inside my company. I've watched my clients file their first LLC, hit their first 10k online, make 100k, 200k months. These big wins, they're not just by luck. It's the strategies that I use in my business and that I teach my clients. They're not anomalies, they're examples of what happens when you meet the moment instead of resisting it. And here's why timing matters too. The elearning and digital education space, it's exploding. Exploding. Holy shit. Now is the time to get in. It's projected to grow into a multi hundred billion dollar industry over the next decade. The next decade alone. People are investing in their growth, their skills, their business, their personal development. More than ever, the money is there, the opportunities are there. The real question is, are you ready to receive it? The reality is this, you can either watch from the sidelines, just keep scrolling, watch from the sidelines, other people are rising, or plant your flag, put your foot down, claim your space. Because here's the thing, personally, I'm not slowing down. I don't know if you get that vibe, but I am not slowing down. I am on the path to take this company to eight figures. Freaking watch me. I will be an icon in this space because I am living this. I am doing the freaking work and I'm just taking you along with me. Everything I learned for myself, I just share it with you. There's no gatekeeping. I just keep investing in mentors and learning and taking my business to the next level. And I'm just here to share with you everything I learn. It's that simple. The same strategies I'm using to get there, they're the same ones I give to my clients, the ones who choose to play the game differently. So this is your moment. The wave is here. Either you write it or you watch someone else do it. And I feel like I'm being a little tough on you, like I'm giving you some tough love. I had a client the other day that said, carly, you scare me a little bit, but this is why I'm doing this. I was like, okay, I'm all right with being a little scary if it means getting you to where you want to be and helping you achieve that freedom that you so desire and crave and deserve in your life. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, all right, something needs to shift. You're probably right. You're probably right. You might need to burn down an offer that no longer lights you up. Or maybe you need to give your offers just a glow up. Maybe you need to realign with your dream clients. Maybe you need to get back in the room with mentors and peers who expand your thinking. It's like going back to school again. Maybe you need some business school. Maybe you need to rehire. Maybe you need to train more. The people that you already hire. Maybe they don't suck. Maybe you just suck at training them. And I say that with love, but maybe you just haven't trained them enough. Maybe you need to rebuild. You need to reinvent. So even though the reinvention can feel scary, especially when things are technically working, I promise you this. The freedom you're craving is on the other side of the choices you have been avoiding. The freedom you're craving is on the other side of the choices you've been avoiding. Whoa. Let that set in. What have you been avoiding? As I read that to you twice, something came up in your mind. So there's still time to set yourself up for your best year ever. But do not confuse comfort with success. Comfort can feel safe. We like safety. Our ego like safety. But safety can also be the thing that's keeping you stuck. I promise you that. The vision is worth the discomfort. The freedom is worth the rebuild. The impact is worth the stretch. The legacy is worth the risk. This is the moment to stop playing small. Stop playing small with your potential. Stop waiting for the perfect time. Let this be your year to go all in, all in on becoming the kind of CEO that your future life requires. You don't need a crystal ball of what your future is going to look like. No, you get to decide that. What do you want it to look like? What do you want it to feel like? You need courage. You need clarity. You need conviction. You need to lead like your legacy depends on it. Because it does. Your business is not built on a single launch. It's built on the daily decisions you make when no one's watching. It's built in the moments you choose to rise. If you choose to rise in your business over and over again, even when it's easier to retreat, you're going to uplevel. How about the way you lead yourself long before you lead anyone else? Just like I said, when nobody's watching. I need you to know that the next season of your business is waiting for you to just step into it. Not perfectly, because it's not going to be perfect and nobody likes a perfect person anyways, but if you can just step into it powerfully, my love is with you. I'll see you in the next episode.

Thank you so much for listening to the thriving Therapy Republic. I hope that this episode has inspired you to reduce burnout, work smarter and see the freedom potential you have as a therapist. We would love to have you inside the Therapist to Coach Accelerator Facebook Group where we have live trainings and cheat sheets on all things marketing, sales and adding coaching ethically and legally. I am here cheering you on and I'll see you around.

Sam.