Busting through upper limits

How good are you going to let it get?

The Sustainable Solopreneur is a weekly newsletter about seasonal, cyclical, supportive business strategy for solopreneurs and creative souls who want more out of life than the status quo, hosted by business coach and strategist Jenni Gritters. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while and you receive value from it, I’d encourage you to sign up for a paid subscription.

I’m teaching a mini workshop about how to build a unique personal brand this Thursday, November 11th, at 2 pm PST. There are only 10 spots total in each mini workshop and as I’m writing this, there are 5 spots left. This is one of my favorite things to teach and feels apt during a chaotic political week, because we’re talking about how to show up publicly in a way that’s in integrity and owns your point of view. The only catch: You must attend live.

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Kailey quit her full-time job. She started her own business. She made 6 figures for the first time after three years in solopreneur land. And she came to my coaching room with an important question:

Is it okay for me to want more than this?

She’d done all the things she set out to do. She was living a life with more time flexibility, earning good money, and working with clients she liked. And still, she was aching for more. She had dreams. But she felt guilty about it.

First, I told Kailey that it was indeed okay for her to want more. And I invited her into a conversation about what that More actually looked like — bringing it into the daylight so we could make a practical game plan to get her there. (So often, these “more” visions stay hidden in our heads because we feel like we’re not even allowed to give them air time.)

Kailey had what I call an upper limit — a belief that where she was at, was as good as things could get for her. She asked me how I busted past my upper limits and I shared this with her:

When I started working for myself, 6 figures felt like a pipe dream. But I started reading a lot of articles (and listening to podcasts) by 6-figure freelancers. And at the end of that first year, I’d made $120,000.

Then, a few years in, I had a child. I wanted to take a four month maternity leave. But I’d never seen anyone take a long leave while freelancing so I didn’t know where to start. I scrounged around for details and spent time on the phone with a few women I respected, who’d made a long leave work for them. And after those conversations, I made myself a plan: I ended up saving a small amount of money in each of the 9 months leading to my time off, and using Washington’s maternity leave program, to fund a leave that lasted 4 months. Then I worked part-time for another 6 months.

When my husband left his job as a nurse in 2022, I was again faced with something I thought was impossible. When we did the math — and added paying for our own health insurance to the mix — I needed to bring in $20,000 per month with my business, which was nearly double what I’d made in years previous. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. So I started listening to podcasts from women who were earning at this mark. I heard them talking about hiring assistants and becoming S Corps. I listened to their ways of talking about work. And I used those strategies to give my own leap a try. In the end, it worked (and continues to work).

Later that year, I joined a mastermind group with women I perceived as being “ahead” of me on the business trajectory so I could see evidence, day in and day out: This big dream I had was possible. If these people could do it, so could I. And again, I did: This last month, I had my highest revenue month ever: $35,000 in one month.

What I told Kailey was that I put myself in a room with expanders — people who believed that more was possible. My brain wasn’t apt to believe I could grow my business and maintain my peace but in these spaces, I had evidence I couldn’t ignore that it was possible for me, too.

Kailey and I spent a month putting together a new vision for her life and business: She wanted to move to a house with space for a garden, work with more dream clients, double her revenue, travel overseas once per year, and join a coworking space nearby.

Then we made a game plan to help support her in this growth. She needed a coach (me!) but she also needed to be in a community where the people around her believed that more was possible — where they were working toward those visions with soul, gentleness and focus. She found a small women-in-business group in her city that fit the bill.

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What I want you to hear today is that we all have upper limits. We all carry around beliefs about how good things can get. And it’s my job as your coach and your teacher to help you see that your limits are there for a good reason (probably because they feel protective). But more is possible. You can appreciate your life right now, as it is. AND you can dream bigger.

The question isn’t “Can I have these things I dream of?”

The question becomes “HOW can I have these things I dream of?”

Then, we make a game plan that includes support.

It gets to be this good.

xo,

Jenni

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Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach living in Central Oregon. My goal is to teach everyone who will listen that it’s possible to build a simple, stable, successful business that supports your human needs first. Join my group coaching program, SUSTAIN, for more conversations like this (and a community of expanders who are all on the path less taken), and follow me on LinkedIn & Instagram.