From Side Hustles to Full-Time Freedom: My Journey & What I Wish I Knew Sooner

Ever wonder what it really takes to go from side hustle to full-time business owner? In this episode, I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes of my journey — from running creative businesses on the side while working full-time, to finally making the leap and building a business that supports my life (not the other way around).

I’ll take you through the wins, the wobbles, and the biggest lessons I wish someone had told me earlier. Plus, I’ll share the mindset shifts and marketing strategies that helped me find freedom, focus, and clients I actually love working with.

Whether you're still in the 9–5 or just feeling stuck in your business, this episode is here to remind you: you don’t have to do it perfectly — you just have to keep going.

🎧 Tune in now for a dose of honesty, inspiration, and practical advice you can actually use.

Connect with me

Website: www.newschoolofmarketing.com
Facebook: @newschoolofmarketing
Facebook group: @newschoolofmarketing
Instagram: @bianca_mckenzie

Work with me:

🟠 NEW SCHOOL OF MARKETING BUSINESS CLUB: a supportive, action-focused community where business owners get weekly coaching, expert feedback, and co-working sessions to stay consistent, accountable, and strategic with their marketing—so they can finally see real results.
https://newschoolofmarketing.com/club

🔵 MARKETING STRATEGY & COACHING: customised marketing strategies, expert guidance, and hands-on support to help business owners attract more leads, increase sales, and grow sustainably—without the guesswork. https://www.biancamckenzie.com/coaching/

⚫️ CHECK MY WEBSITE: https://www.biancamckenzie.com/

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Transcript

Welcome to the new School of Marketing podcast. I'm Bianca McKenzie and this is the place where we break down marketing strategies that actually work without the overwhelm.

Before we dive into this episode, I want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land I live and work on, the Palawa people of Lutruwita. I pay my respect to the elders, past and present and I acknowledge the deep connection they have to this land, culture and community.

Now let's dive in and make marketing work for you.

All right, in this episode,

I want to share something a bit more personal. I want to go into my journey into business and not because I think it's special.

You know, it's my story, it's my life. I don't think it's anything special, but I do know how valuable it can be to hear the real like the messy, the behind the scenes stories.

So yes, mine is not a rags to riches anything kind of thing, but I do want to share it.

So I was born in the Netherlands and I grew up there. And during university I went to study abroad for a year in the uk and then the year after I moved to Australia. And that was meant to be five months to do my work experience and they allowed me to also do my thesis here.

So I managed to stay for 12 months and then I just didn't really go back. So I did go back to graduate, but came back to Australia as soon as I could and nearly 20 years later I am still here and it's been a wild but wonderful ride.

And yes, I did meet someone and that's why I came back. And now I'm here.

Husband, two beautiful children, a horse, a pony, five chickens, two dogs. I'm well and truly settled into Australia, but let's keep going.

So my first taste of business came through creative pursuits.

Like I just needed to do something creative and I started designing patterns. I always had like a bit of a creative streak.

I was playing around with Photoshop and Illustrator and all of those kind of things.

And yeah, I decided to design patterns.

Then I learned of a local person who did something similar and got them printed on textiles. So I did that too.

It was pretty cool actually. Getting them screen printed on textiles.

And that passion led to actually co founding Ink and Spindle, a textile screen printing business. The beautiful girls of Ink and Spindle are still going. Ownership has changed a little bit, except for one person still there.

So, yeah, we started a textile screen printing business and at the time I was still working part time and I was juggling both worlds.

Eventually I went back to full time work because I really just missed the marketing side of things.

I think that's what I really just always loved. So I went back to full time work, but the spark of having my own business never really left.

So in 2014 I started helping small businesses with their marketing and just, you know, a few clients here and there and it was literally, it was a side hustle back then.

And then in 2016, I made the big leap. I went all in on business.

And you know what happened?

As soon as I went all in, the net just appeared. Like I made the leap, the net appeared, I figured it out and I made it work.

So going full time in my business taught me something that no course ever could.

And that is that action creates clarity.

Literally the moment I went full time in my business, I had a full schedule of clients where I was helping six and seven figure course creators attract more leads and sales through Facebook and Instagram advertising.

And then in 2018, I became a mum.

And like many parents running businesses,

I had to learn how to do it all differently, slower, smarter. I had to get more strategic.

And that's when I stopped trying to be everywhere because you just can't.

And I really started to get more intentional about what actually worked in terms of being a course creator and having my own suite of online courses.

So I kind of pivoted slightly from being a service provider, which, you know, I still do and I still am.

But to complement that, I also became a course creator.

And that meant that, you know, I had to create offers that people actually want, build my own system to attract leads as I was changing nappies and really just running Facebook ads with a purpose. But like my own Facebook ads, I've been doing this for clients for years, but now doing it for me.

And I also had to let go of that idea that being constantly on meant that I was doing it right because it wasn't. I didn't have to be constantly on because you can't, if you want to be, you know, part of the family and actually spend time with your children, you just can't be constantly on.

So there's a few lessons that I wish that someone had literally drilled into me earlier. Although I have to say, I may not have listened to it. I don't know.

I was one of those people before kids that just went, yeah, nah, fine, I can do it all.

So, yeah, I'll take those words back now.

You can't do it all.

So I'm going to share my lessons here with you. So the first one is that start with one solid offer.

Don't overcomplicate it, nail it, then scale it.

It's really easy to fall into the trap of creating, like, multiple offers too early, especially, you know, when inspiration strikes or when sales are slow. But more offers too necessarily mean more revenue.

In fact, they usually actually dilute your focus. They confuse your audience, and you just scatter your energy.

So start with one offer that solves a specific problem for a specific person and pour all your time into making that irresistible.

Validate it through feedback, refine your messaging and how you talk about it. And once you know that it converts, just go hard on scaling.

So until then, simplify and go deep.

The next lesson is that your business does not need more content, it needs more conversions.

You don't need to be on every platform. You don't need to post daily, go viral, all those things.

What you need is a content strategy that guides people towards a clear outcome, and that is working with you or buying from you.

Content isn't just about visibility.

There is a part of that, you know, there is a visibility part.

It is about building trust and prompting action.

So, yes, you need visibility, but you also need to build trust and then prompting action.

Focus on creating content that moves your audience through the buying journey.

That means that you need to show them that you understand their struggles.

You need to offer value and you need to make it clear how you help them, how you can help them.

Don't just create to fill the space.

You need to create, to convert. So you need to really clearly understand your audience and what their journey is.

Who is this person?

What stage are they in? Are they problem aware? Are they solution aware even?

Where do they come into that cycle?

The next lesson I learned is that marketing is a long game. I mean, it's not something I learned. I knew that already.

And consistency beats intensity every single time.

One massive content push or a week of, like, perfect marketing is not going to build a sustainable business.

I've talked about this, you know, the scatter approach, the random acts of marketing.

No, you need to show up consistently, even if it's imperfect.

Marketing's like fitness, honestly, and trust me, I don't like fitness, I like marketing. I don't like fitness. It's like fitness. You do not see the results overnight. But the small actions that you take day after day add up. Whether it's sending an email every week, posting on social media regularly, or actually following up with leads, because you really do need to do that.

It's literally the accumulated consistency that is going to lead to growth.

Every single person I've worked with, you know, all the six and seven figure entrepreneurs that I've worked with, it's not like they have anything special. They literally just show up.

They just, they show up like time after time after time. They don't give up, they just keep showing up.

Little steps. And over time, it all compounds. It's like, it accumulates.

Like, it's not like they're different than you and I. You don't have to go hard, you just have to keep going.

Another lesson that I was, you know, that was drilled into me is that you don't need more followers. You need a strategy that turns the right ones into buyers.

Again, I know this, but sometimes you get caught up, right? It's like, oh, I need more followers. No, chasing followers is like filling a leaky bucket. It looks really good from the outside, but really it doesn't pay the bills.

What really matters is whether the people following you are actually engaged, aligned and ready to buy.

It really doesn't matter how many followers you have. If no one is going to buy, you know, what's the point?

So instead of focusing on, you know, gross hacks, you need to focus on depth. Are you building real relationships? Are you showing your expertise? Are you inviting people to take the next step? And all of these are important because the goal isn't a bigger audience, but you need a better converting one. And I know that a lot of people actually forget to make that offer.

Like, like people actually don't know how they can work with you. Go and check that. Do they actually know how they can work with you? Because some people don't.

Another one is leap. The net will appear. Seriously, waiting for everything to be perfect means that you'll never start. There's never a perfect time.

Your website will never feel finished. You'll never feel a hundred percent ready. And that's okay.

The truth is, clarity and confidence come from action, not the other way around.

Every single successful business owner has taken messy, imperfect action before they felt ready.

When you leap, you give yourself the opportunity to learn, to grow and figure things out as you go.

The net, it's the skills, the support and the resilience that you build along the way. So take the step.

I tell my kids this every single time they say I can't do something.

I literally ask them, how did you learn to walk?

And their answer is, by doing it. How did you learn to run? By doing it. How did you learn to ride a bike? By doing it.

Literally. It is that simple.

You need to take the step.

Start before you're ready. Because, honestly, you're not ever going to be ready.

I'm telling you that now.

Learn along the way.

You will get better.

Trust me.

Okay.

That is exactly why I created the new School of Marketing Business Club.

Because, you know, I have also been that personal person, Googling at midnight, trying to figure it all out, trying to find the answers.

And I've had the moments where I just wanted someone to say, here's what to do. Here's what to focus on. And that's why I have joined Mastermind and, you know, business groups, because I need that help, too.

And I know you do, too.

So inside the club, you get guidance, you get structure, you get accountability so that you can grow your business in a way that fits your life, not the other way around.

If you're in the messy middle, I want you to know it gets clearer.

You don't need to hustle your way to burnout. You just need the right support. You need a plan and a little bit of courage.

And I hope that sharing my story helped you see what's possible and maybe gave you the nudge to take that next step. I hope it did.

Or it does. Because, yeah, there's no such thing as, you know, perfection. Everybody starts at zero. Everyone starts at zero.

Cool.

If you love this episode, send me a DM on Instagram. Share it with a friend who's on this journey, too. And if you are ready to stop spinning your wheels and build a business that feels doable, I would love to see you inside the club.

Thank you so much for tuning in to the new School of Marketing podcast. I hope it gave you some actionable insights to actually, you know, move your business forward.

And. And if you're ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level and really just grow, I would love it if you would join the new School of Marketing Business Club.

It's a vibrant, supportive community of entrepreneurs and marketers who are dedicated to working smarter and achieving sustainable success.

In the business club, you'll get exclusive access to advanced strategies, coaching, and resources that will help you build a stronger brand and a more profitable, sustainable business.

All right, if you want to learn more, head over to thenewschoolofmarketing.com to learn more and to sign up today. And as always, thank you so, so much for being part of this journey.

Until next time, keep marketing your business every day.