From CMO to Freedom: How Jeff Baker Built a 40K+ Subscriber List While Working Less and Earning More

Are you tired of sacrificing your freedom for a steady paycheck? Do you wonder if it's possible to build a consulting business that gives you both financial security AND time to enjoy life?

In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Jeff Baker, a business data and SEO consultant who deliberately designed his consulting practice to maximize both income and personal freedom.

Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you're a consultant who struggles with balancing client work and personal time, or if you've been trying to build an audience without much success, Jeff's journey offers practical wisdom you can apply immediately. Instead of working 50+ hours hunched over a laptop, Jeff has created a lifestyle where he can take walks, play pickleball, and work on passion projects while maintaining a thriving consulting practice.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• How to overcome perfectionism and find your product-market fit through constant testing and iteration
• Why building an audience BEFORE creating products is critical to success
• How to find the sweet spot between income and personal freedom
• Strategies for nurturing a professional network that generates consistent referrals
• The mindset shift required to push through periods of uncertainty and self-doubt
• Why relying on data rather than blind faith leads to better business decisions
• How to turn failures into valuable stepping stones for your business

Listen to These Key Moments:

06:30 - Finding Your Sweet Spot: Jeff explains how budgeting helped him determine his minimum viable income and find the balance between earning enough and having freedom.

12:05 - Don't Fear Feedback: Why asking for and embracing negative feedback is crucial to improving your consulting offerings.

19:50 - Building a 50K Audience: Jeff shares the iterative process that helped him build a subscriber base of over 40,000 people by focusing on what his audience actually wanted.

23:00 - The Minimum Viable Product Approach: How Jeff learned to avoid perfectionism and get his services in front of clients faster.

37:15 - Overcoming Self-Doubt: Practical strategies for pushing through uncertainty by focusing on data instead of emotions.

40:45 - Learning Through Stories: Why Jeff prefers learning from real-world practitioner stories over business books.

Connect with Jeff Baker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bakerseo/ 

Website: beachcommute.com