Happy Birthday Freedom Makers!

Happy Birthday, Freedom Makers!

We are seven years young this month. Our journey has been an amazing one so far, and it blows my mind when I look back and realize just how far we have come!

When I started Freedom Makers, I knew I wanted us to create something different and do it in our own way. I believed we had a solid concept and that we could be successful, but until we were profitable, I admit to having a seed of doubt (I mean, everybody does things the same way because it works, right?). Doing something different would require some risk and a lot of faith! 

At the time, I was working with small business owners, helping them with their recruiting. I recognized a recurring theme: the small business owners I worked with needed help, but they were very hesitant about hiring an employee in the traditional sense. They weren't sure if their fluctuating revenue streams would be able to support a salaried employee and were uncomfortable with the additional financial strain of providing benefits, a workplace, equipment, etc. They didn't want to commit to paying an employee if they only needed help a few weeks out of the month or a couple of hours each week. They needed help but didn't feel like it made sense financially.

At the same time, my brother, on active duty in the Air Force, was given orders to move. Again I found myself having a conversation with my sister-in-law about how the move would affect her employment and what she was planning to do for work once they got settled in their new location.

It was a lightbulb moment for me!

I knew that pairing military spouses with small business owners would be a win-win. Connecting these two groups would accomplish two things simultaneously. It would alleviate stress and burnout for business owners while not causing an unmanageable financial burden. And it would help address the significant unemployment and under-employment issues military spouses experience.

Back in 2015, remote work was still new to many businesses that were used to operating in traditional ways.

I had already started (and closed!) two small businesses at this point, so I was fortunate enough to start Freedom Makers using lessons learned. From the beginning, I knew that military spouses were intelligent, professional, capable, and determined. I knew their value, so I started with the people. I found clients in the Bay area who were open to outsourcing work to a virtual assistant. I worked hard to pair those clients with the right military spouses who could step into their business, get up to speed and boost productivity quickly. It worked, and our reputation grew. Our priority is making the right matches between clients and Freedom Makers to this day. Focusing on the people has proven to be the path to our success.

I would say that while I am really proud of our growth (we had over 200% growth in 2021!), I am most proud of some of the intangible things about Freedom Makers. First, we do things differently - in our own way. We established our guiding principles - freedom, transparency, and striving for excellence - and we have held ourselves accountable to them. We have worked to establish our systems and document our approach so that we can continue growing sustainably and in a way that we can feel proud of.

Sure, we've made mistakes, but we always try to learn from them. It is crushing when a client we bring on dismisses the value of administrative support or when a Freedom Maker doesn't fully appreciate the support our agency provides or the opportunity to work flexible hours and move their job with them. But those instances are atypical and do not define our culture.

I am genuinely grateful for our internal team. They are all committed to our guiding principles and to our approach. We succeed through transparency, crossing lanes for each other, and genuinely believing in our mission. I pinch myself at what we've built together.

I am also very grateful for our clients who value their Freedom Maker and us. And I am thankful for the Freedom Makers who are committed to choosing freedom for themselves and supporting their clients. They are dedicated, value their work, and enjoy being part of a community.

We have come so far in seven years, and I am so excited about where we'll go next. That's part of the fun we've created — we never know what new idea for improvement we'll have! Each time we've had a brainstorm, it's been a great experiment to try out, with some amazing advancements (IVY) and some… learning experiences! 

Thank you for being part of our journey.

Happy Birthday, Freedom Makers!