Natalie Ellis: Is Your Business Trapping You? How to Build One That Runs Without You | Entrepreneurship | E404

**Hala Taha** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (1:37)
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**Natalie Ellis** (2:07)
I think there is a myth that a freedom-based business is not a scalable business.
I completely disagree. My last maternity leave, I took off 12 weeks completely off the grid, not in Slack, not on calls, nothing. My team generated $2.2 million, zero ad spend. That's really powerful. If your business can do that when you're out of office, it's incredible.

**Hala Taha** (2:28)
Natalie Ellis is the CEO of Bossbabe, a best-selling author and one of most influential voices in online business. In this episode, Natalie shares how she rebuilt her business from the ground up, created systems that generate revenue without constant hustle, and learned to prioritize alignment over endless growth.

**Natalie Ellis** (2:47)
I always knew I wanted my business to be a vehicle to help me live the life I wanted to live. I have always valued freedom.

**Hala Taha** (2:55)
Use this word harmony instead of balance. What's the difference?

**Natalie Ellis** (2:59)
I say harmony instead of balance because balance seems there is a perfect balance. Harmony is I'm very intentional about what my life and business requires from me in each season, and I'm willing to be really flexible about how I get there. If you have really big goals in your business, you are going to have to sacrifice on the personal side to hit those goals.

**Hala Taha** (3:16)
You've got this activity called a to-be list that you talk about in your book. How does somebody do that?

**Natalie Ellis** (3:22)
I like to think about how I want to be. So often we run off a to-do list, and if you're not careful, your entire calendar can reflect your to-do list.
One thing I did is like.

**Hala Taha** (3:36)
Natalie, welcome to Young and Profiting Podcast.

**Natalie Ellis** (3:38)
I'm excited. Thanks for having me.

**Hala Taha** (3:40)
I'm so excited that you're here. I've been following your page, Boss Babes, for the last 10 years. It's been such an inspiration for me, and it's just so cool to have the woman behind that massive page here today. So thank you for joining us.

**Natalie Ellis** (3:54)
Thank you.

**Hala Taha** (3:55)
I know that you have a new book, and one of the first stories that you bring up in the book is you, one month after having your baby, basically having a breakdown on your bathroom floor. Suddenly, this business that you thought was going to bring you so much success and freedom felt like a prison.
Take us back to that day. What were you feeling? Was it really a breakdown or a breakthrough?

**Natalie Ellis** (4:20)
Yeah, that's a great question. It was definitely a breakdown, and I don't think the breakthrough came for a long, long time after that.
When I had my first daughter, I had a really traumatic birth with her, and my body was stuck in fight or flight for a long time, and I went through post-partum depression and anxiety, which takes a lot of time to come out of. I would say I had a dark night of a soul that lasted nine months at least.