Build a 7 Figure Lifestyle Business Without Losing Your Friends, Your Marriage, or Your Mind

I know. It’s a bold claim.

You’re probably used to hearing warnings like…

Want to grow your lifestyle business? Get ready for 100-hour work weeks for the next 5 years.

and…

Say goodbye to everything and everyone you love. Your partner, friends, hobbies and sleep are all about to come second.

Then you’re told that even if you sacrifice everything, you aren’t guaranteed success. You’re told time and time again that you’re risking your life (and life savings) on a business that may still fail.

I’m here to tell you this is BS.

Only naive entrepreneurs give up their health for the sake of their business.

Only egotistical entrepreneurs think they are the single person who can “do it right”… which is why they end up working 100-hour weeks for 5 years.

Only masochistic entrepreneurs faceplant over and over again, instead of asking for guidance and support from someone who’s been there and done that.

You, my founder friend, are neither naive nor egotistical nor masochistic. In fact, that’s why you’re here…

You want to feel healthy and energized. You want to take a month off without worrying that everything will fall apart. You want to be there for your kids. You want to be present when you spend time with your significant other. You want all that—and you still want to build a successful lifestyle business.

Is this insane?

No.

You just have to work smarter, not harder.

Didn’t you start your company for the chance to be your own boss? For the freedom of having more than 2 weeks off every year?

While you could take a cushy 6-figure consulting job with full benefits and a 401k…

You built your lifestyle business because you wanted to live life on your terms.

I’m Alex McClafferty and I built WP Curve. When I joined, the company was doing $478 in monthly revenue. After 24 months, I’d grown the team to 35 people, increased revenue to over 7 figures per year and delegated everything to my amazing remote team.

That success opened doors for me to consult for companies like Oracle and Intuit.

In 2016, I sold WP Curve to GoDaddy for a life-changing amount of money.

This is not a humblebrag. I’m not a guru or wannabe trying to sell my 17-step plan to make your millions in 30 days.

No, I’m telling you this because I believe, with all of my heart, that the expectations for entrepreneurs are toxic, and that you deserve to:

😂 Skip the stupid mistakes every entrepreneur makes during year 2 and 3 of growing their business – I can admit, I’ve made all of them.

🌱 Grow a successful lifestyle business, make more money than you know what to do with and still have a life.

✈️ Take plenty of time off to do the things you love without worrying if your business collapsed in the 2 days you lost internet access.

While growing WP Curve, I noticed a trend.

I’d go out to coffee with some founder friends, and everyone would be refreshing their phones while half-heartedly attempting conversation. I watched a lot of marriages fail and friendships fray. I saw the desire to be “an internet celebrity” take over everything else.

On a personal level, I gained 35 pounds from drinking 6-packs every night and eating entire deep-dish pizzas by myself. I used caffeine to increase my energy and alcohol to slow myself down.

Even worse was that I neglected my wife, instead devoting my attention to task after pointless task without stepping back to ask myself the big questions:

Why was I building this company?
What did I want my life to look like?
Was my day-to-day supporting where I wanted to be in 5, 10 years?

The last answer was easy: No. No, it wasn’t.

Basketball changed everything.

Okay, fine, REAL TALK changed everything, but it happened because I wanted to dunk. I’d played basketball for 10 years… and I was the real-life Woody Harrelson in White Men Can’t Jump.

I told my friend Matt about my new weight program and how it would help me achieve my goal. He took one look at me and said, “Dude, don’t bother with the program. You just need to lose some weight.”

Point taken.

As it turns out, I enjoyed the process. I had a lot of fun getting back into shape. I’d play basketball at lunch for 2 hours, execute like a beast in the afternoon and get home by 6 to be fully present with my wife.

Having someone be honest with me (rather than feeding my inflated ego) made a world of difference. Once my health started to change, my business changed too. I realized I didn’t need to be the one to pay invoices or answer support tickets. Slowly but surely, I phased myself out of the business—and wouldn’t you know it, the business grew.

In 2015, I took nearly 3 weeks off to adventure through South America with limited internet access.

Wedding vow renewal on our anniversary in Macchu Picchu

And when I returned, my business was in better shape than when I left.

Today, I go out for coffee with founders and still watch them compulsively check their phone. I look at them and think, “When you’ve made yourself the glue of your business, you have to step back to get unstuck.”

Now, at this point in the story, you may be thinking something along the lines of…

Yes, but…

…I can’t take a step back.

…I have _____________ [emails to read/people to hire/funding to raise/a family to feed]

If you’re already listing all the reasons you can’t both live the life your dream lifestyle and enjoy a turnkey business, know this:

This story is not just about me – it’s about you.

You can grow your lifestyle business, make your millions, have dozens of doors open to you, get featured on Fox News and stay sane.

Just ask Jon…

“I was present for the first 2 years of my son’s life.”

“After reading a blog post about how Alex built WP Curve, I sent him an email with a slew of questions. That email changed my life.

Alex helped me see what really mattered, nudging me in the right direction, asking the right questions and helping me envision ‘why’ I was building the business.

It’s interesting to look back on that vision now. It happened almost exactly as Alex said it would:

We hit our revenue target one week before my 30th birthday – literally within 7 days of my initial goal.
I took time off to be there for the first two years of my son’s life. That’s something most people learn later after regretting “missing out” on their children’s lives.
My family and I moved into a new house and are getting ready for the arrival of our next child.

Alex’s insight, experience and willingness to help was instrumental in getting to where we are now.”

~ Jon Tucker | HelpFlow

Or Andrew…

“I 4xed my income.”

Alex has this rare ability to empathize while calling me out on all of my bullshit excuses. He’s always there to keep me honest and challenge me to think bigger.

Since meeting 3 years ago, I’ve used his advice to 4x my income and get 3 promotions from entry-level sales rep to mid-market account executive. I would recommend him to any entrepreneur wanting to grow their company.

~ Andrew Case | Zenefits

I love helping entrepreneurs go further, faster.

I believe that you can have everything you want, but first, you need to get your priorities in order.

You can easily sidestep the stupid, avoidable and non-obvious hurdles that I tripped over.

So lay it on me.

If you need a friend, a mentor or just an ear from someone who’s been there before, you have two options:

Read the articles below and watch my feature on Fox News:

Or get immediate 1:1 help. Ask me anything. Get the scoop on how I did __________. Vent about your biggest challenge. Talk through your latest problem.

Trust me, I’ve heard it all. I’m here to help. My email is first name dot last name at gmail dot com – shoot me a note if you’d like to chat 🙂