What if you could set your own hours and have time for everything that happens around work?

It almost sounds too good to be true, but it’s a question that is especially relevant for women who want to blend their ambition with life outside of work. Right now, there are 252 million women around the world taking the leap into entrepreneurship. Many say flexibility is their top priority.

After all, too many women still experience the ‘broken rung’ when it comes to their building their careers (sexism, microaggressions, presenteeism, etc). We can focus on the problem and what needs to change at an institutional level, but many women, including myself, also want and need a practical solution ASAP to how we balance earning a living with everything else on our ‘life’ to-do list.

I’m writing The Lifestyle Startup for those who want to run their own thing but at their own pace (including myself).

We want to keep earning, building new skills or advancing existing ones, and growing professionally – but on our own terms. I’m very familiar with the tech startup world, having spent over a decade in it. In launching my own lifestyle startup, I’ve taken the most relevant concepts from that world and adapted them.

Flexibility was my guiding principle when coming up with my own business, Copy & Co. Yet when I was searching for inspiration to launch it, I found most of the business books for women slightly patronising and focused on ‘having confidence’ and basic business steps. I found most of the business books for men echoed the startup bro mentality that I was trying to run away from.

The Lifestyle Startup is the definitive ‘balanced business’ book for people wanting to build an independent business in the 2020s.

It offers a refreshing new approach to entrepreneurship, prioritising work-life balance and tailoring business models to individual lifestyles rather than conforming to traditional corporate norms. While not written exclusively for women, it features women business owners as examples. 

These business owners are based around the world, from London to Switzerland to San Diego. I have also chosen relatable women. While I appreciate the inspiration offered by global mega-millionaire icons like Arianna Huffington and Sheryl Sandberg, I think there’s way more room for other stories.

This book celebrates a new type of business, which is less corporate and more artisan.

It’s about building businesses centred on sustainability, craftsmanship and freedom. It’s about following something you’re interested in and building a sustainable venture around it.

It’s not about chasing rainbows or thinking that a ‘dream job’ falls magically on your lap. It’s not about racing to raise millions of dollars so you can build the next Facebook. It’s about building something that works for you.

I’m still in the research stages, but if you know someone I should speak to, please email me at adele@copyand.co - thanks!