What would you do if your world fell apart overnight? If you suddenly found yourself a single parent with two young kids, no family nearby, no financial safety net, and the terrifying realisation that you needed to become the sole breadwinner — fast?
That’s exactly what happened to Audrey Hills. And her story is one of the most powerful examples I’ve ever seen of how learning to start an online business can completely transform your life — not just financially, but in terms of genuine lifestyle freedom and lasting financial security.
When Audrey first joined our community, she was a part-time account manager earning modest money, tinkering with websites on the side, and relying on her partner as the main breadwinner. Less than 18 months later — after going through one of the most difficult personal upheavals imaginable — she’s running her own digital agency, earning $15,000 a month, and scaling towards $30,000 a month. She’s financially independent, she controls her own schedule, and she’s building an asset that could one day be worth over a million dollars.
I asked Audrey to come on the Digital Investors Podcast and share her story because I believe it carries a message that so many people need to hear right now. Whether you’re a mum feeling trapped, someone stuck in a corporate job, or anyone who’s ever wondered whether it’s really possible to build a real business online — watch the full interview below.
The Starting Point: A Side Hustle Dream and a Nagging Feeling That Something Had to Change
Audrey’s story didn’t start with some dramatic entrepreneurial leap. It started the way many of our students’ journeys begin — with a quiet frustration and a growing curiosity about what else was possible.
Living in Manly on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Audrey was working remotely as an account manager for a LinkedIn marketing agency. She’d been there four years. The pay was okay, but it wasn’t life-changing. Her partner ran a landscape construction company and was the primary income earner, while Audrey juggled the household, the kids, helping with his business marketing, and her part-time job.
As she described it to me: “My income was mostly spent on groceries and soccer and stuff like that.”
Sound familiar? So many people — especially women who’ve prioritised family — find themselves in this exact position. You’re contributing enormously, but when it comes to financial independence, you’re vulnerable. And deep down, you know it.
Audrey had always been interested in business. She’d been following entrepreneurs like Cody Sanchez and exploring the idea of buying a business. But the capital required for a physical business was out of reach. That’s when she discovered our podcast and something clicked.
“I started just binging out on the podcast and ditched all the other things I was listening to. Because I was like, this is something I can do and the capital investment isn’t super high.”
She’d tinkered with websites before — building simple sites on Wix and Squarespace for her partner’s landscaping business and her personal surfing blog. But she’d never learned WordPress, never understood SEO, and had never ranked a website. She knew those were the skills she needed, and she was determined to learn them.
Learning the Skills and Taking Massive Action
Audrey spent about eight or nine months listening to our podcast and self-educating before she joined our Digital Investors Program (Champions) in September 2024. By that point, she’d already built her first SEO-optimised WordPress website in April of that year.
What I love about Audrey’s approach is that she didn’t wait until everything was perfect. She started doing the work while she was still learning. And once she got inside our Champions community and saw the full system laid out in front of her, something shifted.
“Once I got into Champions, I was like, OK, I don’t want this just to be a side hustle. This is going to be my thing.”
By November 2024, she’d joined a local BNI networking group and committed fully to building a digital agency. By December — just three months after joining Champions — she quit her job.
Now, I’ll be honest with our readers: that’s faster than we typically recommend. I said as much to Audrey on the podcast. But she’d already proven the concept by selling her first website, she was burned out at her job, and she had the conviction that this was her path forward.
As she put it with a laugh: “I sold one website. I’m just like, I’m out.”
The Early Months: Hustle, Networking, and Building Momentum
Let’s be real — those first few months weren’t easy. Audrey’s income was low, hovering around $4,000 to $5,000 a month. She described herself as “freaking out and scrambling.” But instead of retreating back to the safety of a job, she doubled down.
She went to every networking event she could find. She spoke at a tradies’ event. She attended her own BNI group religiously and visited other groups. She got in front of as many potential clients as possible. And gradually, the referrals started flowing.
One of her early BNI clients became the perfect case study — she built their website, ran SEO for them, and delivered results. That case study led to another client, then another. Visitors to her BNI group would hire her for website builds. The flywheel was turning.
Here’s the income timeline she shared:
- Early 2025: $4,000–$5,000/month
- September 2025: $7,000–$8,000/month
- November 2025: $15,000/month
That’s a tripling of income in just a few months, built on the compounding effect of consistent networking, delivering great results, and following a proven system.
When Everything Fell Apart: Separation, Uncertainty, and the Power of a Digital Business
Here’s where Audrey’s story goes from impressive to truly extraordinary.
In March 2025, Audrey and her partner of 12–13 years separated. He moved out. She had the kids — her son, aged six, and her daughter, aged eleven — the vast majority of the time. There was no family backup (Audrey is originally from Southern California and has been in Australia for 14 years). And there was no financial safety net.
Think about that for a moment. A single mum in one of the most expensive suburbs in Australia, with two young kids, trying to get a brand-new business off the ground. The fear of having to give up and go back to a traditional job was very real.
“I was super worried that I would have to get a real job and go back to doing that.”
This is a situation that sadly affects far too many women in Australia and around the world. The financial vulnerability that comes with being the secondary earner in a relationship is something that often isn’t fully appreciated until the relationship ends. And by then, you’re scrambling.
But Audrey didn’t scramble into retreat. She scrambled forward.
The Mindset That Kept Her Going
I asked Audrey point-blank what kept her together during this period, because I knew from mentoring her how tough it was. Her answer was beautifully simple:
“You really just have to keep going and showing up every day. And I just kept doing that. I kept going to BNI and something would happen and it would be like, ‘Oh, I’m never going to make it through this.’ And then I’d get another job and I just kept going and going.”
Then, as if the universe wanted to test her resolve one more time, in September she received notice that she had to move out of the home she’d been in for ten years. At the time, it felt catastrophic. But it turned out to be a blessing — she found a place she and the kids love, and it coincided with her business hitting its stride.
“What else? Throw it at me. I can deal with it. I’m going to keep going and just keep charging through it.”
That’s resilience. That’s what it looks like when someone has a clear vision of the life they want and refuses to let circumstances dictate their future.
The Vision That Drove Everything: Lifestyle Freedom With Her Kids
One thing I noticed throughout my time mentoring Audrey is that her lifestyle freedom vision was crystal clear — and it never wavered. She wasn’t just chasing a revenue number. She was building something very specific.
“My biggest vision — and I’ve told everyone in BNI this like 4,000 times — is that when school holidays come, I want to be able to take my kids away, often overseas, and go surfing and still have a business that earns income. If I have to work for a couple of hours a day, I’m fine with that. But I don’t want to be tied to my desk and having to ask for time off from someone.”
This is exactly the kind of lifestyle business that digital skills make possible. Audrey’s agency, Surf Stoked Creative, lets her work around the things that matter most — her kids, their surfing competitions around New South Wales and Queensland, and travel. She doesn’t want to leave for a camping trip on Friday at 5pm and sit in traffic. She wants to leave on Thursday morning. And now she can.
That clarity of vision is something I’d encourage every reader to develop. When times get hard — and they will — it’s that vision that pulls you through.
Beyond Income: The Financial Security of Owning a Digital Asset
Here’s something that many people don’t fully appreciate until they experience it firsthand, and Audrey echoed this perfectly.
When you start an online business and build it properly, you’re not just creating income — you’re creating an asset. A sellable, valuable asset.
Audrey’s current goal is to scale her agency to $30,000 per month. As I explained to her — and as digital business brokers like Fiona Laidlaw from Flippa and Greg Elfrink from Empire Flippers have shared in previous interviews — a digital agency doing $30,000/month in revenue is potentially sitting on a million-dollar valuation.
For someone who went through a separation with virtually no financial safety net, that’s not just impressive — it’s life-changing. It’s the kind of financial security that can protect you and your family no matter what life throws at you.
Audrey is also discovering the other benefits of business ownership that most employees never get to experience:
- Tax advantages and deductions that reduce your taxable income
- The ability to finance assets (like a car) through the business
- Building equity in something you own and control
As Audrey put it: “There are so many benefits to owning your own business. A lot of your income gets spent above the line before you get to taxable income. You just don’t realise that until you’re actually experiencing it.”
Audrey’s Advice: Stop Waiting for Permission
When I asked Audrey what advice she’d give to other women (or anyone) who might be contemplating a major life change or feeling stuck, her answer was classic Audrey:
“Do what you want to do and then ask for permission. If I want to learn something, I will hack it as best as I can and then I’ll figure it out. But if I sat there paralysed with fear of making a mistake, I would never get past that. You just got to go for it.”
That mindset — action over perfection — is something I see in every one of our most successful students. The ones who win aren’t necessarily the most talented or the most experienced. They’re the ones who show up every day, follow the system, and refuse to quit.
Key Takeaways From Audrey’s Journey
Audrey’s story is a masterclass in what’s possible when you combine the right digital skills with determination and a clear vision. Here are the biggest lessons:
- You don’t need a massive budget to start. Audrey began with a podcast, free learning, and a low-cost website. The barrier to entry in digital business is lower than almost any other industry.
- A side hustle is insurance. Whether you’re in a corporate job or relying on a partner’s income, building digital skills and a side income stream protects you against the unexpected.
- Consistency beats talent. Audrey’s secret wasn’t some brilliant strategy. It was showing up — to BNI, to networking events, to client work — day after day, even when life was falling apart around her.
- Vision matters. Knowing exactly what lifestyle you want gives you the fuel to push through the hard times. Audrey’s vision of surfing with her kids during school holidays kept her moving forward when quitting would have been easier.
- You’re building an asset, not just income. A digital agency or online business isn’t just a job replacement — it’s a valuable, sellable asset that creates long-term financial security.
Is It Your Turn to Start an Online Business?
If Audrey’s story resonates with you — if you’re feeling stuck, vulnerable, or simply ready for something more — I want you to know that this is achievable. Not easy. Audrey would be the first to tell you it was incredibly hard at times. But achievable, if you’re willing to learn the skills, follow a proven system, and keep showing up.
Audrey went from zero digital marketing experience to a $15,000/month agency in under 18 months — through one of the most challenging periods of her life. She did it by learning WordPress, SEO, and website development through our training, then applying those skills to build a business that gives her both income and lifestyle freedom.
If you’d like to learn the same skills and follow the same system that Audrey used, I’d encourage you to check out our Digital Investors Program. It’s the exact training and community that gave Audrey her blueprint — and it could give you yours too.
As Audrey said when I asked her about the program: “You guys gave me a blueprint. Everything that you said would happen has basically happened.”
Business doesn’t have to be high risk. In fact, done right, it’s one of the lowest-risk paths to financial security available today. It just takes commitment, the right training, and the courage to start.
Audrey had the courage. Do you?
