We were lucky to catch up with Cammy Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cammy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
I will never forget the feeling I had while sitting at my computer 5 years ago. Stomach in knots, with my 11-week-old son on my chest, searching things like, “make money from home that is not an MLM” and “how to make real money from home without selling” on the internet. I found plenty of search results that included playing internet games, taking surveys and being paid to post fake reviews for other businesses. I didn’t exactly feel inclined to do any of those things, but I‘d be lying if I said I didn’t strongly consider taking surveys out of sheer desperation. The thing is, at that time I had been in the network marketing industry for about 6 years and while it was a good fit for a time at the beginning, six years into it I had reached a point where I was so unhappy that I needed to find a way out. What makes my story unique is that I was at the very tippy top level of the company and making over $100K a year. Why would I ever want to walk away from that income? So. Many. Reasons. It started out great in the beginning…I went to the top level in 12 months and traded in my broken hail-damaged yellow Ford Escape for a FREE shiny new Mercedes Benz. I was dazzled for sure…but when you reach the top level of these companies, the view is very different from up there. I knew that regardless of the paycheck, this was not where I belonged and I couldn’t keep pretending that I was happy in that business. So rewind to me sitting in front of my computer with my newborn. I was panicked because my MLM paycheck was quickly shrinking month after month, and I needed to find a way to replace it before the well dried up. That was when I found a post in a Facebook group that introduced me to freelancing from home. This was a concept that I knew nothing about! I certainly didn’t know how to do anything “techy”, and I had never worked as a sole proprietor before. So, regardless of any fear I had brewing inside of me, I purchased a course that I found teaching me everything that I needed to know in order freelance from home. Just 14 days after announcing my WheelhouseVA business publicly, I landed my first client project which made me $2,000 and the rest is history. Now, I did say that I wasn’t “techy” and that was still very true. I just chose to get PAID TO LEARN as I went along. The same goes for every other skill I learned along the way, and now 5 years later I have a very lucrative, and in-demand, skill set that has generated over $400,000 since I began my freelancing journey back in 2018. Now perhaps that profit isn’t super impressive to some, but I did this only by working about 2-3 hours per day. If you do the math, that equates to about $167 per hour, and that’s more than my attorney charges! Not too shabby, eh? It’s actually really fun now that I have niched into services that I really enjoy and am naturally gifted at. The most recent development is that I generated $38,000 just in the month of August 2023 because I had an idea and I ran with it. I developed my own program that teaches others how to do what I do. It sold out in 2 hours and I couldn’t believe my eyeballs when it came time to cash out. Now that I have mastered the art of working part-time hours while making a full-time income, I am now embarking on building more passive streams of income to really stabilize and scale my business toward a bigger financial future for my family.
Cammy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Anyone who knows me well can tell you straight away that I am a totally transparent and super-invested boy mom. I adore watching my two oldest play Varsity football in the Fall and I love to bake cookies and snuggling in my bed with my two littles. I love the Lord with all my heart and serve faithfully as a worship leader at my church here in Kingwood, Texas and I have a dog that is literally the best pup on the planet. My husband Nathan has always been my greatest supporter, and over the last 19 years, we have made a pretty wonderful life together. So here’s the deal. Some people choose to make “building an empire” and “being a dent maker” their top priority, and more power to them! I don’t hate it…it’s just not my priority to do those things. Right now, my boys are my priority. My family is my life’s greatest work, and I am raising my four sons not just to be good men, but also to be loving husbands and dedicated fathers someday. I want to give them every opportunity to make a life for themselves that they can be proud of, but I do that mostly by showing them how in my own life. I want them to see that you don’t always have to trade your joy for money. You don’t have to give up on the life that you want and be chained to the “JOB” mentality. Instead, they can create the life they want by working for themselves! Entrepreneurship has always been in my blood and while my husband is a teacher, and is living out his calling in life, it is up to me to bridge the financial gap to provide for our large family. I want to do that on my own terms and in a way that allows me to show up for my clients AND my family in all the ways that I desire. When it comes to my business and my brand, I am an open book. My life online looks a lot like my life offline. I really do try to be totally authentic when I show up in the online arena which I believe is a major contributor to my success. People don’t see me portraying perfection, but instead, they see a real wife and mother pursuing progress and striving to do my best. At the same time, they also see me pursue my business endeavours with vigour and tenacity. I am full-court press when I need to be, and I also make room for rest and mental health days as well. So my business is woven into my life in such a way that I get to have both time and money. These are normally two things that we are forced to choose between, but I found a way to provide and never have to choose business over my family. This is my brand…this is my message…this is my calling. I think the most important thing for people to understand is that not everyone is creative in my industry…and they make a LOT of money freelancing. I love to make things beautiful, I love to design logos and branding and make gorgeous websites, marketing funnels and courses for my clients. But, there are freelancers who are incredible with numbers, financials, and math. They offer totally different services that include tax preparation, accounting, billing and payroll. That’s the beauty of freelancing….anyone can do it and any industry can benefit from your services. You’re not “techy”? Neither was I. You’re not creative? Well, I didn’t think I was either until I realized I was, and I grew into a gift that I didn’t even know I had! Untapped potential is a very beautiful thing, and until you take a wild expedition into that incredible brain of yours, you will never know what you are capable of. Don’t dismiss the idea of freelancing just because you don’t know how to do something, because people are looking for help with almost anything. They need help with administrative support, booking appointments, handling emails and customer service, logistics and meeting minutes. The list goes on and on…freelancing is a world of opportunity and it is the way of the future. Start now, or down the road you will only wish you had started sooner.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Something that I have learned along the way is that pushing yourself to try new things is extremely important to finding success. We all know that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. However, if this new thing you tried isn’t bringing you joy, and it’s a total life suck, then do something else! I feel like there is a cultural norm happening within the work-from-home mom community that tells us to push ourselves harder, learn how to be better, read self-development books, “live outside our comfort zone” and never be satisfied with where we are at…always have a new goal. Yeah, no. I don’t agree with this hustle culture phenomenon! What if we stopped believing the lie that complacency and contentment are the same thing? What if we allowed ourselves to be comfortable in our accomplishments and settle into our sweet spot once we find it? I am a firm believer in finding your gifts and doubling down there. No more trying to grow and perfect areas of weakness, and feeling like you’re not enough because you can’t do what others are doing. We are not meant to all be the same and the comparison game snuffs people out. We are not meant to all be good at the same things! The world needs you just as you are and while personal growth is a vital component to success in life, I am determined to pour truth into all of the women that were told they were a quitter, no good, or made to feel like a failure because they never mastered a skill or an “opportunity” that was outside of their area of giftedness. What if we stopped trying to be better at the things we are bad at, and instead we found what we are good at and build a foundation there? No more putting a square peg in a round hole day in and day out. It’s time to embrace who we are organically and celebrate the beauty of our differences and the talents we each bring to the table. For example, I recall trying SO HARD to be good at copy editing when I first started my business. But, I quickly learned that I am not naturally good at this. I just don’t have the brain to catch mistakes and typos. It’s not my gift. So,every time I made a mistake and my client caught it, I would feel so bad about myself. Then one day it occurred to me that I am totally in control of my business offerings and I don’t have to feel this way anymore. I’m a creative by nature and my ability to give attention to detail depends on the project. I just needed to tell my clients from the very beginning that copy editing isn’t a service that I offer because I suck at it! I am not afraid to let people see my shortcomings, and I am aware that I am of great value in all of the other aspects of what I do. I am a gifted creative that nerds out on all things techy, automation and platform integration. I decided let go of what I was not naturally good at, and doubled down where my genius already flies! Everything changed for me when I made this shift in my business, and it turns out that my clients really don’t care that I don’t offer copy editing services. They are last eyes on everything and they are still perfectly happy with the services I provide them. My business, my life, my terms, my choice. This is the way to go, and I can’t understand why more people don’t do it? Because, they can.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
One of the reasons that I love what I do is the response that I get from my clients at the end of a project. Whether it be a website design, a new logo design, a marketing funnel or an automated course, it needs to be functional on the backend and also to be beautiful on the front end. Not only do I love to create and design pages that are aesthetically pleasing, I also love to grab the essence of my clients and weave that into my work as well. I never want my designs to be one-dimensional or look the same as the last project. I want to know my clients well enough to create something that truly reflects who they are and what they are all about. Some are bold in color because they are a big presence in the world, others are softer muted colors because they are more reserved and a soft place to land for their clients. Then there are some who are more neutral with earthy colors who have a genuine spirit to serve and and a desire to not draw attention to themselves. I definitely have a certain style when it comes to my creative work, but I always come back with something new and different for each person who comes to me with a need. My creative process cannot be forced, however. Sometimes I need a day to rest and marinate on things, and I know I won’t put out my best work if I am not in the mindset of creating. But when I start a project, it is literally like an artist with a blank canvas. I feel my way through it, I shift things around, I shape it using different colors as I build out the overall look of a page or a design, and slowly it comes to life on the screen. Once I find my flow, the rest just pours out of me. I have never experienced anything like it before! I have clients that will ask me what I have in mind for their website and I always respond with, “I don’t know yet. To be determined…stay tuned!”. It makes them a little nervous at first, because it requires them trusting me. But, in the end they are always thrilled with the final product. It feels SO GOOD to get messages like, “OMG CAMMY I LOVE IT!!!” and “I love how you took my vision and up-leveled it! Amazing!!!”. I am a “words of affirmation” kinda girl, so hearing this positive feedback from my clients feels incredible. To know that they feel taken care of, heard, seen and embraced for exactly who they are, and given a final product that feels like an authentic representation of their vision and their business, well it doesn’t get much better than that. To birth something from my own heart and mind that delivers something so important and meaningful to others is a very rewarding process for sure.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wheelhouseva.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cammyklee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cammykerrisonlee
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheelhousevacammylee/
- Other: https://stan.store/wheelhouseva
Image Credits
Cammy Lee