Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Holly Rustick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Holly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

I started writing grants after the Asian Tsunami back in 2004 after working in Indonesia in one of the most devastated communities. If you would have told me that 20 years into the future that I would have the #1 grant writing podcast in the world, would have secured $46 million in grant funding for amazing causes, would have helped hundreds of people leave toxic nonprofit jobs and started successful grant writing companies – I probably would have looked at you with an arched eyebrow.

For one thing, I didn’t even know what a grant writer was back then, even though I was doing it. I just considered myself a ‘liaison’ to connect money to mission. It wasn’t until a year later, once back in the Northern Virginia area, that I would find myself working at a virtual grant writing agency.

I loved the work, and the work that nonprofits around the world were doing. I loved how novel it was that I could write grants from a tiny office in the Shenandoah mountains. The travel bug bit again leading to a teaching job in Kuwait, but I didn’t want to let this grant writing job go. Without knowing what it was called again, I went from grant writer employee to freelance grant writer. I moved to Kuwait but kept working on the side for the grant writing company. At first my boss at the grant writing company wasn’t sure, but I insisted saying it would be no different as our clients were all online anyway.

For context, this was WAY back before the pandemic and before freelancing abroad was even called ‘digital nomad.’ But it made sense. And better than that: it worked. I kept ‘side hustling’ after Kuwait when I went to get a Master’s degree in Belgium. Everywhere I went, no matter the country, I either got offered a job or had extra work on the side because of my grant writing skills. Sure my bachelors and masters degrees were great, but it was the grant writing skills that opened every door. For years, I would ebb and flow with working inside nonprofit organizations and have the side hustle on the side. But it wasn’t until 2014 that I went full-time in a grant writing business.

At first, I just offered direct done-for-your grant writing services. I always had more than enough work as people knew me from the grants that I had secured for nonprofit organizations, but I felt trapped by this feeling of exchanging time for money. I knew I could break my financial glass ceiling as a full-time business owner, but it wasn’t until I leaned into the thought of growing an audience that I able to make that first jump. This was back in 2016. I was living on the island of Guam, and wanted to grow an audience without taking a 24 hour flight to the States (or paying for the $2,000+ ticket).

The answer? Starting a Grant Writing podcast.

That started to have some legs to it. Strangers from different places started emailing me and joining my email list. I wasn’t making anything extra at first, but I was seeing what people responded to and was testing out my ability to connect through the airwaves with others.

The next answer? Write a book about how to write grants. By that time I had been writing grants for 12 years and coupled that into my teaching experience. It worked. My book quickly reached #1 in 14 categories on Amazon.

That worked. Next? Create an On-Demand Grant Writing Course.

I first published it on Udemy and quickly sold nearly 1,000 courses. My online business in teaching grant writing had validation. Although on this marketplace that was hardly making any money, but it gave me validation that there was a market for grant writing.

But what changed the most was me and my business. Other women started reaching out to me. “How are you doing this online business that helps nonprofits?” So I started teaching others how to set up freelance grant writing businesses. This became such a passion for me that I started spending more time here. But instead of hanging out there, I dabbled in all kinds of courses, grew my list, and started a YouTube channel.

Then something happened to this rosy story. I plateaued. I hit another glass ceiling. I felt like the time for money in a new way.

I re-examined my business and realized I was doing too much of a little of everything and not enough of ONE thing. By investing in a business coach, I realized the only way to scale up was to niche even further down. Focus on what I loved. Focus on what was moving the needle. Focus on what movement and change I really wanted to see in the world. This was scary at first. I wasn’t sure if cutting back would work. I thought the only way was to diversify products.

From there I decided to double down on ONLY two products – both of those serving primarily women who want to open and scale grant writing businesses. It worked. I finally begin to scale my business – not just by 30% every year – but tripling revenue in less than a year. My scaling business is very similar to Ray Kroc who says, “I was an overnight success all right. But 30 years is a long, long night.”

I had multiple tipping points. Some bigger than others, but most of them have been small successes, small failures, and everything in between.

Holly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I coach new and experienced grant writers in shifting to full-time income, on flexible hours, while writing grants part-time from home. With 20 years of grant writing experience and 10 years as a full-time business owner, I do that through my two signature programs: the Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the Grant Professional Mentorship. In one alone, students in my programs collectively secured $180 million in grant funding, and collectively $1.8 million in revenue in their freelance grant writing businesses.

Having secured $46 million for nonprofit organizations around the world throughout two decades and coaching freelance grant writers for a decade, I have a mission to coach changemakers to help causes they care about while making an equitable income and disrupting the nonprofit sector. To spread this movement wider, I also am the podcast host of the top grant writing podcast in the world, “Grant Writing & Funding”. Since 2017, thousands of people have tuned in every week to hear about transitioning into freelance grant writing.

I’m also a bestselling author on grants, have an MA in International Political Economy, past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, served as one out of five members under the Governor of Guam on the Business Recovery Task Force during the pandemic, and am an unapologetic feminist. I live on the island of Guam with my beautiful daughter, Isabella.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

More than a lesson are some of the narratives that I have had to unlearn. As a woman business owner – and coming from the nonprofit sector and serving many in the nonprofit sector – here are two narratives I have had to unlearn:

Unlearning Narrative #1: “Nonprofits cannot afford to pay me an equitable wage as a consultant, so I should give deep discounts.”
The problem with this belief is that it is pervasive in the nonprofit culture. I had to unlearn this and instead learn that, “In order for my business to be sustainable and for me to serve more nonprofits, I cannot give discounts and undercut my pricing.” This has been a key in being more respected, valued, and able to have a sustainable business.

Unlearning Narrative #2: “Women consultants are not compassionate if they don’t work pro bono or on ‘heart string’ projects.”
This one is deeply embedded in the psyche within the nonprofit sector of women being perceived as ‘volunteers’ for far too long. I realized that, “My business is more compassionate when I charge for my services and can contribute economically to my family and community.”
Unfortunately, there is a lot of toxicity that is intertwined in the nonprofit sector. But reframing this and teaching others how to unlearn these narratives in this culture, has been some of the best work in my life.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What has helped build my reputation is persistence and not being afraid to point out what’s wrong in the sector and how we can start to change it.

We have ‘spicy’ beliefs and these include:
“Your freelance grant writing business is more financial stable than a J-O-B.”
“Quit your toxic nonprofit job.”
“You need to change your identity to change your revenue.”

These are controversial, but we fully believe in the reframing and unlearning of old beliefs to have success as a freelance grant writer. I’ve worked inside and with nonprofits for 20 years and understand the amazing causes and the toxic workplaces that co-exist. I believe in disrupting this so we can still serve causes in the world, while existing on the outside of nonprofits and helping them change into more positive workplaces.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GrantWritingandFunding
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/grantwritingandfunding
• Other: iTunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grant-writing-funding/id1235917132?mt=2Book – Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing: https://amzn.to/4cc8b4r

Image Credits

Christy Baldwin