We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karina Ramos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karina below.

Karina, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I remember sitting at my desk at my 9-5 watching the screen savers on my computer scroll by. Photos of all of the countries and places I wanted to visit automatically gracing my screen every minute when I had this overwhelming feeling of being trapped that came over me. I felt trapped in a job that I loved but felt under-appreciated and highly underpaid. I felt trapped in a company I knew had no room for my growth. I felt trapped with my finances. I had just gotten engaged and I wanted the wedding of my dreams and I especially wanted to travel.

A few months prior to that moment I had decided that I was going to start consulting with business owners on their business strategy and branding. It was what I was doing at my 9-5 and I figured it would be a great way to make additional income. I felt like I finally had found something that I was passionate about. Everyday after I wrapped up my task at my 9-5, I would go home and begin my freelance work as a business consultant. At that time I didn’t even have the vision for building a business or even working for myself full-time. I just wanted extra money to put aside to be able to travel and move out of living for each pay check.

I began building a website, networking, and seeking new clients in the hours after I finished working. My weekends were spent on calls with clients supporting the growth of their businesses. Even though I was exhausted physically, mentally I was lit up. I felt like I was finally in a position where my opinions were heard and valued. My clients began to have great results and my email was beginning to fill up with referrals. Business owners began to seek my services and I was making more money as a consultant part time than I was full-time at my 9-5.

I went into work one day and scheduled a meeting with my boss. I was requesting to go part-time in my job so that I can focus on the workload I was acquiring which was beginning to take up my entire focus. I remember her telling me that going part time wasn’t an option. I was either going to work full-time or I wouldn’t have a job anymore. In that moment I stood up and told her that I quit. I was done with putting others dreams before my own.

I didn’t have a plan and I had so much fear. I had a few clients that were paying me well but what if I all fell apart I thought. What was I going to do? I made the decision as I was driving home that day that building my own business and going full-time on my vision was my plan. I didn’t know how but I was determined.

I got clear on my vision and the direction I wanted to go in. I learned as much as I could about being an entrepreneur and building a business online. I set up systems that supported the income I wanted to generate and I went all in on my dreams. I finally put my vision first and the same year that I quit I 5x the annual income that I was making at my 9-5 and I never looked back.

Karina, 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 am a business coach and serial entrepreneur that is dedicated to helping passionate female entrepreneurs who have decided success is their only option, up level their life and business. I provide women with the resources they need to turn their passions into monetizable businesses and design their freedom on their own terms.

I am an educator, own a stationary line called Hustle Flow Daily, host retreats all over the world, and support my clients through 1:1 coaching and my signature program, The Freedom Foundation™.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Before I started my stationary company Hustle Flow Daily, I decided to create a digital planner that encompassed the system that I was using in my own day to day to be as productive as possible. I started using it daily and sharing glimpses of it on my social media platforms. I began to get request from my community to offer the digital planner to them as well and the day that I launched it, I had over 2,000 people download the digital planner.

That’s when I got the idea to turn the digital planner into a physical planner. I personally loved pen and paper. I would go into Target and spend so much time going through each of their options only to end up disappointed that I couldn’t find all that I needed and wanted in one product.

I had no idea how to manufacture a physical product so I began my research. I discovered that Amazon had a self-publishing option which had no up front cost and that was the direction I took with my first physical planner. I designed it myself and made it available for purchase. Amazon handled the shipping and payment processing which made the learning curve easier.

I eventually wanted to have a planner design that Amazon couldn’t manufacture and that’s when I began looking for a manufacture in the United States that could design the planner of my dreams. I requested samples from print shops and settled on the company that would bring my idea to life.

4 years later I have switched manufactures once and sell multiple paper products that I use daily.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

When I first started my business, I was making $12 an hour at my 9-5 so my income was limited but I was resourceful. Building a digital business allowed me to start my business with very little money up front. I just needed a website, domain, good wifi, and a call platform (at the time I used Skype for business). I put aside $25 a week every week for a month to make the initial investment in my business.

That initial investment of $100 supported me in creating a six-figure business my first year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thekarinaramos.com/ https://www.hustleflowdaily.com/ https://www.thefreedomfoundation.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekarinaramos/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekarinaramos
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEqYzQCtiCjuVVYtJV4s_w

Image Credits
@kaylammendez Kayla Mendez Photography