2018 Update:

“I couldn’t keep going the way I was,” says Dana Barka.

Dana was a busy mom of a rambunctious toddler with a second baby due soon.

At the same time, she’d built a highly successful freelance writing business. Her income was already reaching six-figures!

But she was heading towards a breaking point.

She’d successfully grown her business over the years. But she’d achieved it by putting more and more time into her business. With her growing family, that method of growth was no longer sustainable.

“I knew I couldn’t keep putting in those kinds of hours,” she says. “With two children, I could no longer work a 60-hour week. I really had to keep it under 40 hours to keep up with the demands of a small baby and kindergartner.”

She needed to find a way to maintain her same level of income, while also reducing her hours. “I needed to make more money in less time,” she says. “Basically, I had to reevaluate how to run my business.”

A Different Kind of Coach 

Dana knew she needed to make some changes, and soon. But she wasn’t sure what those changes should be.

Fortunately, she knew where to find help because Ed Gandia already was on her radar. “I kept hearing good things about Ed Gandia,” she says. “He spoke at an event I was at and I liked how he came across.”

Ed’s background in freelance writing also appealed. “I thought that he could relate to what I was going through,” she says. “I read that he’d made $160,000 one year as a writer. I decided that I could learn from him.”

She also appreciated Ed’s feet-on-the-ground approach. “There are lots of self-proclaimed gurus out there who talk about freelancing. But Ed was different. He just seemed very authentic and genuine. I liked that.”

“It Was a Great Motivator”

As soon as Dana could manage it, she enrolled in Ed Gandia’s The 2X Project (renamed the Elevate program).

Surprisingly, Dana began to benefit from the program even before it started. “Just reading the marketing materials for the program started to shift my mindset,” she explains. “I began to increase my fees with new clients, knowing that I would be taking this program. It was a great motivator.”

High Quality Colleagues 

Once she entered the program, Dana was astonished by the quality of her fellow students. “I was floored by the experience of my fellow colleagues in The 2X Project,” she says. “These people were making money and already running their businesses successfully. They were just looking to increase their income, like me.”

This didn’t happen by chance. All students who enroll in The 2X Project are carefully screened. “I really appreciated that people had to be qualified to get into the program,” she says. “Some of these people had 30 and 40 years of experience! This group had a level of experience that I couldn’t find anywhere else.”

In addition to sharing their experiences and hard-earned wisdom, Dana also appreciated the companionship of her fellow students. “As a self-employed writer, you sometimes feel alone,” she says. “No one else in my life can totally relate to what I’m doing. Being surrounded by people in similar situations was absolutely amazing.”

A “Real Life” Approach to Learning 

Dana also appreciated the way in which the program was delivered. Initially, she thought the program would like most other courses and programs she’d taken. “I assumed there would be a lot of workbooks, worksheets and assignments,” she says. “But it wasn’t like that at all. The program was very ‘real life’ oriented.”

She was also surprised by the emphasis on mindset. She explains: “Ed kicked off the program by talking about mindset. That blew my mind! I expected him to start with, ‘Go call your top ten clients’ or ‘Go download all your networking files.’ But instead he took a more inside-out approach.”

At first, Dana wasn’t too sure about the direction Ed was taking. But she now understands its value. “Initially, I thought, ‘Why are we talking about this?’’’ she says. “But now I laugh at myself. I totally get it. Having an abundance mindset is absolutely essential.”

For Dana, this “inside-out” approach made all the difference. “Changing your mindset is one of the most essential elements of the program,” she says. “If you want to make real and lasting changes, you have to think differently about how you run your business and the kinds of clients you attract.”

New Appreciation of Her Value 

As she worked through the program, Dana came to understand the true value of what she provided to her clients. “I’m not a commodity,” she says. “I have a lot to offer that no one else can bring to the table. I started to see myself in a new light.”

Part of this new confidence came from feedback from her peers. “As a group, we had lots of opportunities to talk and collaborate,” she says. “They started to point out my strengths. Many of these were things I hadn’t recognized or appreciated until we started talking about them.”

Multiplying Her Income 

As a result of all the changes Dana made to her business, she has seen a marked increase in her income. Much of it came down to approaching her business, and her clients, in a new way.

“I started treating client opportunities differently,” she says. “For example, one deliverable that I used to charge $40 for, I now charge $350! That’s not 2X. That’s more like 8X!”

Today, Dana is well on her way to reaching her income goals. “My goal was to let go of a couple of clients who were taking up too much time and replace that income,” she says. “Then I had to figure out how to double THAT income. I’m on my way to achieving both things. Which is insane!”

At times, Dana can hardly believe the progress she’s made. “It’s been 10 months or so since I complete the program, and my whole business has been transformed.” She says. “It isn’t the same as it was even a year ago.”

A Program That Delivers

Dana recognizes that she couldn’t have achieved this progress by herself. “I couldn’t have done this on my own,” she says. “I needed the guidance that the program offered. And I needed the support that my fellow students provided as well.”

“For me, this isn’t a 2X Project. It’s going to be a 3X project. Or maybe a 4X project in a couple years. It’s worked out amazingly well.”