About

At freedom by number, we are all about putting in the effort to build a freedom-focused business.

What is a freedom focused business, you might ask? It lives at the center of your passions, profits, and proficiency

If you spend any time online, you are likely attacked by an endless stream of advertisements that are trying to sell you some get rich quick scheme…

Or trying to force your passions into their special little box. Making you one more cog in a wheel that was never designed for you.

But we realized something very important early on in our journey that has shaped the way we have done business over the last 7+ years.

Freedom is more than financial independence

Most of us start looking into an online business as a way to ease the financial pressures that we all face.

And it’s incredibly true that creating a scalable online business is an incredible shortcut to financial stability… but that misses the important nuances of why we focus on the word freedom on this website.

In fact, we asked our audience the other day of what true freedom means to them, and we got some incredible & powerful answers that truly help drive the point home:

Do (work) what you want, when, with whom and where you want. So you enjoy your doing and are able to spend time with family and personal growth.

Freedom is preserving your ability of choice!

Freedom means choosing my schedule for the day, rather than my schedule choosing what I must do for the day.

Freedom means to me, not worrying about the future and being able to make plans to be with family and have experiences with them every year, to years apart!

What’s the takeaway here? While many of these actual student responses mentioned financial gain in their definition of freedom, it was clear that the money was simply a means to a much greater end. It was not the goal itself.

Whether the ultimate goal is the ability to set your own schedule… to be there for your parents or children… to give back to your community… or simply to have lazy mornings with your spouse, significant other, or favorite novel…

The income provided by our online businesses simply enable what’s truly important. We have more to live for than Lamborghini’s and expensive dinners.

Everyone’s definition is going to be a little different, but here are some of the values that we align with and help our audience achieve:

• Freedom is never having to worry about being able to pay the bills, invest in your future, and provide the wants and needs for your family
• Freedom is having the ability to wake up and decide how you spend your time (not living in “response” mode to a job, boss, or demanding client load)
• Freedom is having the clarity of your purpose, aligned with your passions, that allow you to create a brilliant business that you were born for.

We specifically don’t want to train you to grow an 8+ figure per year business, because that tends to be accompanied by calendars booked full of clients, flights across the world (and away from your family) and teams of employees looking to you for orders, not freedom.

Creating freedom from nothing

Little did we know, but our freedom journey started during the most hectic time of our life. John was keeping up with a hectic corporate engineering career, while Suzi was nursing a baby at home.

Pregnant with #2, we decided to start a blog because we had heard it was possible to bring in a bit of extra income without clocking into a job.

Little did we know, but we had just embarked on a journey that would lead to new skillsets, new friendships, and financial freedom.

The point is this. Everyone will tell you to follow their single method to build a business, but the truth is that every path will require flexibility and knowing yourself.

Could we make more money if we launched big ticket live events? Undoubtedly.

Could we grow our brand if we hired 5 more employees and started sales calls? uh-huh.

Do those activities align with our mission of creating a freedom-focused business that we feel blessed and excited to wake up to every single day? Um… nope!

Why we do this

Our goals with online business have evolved over time (as will yours!)

At first, Suzi was looking for something to do during our baby’s nap times.

When we started making our first dollar, we set the goal to pay for the groceries every month.

When we checked that box, we set out to pay the monthly mortgage.

Next, we wanted to fully pay off the mortgage and become debt free.

When we passed that milestone, it was time to fully accept freedom and say goodbye to our 9-5 salary and structure.

Now that we have achieved all of our inward financial and family goals, we created this website with the external focus of helping 1,000 families create their own freedom by number business and reach their first $10,000 month.

Why Freedom By Number?

So by now you know a bit about us and our history, and you’re likely asking yourself…

“There are thousands of gurus out there… why should I listen to John and Suzi?”

Great question! And a couple of thoughts to respond.

#1 – We are not your guru’s. We are walking the path too.

If you couldn’t tell… I’m not a huge fan of the term guru.

I picture someone atop the mountain, looking down on his subjects… an untouchable force of perfection.

Suzi and I… are the opposites of that. We make mistakes, and laugh about them.

We stumble and fall… and share our learnings.

We were straddled with debt, overworked, and doubtful of the future… but kept our heads down and worked our way out.

We are not your gurus. We might just be a few steps ahead.

#2 – Family over Finance

I’ve spent thousands of dollars on education over the years from people I looked up to and aligned with.

And one by one, I would see the money get to their heads.

Leading to fancier cars.

New boats.

Penthouse suits…

And worst of all… an end to a marriage.

I pray for these entrepreneurs who have seemed to marry their business and money, at the expense of the truly important and moral parts of life.

Please do not mistake. This is not judgment or “throwing shade.” Simply an argument of alignment and priorities.

Freedom by Number aligns with a single goal: creating a freedom-focused business that empowers and strengthens families.

Yes, we have plenty of money in the bank. But I still happily drive my 2014 Camry around town (when I’m not on my bicycle).

Yes, we could buy a $3 million house on the beach. But we live happily in a home that is golf cart distance away from the best school for our kids.

Our Team

We like to call ourselves “tiny but mighty.” We are a small team that brings a beautiful blend of engineering, marketing, and down-to-earth love of teaching to create & deliver actionable content to fuel your freedom-based business.

John Whitford

John got his start as an Industrial and Systems engineer, developing high-tech medical devices to detect cancer cells in the body.

He transferred to Toyota and grew their “kaizen” continuous improvement operation, focusing on identifying and eliminating waste in their manufacturing processes.

As Suzi began her blog, John realized that all the technical & process skills used by Toyota to become the largest car manufacturer in the world could be easily applied to the world of blogging & digital marketing.

So he dug into the data-driven side of marketing, learning Facebook Ads, conversion rate optimization, sales funnels, and everything else he could get his technical hands on.

Suzi Whitford

Suzi is an Industrial and Systems engineer, professional blogger, mom of three and wife to one amazing guy.

She started blogging and grew it into a $17K/month business within her first year once she started to treat it like a business. After a few years, John joined forces with her and they grew the blog into a little empire.

She is beyond thankful for having the opportunity to help so many other moms online.