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What does it take to build a million-dollar business while raising a family, and what happens when the business you built enters an entirely new season?

Crystalee Beck knows both sides of that story.

She is the owner of Comma Copywriters, a content growth partner now focused on healthcare companies, and The Mama Ladder, an organization helping women create and climb their own ladders as mothers and entrepreneurs.

A major part of that mission is the High Five Grant for Moms, a business grant competition for mom-owned companies that Crystalee and The Mama Ladder have hosted since 2018.

To date, the High Five Grant has awarded $115,000 in grants to 80 women in business, with that total expected to reach $138,000 after the current round. More than 2,500 women have applied, and the program has also provided more than $43,000 in goods and services.

In this episode of Business Origin Stories, Crystalee shares why access to capital for women matters so deeply to her, what she has learned from the women who have gone through the grant process, and why the impact extends beyond the women who ultimately receive funding.

We also get into Crystalee’s own evolving business story.

After seven consecutive years of growth, Comma experienced its first down year as longtime clients in B2B tech and SaaS struggled and contracts disappeared. Now Crystalee and her team are repositioning the company around healthcare while she works on The Mother’s Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How the High Five Grant is helping mom-owned businesses access capital and pursue growth
• Why Crystalee originally decided to build a business around time and money freedom
• What reaching $1 million in revenue actually required
• How she is navigating Comma’s shift into healthcare
• Why reaching a major business milestone does not guarantee continued growth
• What she has learned about separating business performance from personal identity
• Why she is interviewing 100 mothers with million-dollar-plus businesses for her upcoming book

If you are building a company, navigating a pivot, or trying to create a business that supports the life you actually want to live, this conversation offers a candid look at what growth can really require.

Connect with Crystalee Beck

High Five Grant: www.highfivegrant.com
The Mama Ladder: https://themamaladder.com/
Crystalee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalee/

Instagram: 

@amyschutte_

Work with us: www.hudsonandco.co