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Creating Million Dollar Movements with Bridget James Ling [Ep 72]

Last November, I found myself in Florida surrounded by ambitious women at Freedom Queen Live. There was something electric in the air that I couldn’t quite put my finger on—until my recent conversation with Bridget James Ling, the Freedom Queen herself.

“A movement has a soul of its own,” Bridget told me when I interviewed her for the Beyond the Systems podcast.

That’s exactly what I’d witnessed—not just a business event, but a living, breathing movement that had taken on a life beyond its founder.

The Problem with Building Just a Business

For many of us entrepreneurs, especially those working primarily online, we struggle with feeling isolated. We build our websites, create our offers, and show up on social media, but often feel like we’re shouting into the void. We build businesses that rely entirely on our own energy to move forward.

And that’s precisely where building a movement differs from simply building a business.

What Makes a Movement Different?

According to Bridget, there are key differences between a coaching business and a movement:

  1. Self-Compounding Momentum: “A coaching business always relies on you moving the coaching business forward. A movement will move for you,” Bridget explained. When you build a movement, your community takes on the work of spreading your message.
  2. Shared Vision and Identity: A movement brings people together around one shared vision, creating a sense of belonging and identity. Bridget used the brilliant comparison of “Taylor Swift versus Christina Aguilera.” Both are incredible artists, but Taylor Swift has created an identity for her fans—they’re “Swifties.”
  3. It Moves People: As the name suggests, a movement actually moves people. They take action, they spread the word, they gather together.
  4. Belonging Creates Transformation: “When someone feels like they belong, they’re never going to leave. And when someone feels like they belong and they’re seen and heard, they can get a transformation that is far bigger than if they just bought into someone’s coaching business.”

How to Start Building Your Movement

So how do you begin transforming your business into a movement? Based on my conversation with Bridget, here are some practical steps:

1. Get Crystal Clear on Your Who

For Freedom Queen Live 2025, Bridget is getting even more specific about who the event is for: “The legendary woman, the radical woman, the woman with an edge… the woman who maybe offends people just by existing.”

This clarity helps people self-identify with your movement. They either resonate deeply or they don’t—and that’s perfect.

2. Create In-Person Touchpoints

There’s something magical that happens when people gather in person. At Freedom Queen Live, I met people I probably would have never connected with online, which opened doors to new relationships and opportunities.

“The in-person connection goes even deeper,” Bridget shared. “The sisterhood and relationships and friends that have been made from people attending Freedom Queen Live has just been extraordinary.”

Consider how you might create in-person opportunities for your community, whether that’s an annual event, small gatherings, or even partnering with others for retreats.

3. Balance Passive and Active Channels

Bridget has masterfully created what she calls “passive channels” and “active channels” in her business:

Passive Channels:

  • Low-ticket offerings that funnel into her signature recurring revenue program
  • Email sequences that sell continuously
  • Her podcast, which she notes has a direct correlation to revenue (highest download months = highest income months)
  • Social media assets like broadcast channels and highlights

Active Channels:

  • Live programs
  • Masterminds
  • In-person events

This balanced approach ensures she’s building the movement in multiple ways simultaneously.

4. Create Systems That Scale

One thing that resonated with me as a systems person is how Bridget has streamlined her operations:

“Simple scales, complex fails when it comes to systems,” she shared. “I just will not over-complicate anything because… if you are getting distracted with the systems, you are delaying the part that actually matters, which is the service.”

Bridget uses templates for everything, allowing her to launch programs in just 20 minutes that would take others weeks to set up. This systemization frees her to focus on the human element of her movement.

The Power of Finding Your People

Perhaps the most profound insight from my conversation with Bridget was about belonging. When asked why she created Freedom Queen in the first place, she shared:

“I never felt like I belonged in any spaces. I always felt like I was the one left out, like something was wrong with me, until I realized that I was actually just destined to lead a community of people and women that are the same.”

And that’s the beauty of building a movement instead of just a business—you create a home where people feel they truly belong.

Start Building Your Movement Today

If you’re feeling isolated in your business journey or like your growth has plateaued, consider how you might transform your business into a movement:

  1. Get radically clear on who you’re serving
  2. Create opportunities for in-person connection
  3. Balance passive and active growth channels
  4. Implement simple systems that free you to focus on community

The world needs your movement. As Bridget would say, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Want to streamline the systems in your business so you can focus on building your movement? Let’s talk about creating money-making systems that work while you sleep. Book a free 20-minute systems assessment call and let’s identify where you can save time and energy with better processes.

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