Every time you've hired a contractor, planned an event, or bought anything for your household—you've been the B2B buyer.
The Difference:
B2C (Business to Consumer): Selling to individuals for personal use. Think retail, real estate agents, car sales.
B2B (Business to Business): Selling to companies to solve business problems. Think software, security systems, consulting.
Remote-Friendly
Most B2B sales happens via email and scheduled calls. You're not tied to a physical location or retail hours.
Flexible Schedule
You control when you work. No one cares if you take calls at 9am or 3pm as long as deals close.
Higher Income
B2B deals are larger. One sale can be $10K-$50K+. Your commission potential is significantly higher.
Longer Sales Cycles
Less pressure to close immediately. You build relationships over weeks/months, which feels more natural.
Think about the last time you planned a birthday party at a venue, hired a contractor, or bought something for your household. You were the B2B buyer. Here's what you did:
1. You researched options
You didn't just pick the first one. You compared features, prices, reviews.
2. You asked specific questions
"What's included? Can we customize? What if we need to change the date?"
3. You negotiated
You asked for discounts, better terms, or additional services included.
4. You made a decision based on value
Not just price—but whether it solved your problem and was worth the investment.
That's exactly what B2B buyers do.
You already understand how B2B works because you've been on the buyer side. Now you're learning to be on the seller side—and you already know what buyers need.
Most people choose between B2B and B2C based on job postings they happen to find. That's backwards. The better question is: what does your life actually require right now, and which model fits that?
"I need stability. I can't afford slow months."
B2B is your path. The longer sales cycles mean income is more predictable once your pipeline is built. SDR and BDR roles come with guaranteed base salaries, which gives you a floor while you learn. You're not starting from zero every Monday.
"I want to see results fast. I need momentum."
B2C is your path. Because the sales cycle is short, you know within weeks whether your approach is working. You get real-time feedback on every conversation. If you're a fast learner who needs visible proof that you're improving, B2C gives you that immediately.
"I have a specific industry background and want to use it."
This one cuts both ways. If your background is in healthcare, education, tech, or professional services—B2B will let you sell directly into those sectors. If your background is consumer-facing (retail, hospitality, caregiving), B2C will feel immediately natural. Your existing knowledge is your edge either way.
"I want maximum flexibility and eventually to work for myself."
Start in B2B or B2C to build your skills and track record, then transition to 1099. The Module 2C deep-dive on the 1099 path will show you exactly how that progression looks—and which 1099 model is most accessible from where you're starting.
"I'm not sure yet. Both sound interesting."
That's completely fine—and actually a good sign that you're not locked into assumptions. Spend the rest of this week with both paths in mind. By the time you hit the wrap-up, you'll have enough information to feel the pull toward one of them. Trust that.
Here's what I wish someone had told me before I picked a lane: the skills that make you excellent—listening, empathy, asking the right questions, handling objections, telling your story—those are the same in B2B and B2C. They're the same in 1099. They are the job, in every format.
The dirty secret of B2B vs B2C:
The people who obsess over which path is "better" often use it as a reason to delay starting. They spend months researching the perfect lane instead of getting in one and learning.
The women who advance fastest are the ones who pick a path that makes sense for their life right now—not the perfect path, but a reasonable one—and then work it with everything they have.
You can change paths. You can expand paths. You can start in B2C and move to B2B after two years. The first step isn't the final step. It's just the first one.
Why I chose B2B—and why it might be right for you:
When I started at the company I joined, I didn’t choose B2B intentionally. But looking back, it was exactly right for where I was. I needed flexibility. I needed to work from a desk, not a showroom floor. I needed relationships that built over time, not transactions I had to close in 20 minutes.
B2B gave me the ability to build a career that fit my life. I could work remotely, manage my own pipeline, set my own pace. The sales cycles were longer, but the deals were bigger—and once a client trusted me, they came back again and again.
That’s not to say B2C is wrong. It’s just a different kind of game. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right lane for your life right now.
Okay, so you know the difference between B2B and B2C now. But knowing the difference and making a decision are two completely different things. Let me give you a framework that actually works—one that starts with your life, not with job listings.
Step 1: Start with your non-negotiables.
Before you even think about which path, write down what your life requires right now. Not what you wish it required—what it actually does. Do you need a guaranteed paycheck every two weeks? Do you need to be done by 3pm for school pickup? Do you need health insurance through your employer? Do you need to work from home 100% of the time?
Your non-negotiables aren’t limitations—they’re your filter. They eliminate options that would set you up to fail and point you toward the ones that actually fit.
Step 2: Match your personality to the pace.
B2B is a marathon. You build relationships over weeks and months. You have fewer conversations per day, but each one goes deeper. If you’re someone who gets drained by constant interaction but loves thoughtful, strategic work—B2B is your rhythm.
B2C is a sprint-recovery-sprint pattern. More calls, faster decisions, quicker feedback. If you get energized by momentum and need to see proof that you’re getting better in real time—B2C gives you that. Neither pace is better. But one will feel more natural to you, and that matters more than any salary comparison.
Step 3: Be honest about your financial reality.
If you have savings and can handle a few lean months while you ramp up, commission-heavy B2C or 1099 roles become realistic options. If you’re the primary earner and there’s no cushion, you need a base salary—and that points you toward B2B roles with structured compensation.
There’s no shame in choosing stability. Choosing a path that lets you sleep at night is choosing the path that lets you perform at your best.
Here’s something I really want you to hear: almost nobody stays on one path forever. The women I know who are earning the most in sales have moved across paths as their skills and life circumstances changed. Your first path is a starting point, not a life sentence.
B2C to B2B: The confidence builder.
A woman I know started in insurance sales (B2C), closing policies over the phone from her kitchen. After 18 months, she had killer closing skills and a track record of hitting quota. She used that to land a B2B SaaS role with a $65K base plus commission. Within a year she was at $110K total comp. The B2C experience gave her the reps, the rejection tolerance, and the proof she needed. B2B gave her the stability and the bigger deals.
B2B to 1099: The freedom play.
Another woman spent three years as an Account Executive in B2B tech. She built deep industry expertise in healthcare IT. Then she went independent—offering fractional sales consulting to three small healthtech startups simultaneously. She kept her client relationships, set her own hours, and doubled her income within a year. The B2B years gave her the credibility and network. The 1099 path gave her the freedom.
1099 to B2B: The reset.
And sometimes people go the other direction. One woman tried high-ticket closing as a 1099 contractor, loved the work but struggled with the income unpredictability while raising two kids alone. She took everything she learned about closing and pivoted to a B2B Account Executive role with a strong base salary. She didn’t go backwards—she brought elite closing skills into a more stable structure. Her manager said she was one of the strongest hires they’d ever made.
Your previous career experience isn’t a gap on your resume—it’s a compass pointing you toward the sales path where you’ll ramp fastest. Here’s how different backgrounds map to different paths:
Retail / Hospitality / Food Service
You already know how to read people, handle objections in real time, and stay calm under pressure. You’ve been selling your whole career—you just called it "customer service."
Best starting path: B2C inside sales or SDR/BDR roles. Your people skills transfer immediately.
Healthcare / Education / Social Work
You have deep empathy, active listening skills, and experience explaining complex things simply. You’re used to advocating for people and navigating bureaucracy.
Best starting path: B2B in your industry (healthtech, edtech) or B2C in health/education services. Your industry knowledge is your unfair advantage.
Admin / Office Management / Operations
You’re organized, detail-oriented, and know how to keep things running. You’re comfortable with systems, follow-up, and managing multiple priorities at once.
Best starting path: B2B SDR or Customer Success. Your organizational skills make pipeline management natural.
Freelance / Gig Work / Entrepreneurship
You already know what it’s like to find your own clients, manage your own schedule, and eat what you kill. You’re self-motivated and comfortable with uncertainty.
Best starting path: 1099 sales or high-ticket closing. You already have the entrepreneurial muscle—now add a proven sales framework.
The bottom line on choosing:
Don’t choose the path that sounds the most impressive. Don’t choose the one your friend is doing. Don’t choose the one with the biggest number attached to it if that number comes with conditions your life can’t meet right now.
Choose the path that fits your life today, plays to skills you already have, and gives you room to grow into the person you’re becoming. That’s the path that sticks. That’s the one that builds into something real.
What you just learned shows up differently depending on which sales path you’re exploring. Click your path to see how this applies to you specifically.
If you’re leaning B2B, here’s why this module matters for you specifically: the B2B sales cycle rewards exactly the kind of research and preparation you just read about. When you walk into a discovery call knowing the prospect’s industry, their pain points, and what solutions they’ve already tried, you’re already ahead of 80% of the salespeople they’ve talked to.
B2B is where your ability to build trust over time becomes your biggest asset. You’re not trying to close someone in 30 minutes—you’re building a relationship that might take weeks or months to mature. That patience, combined with genuine curiosity about their business, is what separates top B2B performers from everyone else.
The entry point for most people is an SDR or BDR role, where you’ll learn prospecting and pipeline building with a base salary underneath you. The stability of that base gives you room to learn without the pressure of feeding your family on commission alone.
Key advantage for your path: structured training, base salary protection, and a clear promotion ladder from SDR to AE to enterprise sales. The income ceiling keeps rising as you advance.
Before you move on, let’s make sure the key concepts really clicked. Answer all questions correctly to unlock the next lesson.
1. What is the primary difference between B2B and B2C sales?
2. Why might B2B sales be a good fit for someone who needs income stability?
3. What is the best approach to choosing between B2B, B2C, and 1099 paths?
4. Which statement about switching paths is TRUE?
5. Someone with a retail and hospitality background would likely ramp fastest in which path?
Complete the Knowledge Check above to unlock the next lesson.