Stephanie Stevens
Stephanie Stevens is the owner and president of Ultimate Sustainability, a multi-million dollar founder, communications professional, and solo mother of four dedicated to helping high-capacity women build income, structure, and control while managing real-life responsibilities. She is also the founder of Solo Boss Mom, a faith-friendly community designed for solo and primary-earner mothers who want clarity, leadership, and sustainable growth without burnout or hustle culture. Her work is rooted in both professional expertise and lived experience as a solo parent navigating business leadership while raising children, including one with special needs.
Through Ultimate Sustainability, Stephanie provides structured community-based services for young adults with autism and related conditions, coordinating pre planned and pre scheduled community outings through long standing partnerships developed over time. Founded in October 2018 with her business partner, the organization has grown to five physical locations across the Twin Cities Minneapolis St. Paul area, with approximately 30 employees serving about 65 clients. This work grew directly from her personal experience when her son Benjamin, who has an autism diagnosis, reached adulthood and highlighted the need for consistent, supportive community based services. Her leadership in this space reflects a deep commitment to building practical solutions for families navigating lifelong caregiving responsibilities.
Before launching her companies, Stephanie spent more than 25 years in television and radio broadcasting, including work as a news anchor and producer with Hubbard Broadcasting’s All News Channel during its early years, as well as early career experience in Mason City, Iowa. Her broadcasting career led to extensive advocacy for individuals with special needs, including on air fundraising and public awareness campaigns, skills she continues to use today as a podcast host and guest speaker. She currently hosts two podcasts, one focused on communication, public speaking, and broadcasting, and another dedicated to parents of children and young adults with autism. She also offers free Sunday webinars called Reset for Solo Moms and mentors single mothers building businesses, with a focus on helping women create structure, stability, and freedom while remaining present and grounded in their families.
• Board Certified in Medical Hypnotherapy
• Board Certified in Behavioral Hypnotherapy (Neurotherapeutics)
• Certified in Applied Behavioral Analysis
• Certified in Verbal Behavior Therapy
• Certified in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
• Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
• St. Cloud State University - BS, Mass Communication/Media Studies
• International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT)
• International Medical and Hypnotherapy Association (IMHA)
• Families for Effective Autism Treatment — Past board role
• Lazarus Project — Co-founder, former chair
• Ministry of Reconciliation — Board member / chaired roles
What do you attribute your success to?
I've had two mentors who have been instrumental in my journey. One is a business mentor, John Petrusio, who is a friend and business coach out east. Years ago, we were on an intensive together, and he heard my story and was fascinated by my business. He offered to work with me for free, saying he just wanted to give back a little bit. He was really instrumental in helping me shift my mindset and learn how to delegate more, how to manage my expectations, and how to release control of some things - because I was doing way, way, way too many things. On the spiritual side, I have a woman named Faye who I consider a grandmother to me. She's in her 80s, and I've been meeting with her weekly for almost 10 years. We talk, she listens, she gives wisdom, and we pray together. She's definitely somebody that I look up to and has supported me from an emotional and spiritual standpoint for a very long time. These two people have been absolutely critical to my success.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say decisions are beliefs, and if she's making a powerful choice to go into this field, she's got plenty of opportunity. It's an incredibly wise decision given the statistics - there's certainly a need for a business like the one I own and operate, and the opportunity's only going to get greater with diagnostics as they are right now with 1 in 36 being diagnosed. I would tell her that it's not easy, but it's well worth it. I would definitely guide her through the matrix of the bureaucracies involved in getting the licensing - there's lots to it. I'd give her specific information about provider enrollment in her state, her county, her city, and point her exactly where to go in her area, because it was so difficult to find. It took months and months to decipher how to even start a business like this one. If I had somebody like me telling me exactly where to go, who to call first - file with the Secretary of State first, then start going down the roads of county and state partnership, certification, licensing - it would have saved so much time. I would give her the ins and outs of exactly where to go to do that. And then I would just ask her, are you in it for the long haul? What's your goal? What's your vision? What's your desire? What do you see? What do you want? When do you want it? What's your time frame? And I'd work with her to put together a game plan based on her goals and desires, and when she wants to be where she wants to be.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being a mother to my four kids and speaking into their lives and spending time with them, even though they're all adults now, is literally one of my greatest joys. When people ask what's important to me, it's all the things - the boards, the work - but I have four children and I've been a single mom of four kids for a very long time. Of course, when you're a parent like I am and you have an adult with a special need, you know he lives with me and I'm his primary caretaker. There's no such thing as being an empty nester when you're in that situation - you continue to be a caretaker and a parent into perpetuity. So I spend a lot of time with my beautiful earth angel, my adult son Ben, just visiting family and doing the things that bring him joy and continuing to expand his skills. He goes to the program I created several days a week, but on the other three or four days of the week, he's with me and we're doing life. I'm also passionate about supporting single mothers who want freedom - they want to build something for their families, they want something substantial, they want something predictable, they want something that's within a measure of their control, and they want to be able to actually be a present mother, especially if they're functioning as both mother and father in their own households.