Navigating Burnout and Pivoting with Purpose: A Business Owner’s Journey Through Grief, Growth, and Radical Honesty

Most Valuable Lesson or Insight:

The most valuable lesson from this conversation is that burnout is not something to conquer or eliminate entirely, but rather something to manage and coexist with. Life will inevitably throw challenges—whether it’s grief, health issues, or other personal crises—and as a business owner, it’s crucial to recognize when to slow down, pivot, and prioritize self-care. Radical honesty with yourself and others, along with setting boundaries, is key to sustaining both your mental health and your business.

Top 5 "Between the Lines" Lessons:

1. Burnout is cyclical, not linear: It’s not a one-time battle but an ongoing process that requires constant self-awareness and adjustment.

2. Community and support systems are non-negotiable: Whether it’s a therapist, a mentor, or a peer group, having people to lean on can make all the difference in navigating tough times.

3. Pivoting is a sign of strength, not failure: Changing your business model, letting go of clients, or slowing down doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’re adapting to survive and thrive.

4. Perfection is the enemy of progress: Waiting for the “perfect” moment or product can stall growth. Sometimes, you just need to start and refine as you go.

5. Self-compassion is a business strategy: Forgiving yourself for not meeting self-imposed deadlines or expectations allows you to move forward without being paralyzed by guilt or shame.

Five Actionable Steps:

1. Audit your workload and set boundaries: Identify tasks or clients that no longer serve you and let them go. Focus on what aligns with your current goals and energy levels.

2. Implement a VIP day or week model: Transition to shorter, intensive work periods that allow for focused effort and ample recovery time in between.

3. Build a support system: Join or create a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to share resources, advice, and accountability.

4. Schedule regular mental health check-ins: Whether it’s therapy, journaling, or simply reflecting, make space to assess how you’re feeling and what you need.

5. Take small, consistent actions: When overwhelmed, focus on one actionable step at a time rather than trying to tackle everything at once. Progress, no matter how small, is still progress.

Transcript:

Host:
Welcome, everyone! Today, we're going to have a masterclass about keeping your mental health and staying sane while being a business owner. We’re talking with Synea. We spoke back in July this year—excuse my face, I look like a crazy person—but we talked in July about her business journey. She was already feeling a little tired and dealing with it, and now she’s made some important changes. I’m really curious to see how she’s handled everything.

Synea:
Hi! How are you?

Host:
I can hear you! Can you hear me?

Synea:
Yes, amazing! Love the lipstick on you—you look great!

Host:
Thank you! I’ve been trying out different shades. Welcome to Business Chats again! I’m so excited to have you. It’s the end of the year, so of course, we need to do a recap of everything that’s happened. Last time we talked was in July, and you’ve been through a lot since then—life happened, as it usually does. You’ve had to pivot, adapt, and come out on the other side. I cannot wait to hear everything.

Synea:
Yeah, it’s been a journey. You and I talked in July, but I was also on your podcast this time last year. So, going back to last year, I had intentionally slowed things down to work on my structure and get ready so that by January, I could go full force—take on new clients, launch the podcast, do all the things. And it started out well, but then in February, my father passed away.

It just… I didn’t know what to do. Time kind of went out the window for me. There were moments in February, March, and April where I thought, “I’m okay, I can do work,” but my mind was like, “It’s been months,” when really, it had only been weeks. I remember telling my clients, “It’s fine, nothing’s going to change,” but that didn’t happen.

Host:
You were trying to fake it, even to yourself.

Synea:
Yeah, I dealt with it for like two days and thought, “I’m fine, I’ve grieved, I’ve cried, I’m okay.” But thankfully, some of my clients were therapists, and one of them said, “I knew when you told me you were going to continue working that you had lost your mind.” She was like, “It’s okay, you need to process this.”

So, I stopped taking on new clients. I was doing maintenance social media for existing clients, but I just needed to sit down and process. It made me think about what it means to be a business owner when life happens. For me, it was grief, but for someone else, it could be health or something else. How do you deal with it?

I realized that sometimes, you just need help. If I had a real team in place, the business wouldn’t have stopped. I could have stepped back, and things would’ve kept going. That’s the biggest difference.

Host:
It’s funny because stopping to take a vacation is one thing, but when life happens, there’s no break from that.

Synea:
Exactly. I told my students, “Pepco”—the energy company in DC—“doesn’t care that my father passed away. They want their money.” So, I still had to make sure my bills were paid. That’s the reality of entrepreneurship. You have to figure out how to support yourself through it.

I slowed down, took breaths, and was honest with myself about where I was and how I was showing up. I think it’s brave to stop and take a break because, honestly, in that situation, I would’ve freaked out and gone into crazy desperate mode.

Host:
That’s not healthy at all.

Synea:
No, it’s not. I knew going to the opposite extreme wouldn’t work for me. I tried it for two weeks and realized I couldn’t do it. But through the summer, I enjoyed the lightness of the work. By July, I felt ready to reopen and take on a bit more. I picked up a client almost immediately, but I still felt behind.

I’m doing a different model now—VIP weeks and VIP days. It’s more compact and intensive, which allows me to take time off in between.

Host:
I love that. I did the same thing because I was thinking about what happens when life happens. With VIP days or website-in-a-week projects, you can postpone one if needed, but with long-term projects, it’s trickier.

Synea:
Exactly. It’s the perfect solution. I’ve been trying to do VIP weeks for three years now, but this year, I’ve been radically honest with myself. My boundaries weren’t in place before, and I was people-pleasing. Now, if a client doesn’t comply with the contract, I’m like, “I’m sorry, we need to stop.”

Host:
That’s huge.

Synea:
Yeah, it’s been a year of lessons. My therapist said, “You’re not starting over. You have 12 years of business. You’re just pivoting.” And that’s fine. I’ve pivoted before, but now the conversations are different. I’m getting clear on who I want to work with and what I want to do.

I also let go of some retainers, like the marketing I was doing for a yoga studio. I’d been with them for eight years, but I realized it was no longer serving me. It was hard to let go, but it was necessary.

Host:
Breaking up with clients is tough, but sometimes it’s for the best.

Synea:
Exactly. And now, I’m officially off all retainer social media. I still do maintenance for websites, but social media became too much day-to-day. I love strategy, but I can’t do the posting anymore.

Host:
It’s a leap of faith, but it’s worth it.

Synea:
Yes. I’ve realized that burnout is something we manage, not something we conquer. It’s always there, especially in a society that glorifies hustle. But I’ve learned to find ways to support myself when it creeps up.

Host:
That’s so important.

Synea:
Yeah. Now, when I go on vacation, I don’t stress about the work waiting for me because I’ve set up systems and tools to ease back in.

Host:
That’s a game-changer.

Synea:
Absolutely. The last couple of months have been great. I’ve matched what I made last year, even after slowing down. It’s been a leap of faith, but it’s working.

Host:
Sometimes, the universe gives us crises to snap us out of old patterns and make changes.

Synea:
Exactly. I realized I’d been comfortable in what I was doing, but I needed to move forward. That meant letting go of things that no longer served me.

Host:
It’s about setting boundaries with yourself too.

Synea:
Yes. And I’m excited about the podcast. I didn’t launch it in January as planned, but I’m aiming for next month. I’ve started a blog to support it, and I’m just going to jump in and put a few episodes out there.

Host:
That’s the best approach.

Synea:
Yeah, I’m not waiting for perfection anymore. I’m on my own timeline, and that’s okay.

Host:
I love that.

Synea:
Me too. I’m excited to see where this goes.