What nobody tells you about pivoting your business

Subject Line: 2023 Accounts – The email that almost made me quit!

This email landed in my inbox last January, and I instantly felt a sinking sensation in my stomach.

What nobody tells you about pivoting your business is how these unexpected moments can shake your foundation completely.

My accountant casually mentioned that I had drawn too much from my director’s loan account and had to pay £7k back into my Business.

My initial thoughts after phoning my husband in a complete state – and swearing on the phone, with multiple lines of what the fuck?

My next thought? This is too hard; I think I’m gonna quit.

This was about a year after I closed my previous Business and pivoted from an online store to offering VA services.

By this stage, I was about a year into my business pivot (officially). In reality, this whole process started about a year before that.

I thought things were finally going well.

I finally had a healthy cash flow

Steady income and monthly retainers

Working way less

And loving the work I was doing

I’ll spare you all the boring accountant talk, but basically, I took money out of my business account after selling all of our assets, thinking that would be totally okay…

Turns out it wasn’t.

And because my Business didn’t make a profit that year (due to the enormous expenses of shutting down the online store and this weird transitional year), I OWED MY BUSINESS MONEY.

As you can imagine, I was less than thrilled.

I mean, the audacity of me owing it money—how much did it owe me in blood, sweat, and tears? (Oh, the tears).

Luckily, my lovely accountant calmed me down, explained everything to me, and devised a plan to pay it all back (and get it back into my personal account a year later—which we did).

But for a year, I had to see that £7k sitting in my business account as a reminder that pivoting a business is hard.

The reality of pivoting your business – it’s messy, but worth it!

I think we will see more and more businesses pivot in 2025 as the online business world shifts.

There are so many of us who have been in this space for 10+ years that it’s only natural that things will need to pivot.

This is not just because the whole online business space is shifting but also because we, the humans behind the businesses, constantly change and evolve.

Think about it: Since owning a business, I have gotten married, had a baby, hit thirty, moved countries, and now I’m almost 40. My Business can never stay the same!

My business pivot story (from online store to 1:1 services)

I’ll give you the TL;DR version of my own pivot. I went from running an online store (with my husband) for 4 years, which was pretty successful, to shutting it all down due to burnout, complete overwhelm, and a desire to do something different.

If you want the whole back story, listen to my chat with Ami on the Oh Snap Podcast.

It’s been about three years since I decided to pivot, and I finally feel like I have shed all the layers of my past Business.

The moment I knew something had to change – recognising when your business no longer works

Looking back, deciding to change was actually the easiest part of the process (although it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time).

We were making a decent living

We had loyal customers who loved our products

We had invested so much time and energy into our studio, creating a brand and a business that looked perfect on Instagram.

But deep down, we were both miserable.

I hated being in the studio – between the noise, the constant stress of pushing for more sales, and the worry of customer service and rushing to be ready before the Postie arrived. I was done.

I had to remove myself from the studio and work from home most days, leaving all the stress on my husband (and business partner).

That was beside the feeling of…

• Always having a shop open, trying to wrap up orders before taking any time off
• Worrying about rent, equipment, stock levels, and endless packaging materials
• Constantly creating new things and staying on top of trends
• The emotional toll of dealing with difficult customer situations
• The ever-increasing costs of running a physical business

We had already adjusted the online store to give our Business more breathing room. But at its core, the business model didn’t align with how we wanted to live and work.

The Business needed:

• More staff
• Bigger studio
• More equipment
• More marketing
• More money, more energy

And we (especially me) wanted:

• More freedom, being able to spend more time with my daughter.
• Being able to take off a day here and there when my energy was low.
• I wanted more 1:1 human connection. I love getting to know my clients and developing long-lasting relationships.
• I wanted a cosy business, to earn a sustainable income, to find joy in my work, and to do work that made a difference in the world and in the lives of my clients.

But the moment I knew we had to make a change was on an early morning walk with my husband, when I asked him, “Do you actually see us working like this until we are 50?”

The answer for both of us was no, and that’s when we decided to start winding things down.

It’s funny because changing careers is so normal, yet changing a business is messy and complicated.

We had done this once before: In 2018, we sold a wedding decor and stationery business in South Africa, packed up, moved to the UK, and started a new business.

We knew it would be hard, but nothing really prepared me for the emotional journey that came with letting go of one business model and pivoting into a new one.

Dealing with the guilt when pivoting your business (and managing people’s reactions/opinions)

The decision wasn’t nearly as hard as actually announcing that we were closing down the online store and completely pivoting our Business.

Looking back, no one cared as much as I thought, but back then, I felt like I was letting our customers down.

So, we closed down our Business with the same intention and values we had started.

Firstly, we gave our customers six months to stock up on their favourite products (which meant we were busier than ever).

We contacted a supplier who made products similar to ours and asked them to take care of our customers after we closed. We gave them files, our templates, and instructions on replicating products.

We went above and beyond to ensure our customers were sorted when we closed.

Once we had wrapped up the orders, it was time to start selling off all of our old equipment. This was so hard, and if I’m honest, my husband did most of the heavy lifting.

I was emotionally done, and he really helped me through those last few weeks.

The weirdest thing for me was trying to explain (over and over again) why we were closing down. People were baffled as to why anyone would shut down a business that wasn’t failing.

And, of course, all the sideward head tilts as people collected things from our studio. I assumed they were thinking, “Oh well, there goes another failed business.”

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that it wasn’t a failure; this was my choice. But again, I doubt people really cared.

It was my own ego and confidence in myself that was taking knock after knock.

But we stuck at it and let everything go, one painful pick-up at a time. We remained steady in our vision of the future and trusted that we were making the right decision in the long run.

Finally, the moment came when our beautiful studio was empty, and we were ready to hand back the keys.

I remember I just sobbed; a mix of relief and sadness all rolled into one.

Navigating the identity shift when pivoting your business

While this was happening, I was slowly pivoting the Business into a new business model.

I searched for other business owners who might have gone through similar things online. Still, I only found stories about businesses evolving from 1:1 models to 1 to many, with online courses and group programs.

I felt like I was doing the opposite.

Like I was going backward.

After trying to find the next steps online, I decided to take a more introspective approach and figure it out for myself.

I journaled for hours daily; I must have filled about 4 to 5 journals during this transition.

But through deep reflection, I realised that both of my previous businesses were started somewhat unintentionally (maybe that’s not the right word; maybe it’s organically) and grew and evolved based on what I saw others doing in my industry.

Which meant the things I was working towards were not my own.

The way I was working wasn’t in alignment with who I truly am.

And success would never feel like success because it was based on everyone else’s metrics and not my own.

My biggest success metric was time at this stage, so I started offering VA services to mostly past clients (and some new ones).

My biggest reason for this was to figure out what I wanted to do. And to help others feel supported in their Business.

Plus, I could manage my time and sell that time through my retainer hours.

I loved this stage of my pivot.

My clients were amazing, and I learned so much from them.

They helped me see what my gifts were.

They tested and tried out new services and offers with me.

They trusted me as I figured things out in my Business.

I slowly started reshaping the Business into something I love that works in tune with my energy and seasonal way of living and working. I no longer feel hurried and stressed out by deadlines. I can take weeks off with clients, respecting my boundaries and championing my rest.

Looking back, it’s been so worth it.

Two years later, I finally figured out a way of working that aligned with my energy, values, and how I wanted to live and work.

The financial reality of pivoting your business nobody talks about

But it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses; the financial side has been rough.

And, if I’m honest, my ego took a big knock.

This was the most challenging part for me, even more than the finances. I thought I could easily transition from one business model to another. However, the process has been more like starting over from scratch.

In a much noisier online business world, where marketing your Business has become really tricky (I’m still trying to figure this all out).

With all this experience, I feel like I should have it all figured out by now. But really, I think I was completely unrealistic and had forgotten just how long it takes to build a business.

I want to be 100% transparent. My income and take-home pay have taken a nose dive over the past two years.

But I am slowly recovering. Although I make less revenue, my business is more profitable and stable. It can better support me (rather than me having to support it – in cheap labour, working too many hours, and sacrificing my life and joy).

Beyond the finances, though, I have managed to restore my energy (although I think I will always have a reduced capacity). I work mostly four days a week and I have a steady, sustainable income.

One crucial piece of making this pivot was savings (which are all gone, by the way) and my husband’s decision to be employed and find a regular 9-5 job.

I had to get us through the first six months after we closed down the online store, taking on as much VA work as possible (without burning out) while he looked for work.

It took time. Being self-employed for 10 years isn’t very attractive on your CV. Eventually, someone gave him a chance, which meant I could experiment with my Business a little more.

Creating a business that supports your life – I had a vision of the way I wanted my Business to feel…

I wanted to work four days a week and only during school hours so I could spend more time with my daughter and do some volunteer work.

I wanted a sustainable income, meaning retainers were high on my priority list.

I knew how much I wanted to earn to live my definition of a good life

And how much time off I wanted every year and how I wanted to feel when working with clients.

In the past two years, I have been experimenting with different packages (more on that here) and giving clients hands-on support to build the systems and business foundations to feel well-resourced, energised, and aligned with the way they want to work.

I didn’t waiver, opting to build my Business slowly and intentionally this time around.

The truth about slow, intentional business growth

My Business has been the total opposite of an overnight success.

I wanted to share this with you because if I had condensed this story into a five-second reel on Instagram, it would have looked and felt much different.

The pivot was hard, and at times, I wanted to quit. I haven’t figured it all out yet.

I don’t have a flashy six-figure business (although I think the norm now is seven figures), and I don’t think I want one.

Nor do I want a team, a fancy office, or to cut out all human connection in my business.

I have my cosy lifestyle business, as opposed to an empire.

I’m making enough in this season of business, but more than that, I have my life back.

AND I FREAKING LOVE WHAT I DO AND HOW I DO IT!!!

My husband and I have interests outside of work; we no longer have petty fights about who forgot to order packaging tape, and we are both more independent.

And now I have all the basics that I want from my Business

• A steady income and monthly salary
• A lunch break, sick leave, and annual leave
• A pension – as I approach my 40s, this is top of mind
• A boss that’s not an ass (I was a horrible boss to myself)

Because, yes, I want to make an impact through my work. I want my work to be meaningful, BUT it also needs to give me the basics that a regular job would.

I don’t think that is too much to ask for!!

I still have lots of work to do and things to figure out, mostly around my marketing and getting a steady stream of new people to discover my work.

But for the most part, my Business is rooted in my brand of magic and how I love to work. It gives me the space to grow and evolve with it.

I haven’t boxed myself in, and I don’t feel like I’m stuck.

It doesn’t feel draining or take up all of my precious time.

I don’t look outside of myself for the answers, and I continually reshape my Business in alignment with my Human Design—more on that here.

whether you are thinking of pivoting or just trying to gently shift and reshape things in your Business.

Two years after officially closing down my old business, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made!!

It was not easy (these things never are), but it led me to create something that truly honours all my quirks and how I want to live.

This journey taught me something really important—sometimes, what looks like success on the outside isn’t success at all if it drains your energy and fights against your natural way of being.

And if you’re feeling that quiet whisper that something in your Business needs to shift – whether that’s a complete pivot like mine or just some gentle realignment – know that it’s okay to question things.

To want something different. To create success on your own terms.

This is why I created Root to Rise, A 12-month journey to transform your business from the inside out. Together, we’ll rebuild your business foundations season by season, implementing systems and processes that work with your natural rhythms, not against them.

I’m happy to answer any questions you have about my pivot – gosh, I really wish I had read this post three years ago. So feel free to add a comment or send me an email.

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

✨ Have you ever felt the disconnect between how your business looks and how it feels?

✨ What would your business look like if you built it around your natural rhythms and energy?

✨ What’s one small shift you’d love to make in your business right now?

Need help pivoting your business? Let’s transform how your business feels behind-the-scenes

P.S. If we don’t know each other, I’m Stacey. An (anti) productivity guide & business manager, helping deeply feeling photographers & solopreneurs reshape their businesses so you can go from feeling stuck and drained to knowing how to manage your business and energy in a way that supports you! If you want to learn more about my 1:1 work, click here.

P.P.S. Thanks so much for reading – If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it with a friend who will love it too!

P.P.P.S If you enjoyed this post and would like more thoughts delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for my email newsletter, Rituals and Remedies. I love to share my personal practice and rituals for running my business in alignment with the wheel of the year and the natural rhythms of life.