Why I Burned Down My Business and Started Over

After a while we all start to sound the same.

If you’ve been in the online business space for very long you know exactly what I mean…

10 Ways to Make $10k
How I Made 6 Figures Working 2 hours a Week
The Secret to Passive Income
Buy My Course and You’ll Make a Million Dollars
All you need is my proven method
Group coaching program
DON’T FORGET TO NIIIICHE DOWN

It’s like I woke up one day, and it hit me – I’m wasting so much time trying to use the buzzwords and stick to my niche, building a business that doesn’t even make any sense to me. What am I even doing?

At the end of the day, why the hell am I in the business at all?

So I went back to the beginning and asked myself one question: Why did I start this business? I know it sounds cheeky, but it is what it is. I just went back to my BIG WHY.

Here’s what I came up with (and I’m sharing this process because I hope it inspires you to re-evaluate too).

I have worked in consulting since 2010 and 98% of the companies I helped were men-founded, men-led, and men-operated. So I started my business as a tribute to my mom with a sole mission to balance the scales. She raised us as a single, working mom – and she sacrificed everything to give us a great life. It’s my dream to help women who don’t have access to as much funding, support, and education as they need. When women are pushed into this corner, we have this incredibly resilient response… We create our own spaces! That’s where value-driven entrepreneurship comes from, and it’s why I genuinely love being in the consulting business.

I pride myself on providing customized experiences and tailored-to-you strategies, so why mine wasn’t custom-made?

If the purpose is to support women who come in all shapes and forms with varying backgrounds and priorities, to support them when they build their own path, why was I trying to blend in?

So here. No more keeping up with all the social media trends and buzzwords. No more coaching websites that look like cookie-cutter copies.

I’m burning it all down and starting over.

Although I use coaching tools, I’m terrified of calling myself a “coach” because of the misrepresentation in this space. I made the extra effort to get accreditation as a business coach, to increase my qualifications… but I still worry that the word “coach” has lost its value in the online space.

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So here are my key takeaways from this season in business:

Fuck niches - I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it. Every single coach and “guru” out there swears the “riches are in the niches,” and there is a bit of truth to it. Getting focused on your dream clients and high-priority services is excellent. But serving a small niche was never my dream… I want to create opportunities for ALL women in business. I want to support women entrepreneurs in all walks and stages!

Crazy long sales pages were wasting everyone’s time. (Insert eye roll.) There is a time and a place for a well-written long-form sales page. But if your offer is less than $2,000, you need to slash that page in half! No one… seriously, no. one. wants to read through your backstory, a lengthy intro, 15 testimonials and 18 FAQs just to find the button to buy your $27 template. Let’s get to the point and start trusting our clients to know what they need – and to know a good deal when they see one!

Copy/ paste templates are a “no” for me. My website looked like every other coach out there – Same style, same flow, same colors and fonts. Shit, we had the same headshots and brand photos. The photo with a mug and a huge fake smile? Check. How was someone going to find ME in the sea of look-alikes?

Creating offers because “everyone else is doing it”. Listen, I literally muted and unfollowed friends for a season. It sucked because it was people I love to interact with and they inspire me… but I had to focus on creating my own content that’s true to me and my vision. Do whatever it takes to guard your creativity.

I felt like a content creator instead of a business owner. I was spending way too much time marketing and not enough time working with clients and building a business. I had to take a step back and prioritize being the CEO.

Creating courses and group coaching offers that weren’t aligned. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like you SHOULD be creating courses or group offers? Again, I know these things have value – but they aren’t for everybody or every season.

Constantly trying to keep up and figure out how everyone else is doing things. Instead of trusting my instincts and building the business I wanted, I was spinning in circles trying to keep up with everyone else. (I hate admitting it, but it’s true!)

After noticing all of these red flags, I made the hard call to burn it all down. I’m rebuilding something I can be proud of, and I’m doing things my own way this time! I hope you’ll join me.