62. Readiness for Business Transformation: Why I Had to Burn It Down to Build It Back Up
- Brittany Miller
- Jun 25, 2024
- 13 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
When I talk about readiness for business transformation, I’m not talking about a tidy pivot plan with colour-coded spreadsheets and a motivational quote pinned to your wall. I’m talking about the kind of readiness that wakes you up in the middle of the night, the kind that forces you to look at what’s draining you, and the courage to let go of what’s comfortable—even if it still pays the bills.
If you’ve ever started a business out of necessity, curiosity, or a tiny, stubborn spark of possibility, you might recognize the pattern: you take on everything because you need the income, you promise the moon to your first clients because you want the proof that this can work, and you end up juggling so many little fires that the original vision gets dusty in the corner. That was me. And the hardest lesson I learned in my first two-and-a-half years of running my business is that readiness for business transformation sometimes looks like a slow, messy demolition—pulling apart what you built so you can rebuild something that actually fits your life.
If we haven't met yet, I’m Brittany, an online marketing strategist for female entrepreneurs. I teach women how to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality through smart, actionable marketing strategies that get them seen, loved, and paid. Whether you’re eager to DIY your way to success or hire professionals to help you along the way–my goal is to make sure you walk away with the clarity you need to see the results you desire and build a life you love.
Table of Contents
Why readiness for business transformation matters more than hustle
I used to think the solution to every business problem was more hustle: take on the client, say yes to the project, scale up with more clients, and—eventually—the freedom would come. But the truth is, the old model kept me chained to the calendar, reactive to other people’s timelines, and exhausted. Readiness for business transformation is not a rejection of hard work. It’s a redefinition of where you place your energy so that work actually supports your life and values.
Transformation matters because your business should be the vehicle that supports the life you want to lead—not the thing that consumes it. That means moving beyond the early-stage survival mindset into deliberate design. It’s about asking: Am I building a business for bank deposits or for a life that feels aligned? Am I creating systems that are sustainable when life gets messy, like when you have a newborn or a sudden family need?
My turning point: the social media manager grind
When I launched my business, I thought social media management would be the perfect starting point. I had skills, people told me I would be good at it, and small businesses needed help. I took on clients eagerly because I needed income and validation. But what I didn’t account for was the true cost of that work.
Time spent in back-and-forth communication that felt never-ending.
Clients needing approvals at odd hours that collided with my family time.
Being an expert in my clients’ businesses on top of my own, which multiplied workload.
Putting out content that didn’t always feel authentic to my personal mission.
The romantic idea—set everything to autopilot and write emails on the beach—collided with the reality of meeting-heavy weeks, inconsistent client feedback, and delayed calendars. I was working in the business, not on it. That mismatch was the first sign that my readiness for business transformation was more than a thought; it was becoming a necessity.
How the early-stage mindset keeps you stuck
There’s a startup mentality that most entrepreneurs carry for a while: take every client, lower your prices to match the market, and grow by volume. That mindset is useful when you’re finding product-market fit, but it’s dangerous when it becomes your permanent operating mode.
Here’s how that loop looked for me:
I took on multiple small clients with limited budgets.
To make services affordable, I set lower prices, which meant I had to take on more clients to hit revenue targets.
More clients meant more meetings, approvals, and unpredictable timelines—and fewer hours for strategic, revenue-generating projects.
Because I had no time for product development, I kept relying on one-to-one services that required constant upkeep.
That hamster wheel is exactly what readiness for business transformation helps you examine. You need to decide whether you keep adding spokes to the wheel or whether you’re ready to break the wheel and build a new vehicle entirely.
What I did first: clarifying priorities and letting go
My readiness for business transformation began with small, intentional decisions. I didn’t flip a switch and change everything overnight. Instead, I started by asking honest questions and then took action based on those answers.
Questions I asked myself:
What work lights me up and aligns with my core values?
Which tasks are draining without moving the needle?
What kind of lifestyle do I actually want, and how should my business support that?
After answering these, I made practical decisions that felt terrifying and freeing at the same time. I stopped taking on new social media management clients. I let contracts end without aggressively pushing renewals. I referred people to other managers when I couldn’t meet them where they were. Most importantly, I gave myself permission to prioritize long-term gains over short-term income.
How maternity leave clarified my readiness for business transformation
Maternity leave was the real litmus test. Knowing a newborn would upend my schedule forced me to see what my business would look like when I couldn’t serve clients in the old way. That pressure made the math unavoidable: did I want to keep trading hours for dollars in a model that required being constantly reactive?
The answer was no. I loved helping small business owners, especially other moms, but the way I was doing it wasn’t scalable or sustainable for the life I wanted. Readiness for business transformation meant designing a model that allowed me to create resources that worked for people on their own time—courses, templates, and bite-sized tools—rather than being chained to live deadlines.
From reactive to proactive: choosing scalable work
Once I let the idea of a rebuild settle in, I began to pivot toward activities that produced leverage. Leverage is the point where your time creates a multiple effect—you do one thing and it reaches many people. That’s the essence of the transformation I wanted.
Leverage looks like:
Course creation—record once, sell many times.
Downloadable resources and checklists—small investments that save people hours.
Masterclasses and group coaching—live engagement with scalability.
Podcasting—long-form content that funnels organic traffic and builds authority.
Switching to these models let me offer lower price points that still provided high value—and freed up my time to focus on creating the product, marketing it, and actually living my life.
The practical realities most people miss about social media services
I want to be blunt about social media management because it’s central to why I pivoted. When you hire someone to manage your socials, the full ecosystem behind those posts matters:
Consistent posting—growth often requires frequent, high-quality content that scales labor and cost.
Complementary systems—email lists, long-form content, and funnels are necessary for converting followers into customers.
Budget implications—hiring a single social media manager rarely creates noticeable sales unless it’s supported by email, content, and ads.
Translation: paying one person to post is rarely enough. To see real results, you need multiple investments—a podcast editor, email setup, content strategy, and more. For many small businesses, that stack is financially out of reach. And servicing those clients on stripped-down budgets became a source of frustration for me. It didn’t feel fair to them or sustainable for me.
A model that fits the life I want
When I ask myself what readiness for business transformation looks like in practice, it’s this: designing a business that supports how I actually want to live. For me that meant:
Less constant client-facing work and more creation time.
Products that can be consumed on the buyer’s schedule (podcasts, courses, downloads).
Smaller number of higher-impact one-on-one offerings, like coaching packages and done-for-you facelifts.
Blocking meeting days so I can have uninterrupted creative days.
I’m aiming for part-time hours—about 25 hours a week—so I’m present with my family and also consistently shipping products that help other small business owners. That intentionality is the core of my readiness for business transformation.
How I restructured services to reflect the pivot
I didn’t eliminate services entirely—rather, I reframed them. Here’s the approach I took:
Keep high-impact, low-frequency services: email setup and management, podcast setup and management (with my partner), and content facelifts.
Retain coaching as a core offer, because the one-on-one work is where clients see transformative results.
Reduce or stop ongoing daily social media management unless clients match the budget and expectations that make it effective.
Create a library of courses, templates, and freebies that give people the tools to DIY effectively and affordably.
This structure allows me to serve more people without being the bottleneck. It’s a direct result of paying attention to my readiness for business transformation and aligning my offers to fit that readiness.
Step-by-step guide: How to assess your own readiness for business transformation
If you’re in the sweaty middle like I was—juggling clients, feeling drained, and wondering if you’re the problem or the model—here’s a practical checklist to audit your situation and design your transformation.
Inventory your time: Track a week of your tasks. How many hours are reactive client tasks versus strategic creation?
Identify your needle movers: What activities directly lead to more revenue or bigger impact? List the top three and prioritize them.
Price honestly: Calculate what you need to make per hour to sustain your desired lifestyle. Are your prices reflecting that?
Segment your offerings: Which services are scalable (courses, downloads)? Which must remain limited (VIP coaching)?
Map out a transition timeline: How long will it take to phase out drain-heavy services while building new offers?
Build buffer savings: If possible, save three to six months of essential income to give you runway during transition.
Test before you fully commit: Launch a small course or masterclass to validate demand before closing the door on your existing model.
Communicate clearly with clients: Give notice, offer alternatives, and refer clients to trusted providers when you can.
Doing these steps gives you clarity and control. It also proves that readiness for business transformation isn’t reckless; it’s deliberate.
How to protect your mental and physical health during a pivot
Pivots are emotional. They bring relief and grief at the same time. That cognitive dissonance is normal. Here are the boundaries and routines that helped me stay sane:
Set meeting days: limit client calls to one or two days a week to preserve deep work time.
Keep predictable work hours: aim for a weekly limit (I’m moving toward 25 hours) and honor it.
Schedule blocks for personal life: family time, rest, and exercise are not optional—they fuel business energy.
Allow for imperfect output: early versions of courses or templates are fine; iterate based on user feedback.
Be transparent with your audience: authenticity builds trust. People will respect honest transitions.
These routines shift the internal narrative from “I must do everything now” to “I will create sustainably.” That mindset change is a huge part of readiness for business transformation.
How to communicate a pivot without burning bridges
One of the things I worried about most was disappointing people—clients who relied on me, colleagues, and the audience I’d built. But I learned that clarity beats perfection. Here’s how I communicated my shift:
Be honest: Explain the new focus, why it matters, and what will no longer be offered.
Offer alternatives: Refer clients to other professionals who love the work you’re leaving.
Share timelines: Give notice and a clear end date for old services so clients can plan.
Invite engagement: Ask your audience what they need next—use that feedback to inform product creation.
Most people are understanding, especially when you show them the path forward. That’s part of building trust during transformation.
What to expect financially when you pivot
Here’s the honest part: pivoting sometimes means a temporary pay cut. You might have fewer clients while you create courses or build a marketing funnel. That’s why runway and realistic financial planning are vital. But the upside is that once your scalable offerings are live, the revenue per hour tends to improve dramatically.
Short-term strategies to survive the dip:
Keep a small number of high-impact, higher-priced clients while you transition.
Offer pre-launch discounts or early-bird pricing to fund course creation.
Bundle services into higher-value packages that require fewer hours per dollar.
When I planned my pivot, I consciously accepted a slower income runway to free time for building the assets that would replace reactive hours with leveraged income. That’s central to my readiness for business transformation.
The emotional reality: grief, relief, and guilt
It’s okay to grieve what you’re leaving. I felt guilty for stepping away from the service that helped me get started. I worried about clients who might feel abandoned. But I also felt a deep relief—like a tight band loosening around my chest. Those emotions can coexist. Allow them. Talk about them. And use them to motivate better design, not to freeze you in place.
How to keep your impact while changing your model
Pivoting doesn’t mean letting go of your mission. My core desire is to help small business owners, especially fellow moms, create marketing systems that actually work for their lives. That’s unchanged. The method has evolved:
From doing the work for clients to teaching them how to do it well.
From one-to-one time trades to group learning and digital products.
From reactive calendars to planned content that serves multiple channels.
If you’re driven by impact, find the formats that scale that impact. Courses, podcasts, and templates are my chosen vehicles. Pick what fits your strengths and audience.
Examples of “one-time” projects that create leverage
Think in terms of assets instead of hourly work. Here are examples that worked for me and the people I mentor:
Courses on niche topics: social media profile optimization, email setup, podcast basics.
Checklists and templates: email sequences, caption templates, content calendar frameworks.
Workshops and masterclasses: paid live events that can be repackaged as evergreen content.
Podcast series or blog pillars: long-form content that feeds shorter social posts and builds search traffic.
Each asset takes work up front, but the payoff is ongoing. This shift is a hallmark of readiness for business transformation: investing time now to unlock time later.
Action plan: 90-day blueprint to prepare for your transformation
If you’re ready to move from thinking about change to actually doing it, here’s a compact 90-day blueprint to get started:
Days 1–14: Audit and Decide
Track all tasks and client work for a week.
Identify top three needle-moving activities.
Decide which services to phase out and which to keep.
Days 15–45: Build Core Assets
Create a small course or toolkit that addresses a common client pain point.
Build a simple sales page and an email sequence to support it.
Days 46–75: Soft Launch and Feedback
Invite an early-bird cohort or run a low-cost masterclass.
Collect testimonials and iterate quickly.
Days 76–90: Scale and Transition
Limit new client intakes according to your new capacity.
Start promoting the evergreen offer and set a timeline for sunsetting drained services.
This plan helps you move deliberately so readiness for business transformation becomes a series of manageable steps—not a panic-driven overhaul.
What I’m building next and how I’m inviting you in
For the foreseeable future, I’m leaning into course creation, podcasting, and downloadable resources. I still offer carefully chosen one-on-one services—coaching, marketing facelifts, and targeted done-for-you work—but at a scale that respects my time and family life.
-
If you’re reading this and thinking one of these would help you, tell me. I love building for people who will actually use what I create. Your feedback keeps my work relevant and useful, and asking for it was part of my readiness for business transformation. When you tell me the gaps in your knowledge—email setup, content calendars, or podcasting best practices—I can prioritize the resources that will move you forward.
Transformation isn’t a single dramatic act. It’s a string of tiny, brave decisions that add up.
Final pep talk: you don’t have to get it perfect
Readiness for business transformation is a messy, brave process. You don’t have to do it all at once. In fact, the most sustainable transformations are incremental, planned, and grounded in your values. Do the audit. Choose what to keep. Design what comes next. And when doubt creeps in—because it will—remember that discomfort often means growth is happening.
If you’re in the middle of dismantling something to build something better, I see you. I’ve been there. And I’m rooting for you every step of the way.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away, it’s this: readiness for business transformation doesn’t require perfection. It requires honesty, a willingness to let go, and the courage to build something aligned. You can redesign your business in ways that protect your energy and multiply your impact.
Start small. Test quickly. Communicate clearly. Protect your time like the precious resource it is. And remember that rebuilding doesn’t mean starting from zero every time—sometimes it means salvaging what works, discarding what doesn’t, and using the lessons you learned to build something better.
FAQ
How do I know if I'm ready for business transformation?
Look for persistent feelings of misalignment: chronic exhaustion, reactive work rhythms, and the sense that your business supports the wrong life. Run a time audit, list your needle movers, and if more of your week is spent on low-impact tasks, you’re likely ready to transform.
Will pivoting mean I lose money?
Possibly in the short term. Many pivots mean fewer hours traded for dollars initially. But if you intentionally build assets—courses, templates, or packaged services—you can create leverage that increases income per hour over time. Plan financially with a runway or phased transition.
How do I pivot without losing existing clients?
Communicate early and honestly. Offer referrals for services you’re sunsetting, provide clear timelines, and present new options that might serve their needs. Clients often appreciate transparency and will respect a well-managed transition.
What if I enjoy the client work but it’s still exhausting?
Differentiate between the type of client work you enjoy and the quantity or structure of it. You might keep client work but limit it to premium, high-impact projects that pay more and require fewer hours. Alternatively, adjust your processes to create boundaries like set meeting days and bundled deliverables.
How long should a transition take?
Transitions can take anywhere from a few months to a year depending on financial needs and the complexity of your offerings. A 90-day focused plan can move you from decision to soft launch. Use a phased approach: build assets, test with early customers, then scale while winding down draining services.
What’s the first practical step I should take today?
Start a simple time audit. For one week, log your daily work in 30–60 minute increments. Identify which activities feel draining and which create the most value. That data will make your next decisions clearer and help you plan a transformation you can sustain.
Come say hi!
Ready to level up your life and business taking it from good to great? Check out our Social Media, Email Marketing, or Podcasting Services
Hit follow and please leave a review if you enjoyed this episode! The kids and I might even bust out a happy dance! 💗 - Brittany
00:00 Intro
1:30 Aligning your business with your ideal life
5:00 What managing social media is actually like
10:00 Clients realities
12:00 The challenges of making business decisions
18:00 Becoming a course creator
22:00 Pivoting in business
23:00 Services update
32:15 Wrap up
Comments