From burnout and breakthrough to rest and reinvention – a story of building, unraveling, and rediscovering who I am beyond the business.

My Story

After ten years of building Trusty Oak from scratch, I sold the business and stepped away from my role as founder and CEO. It still feels surreal to say it out loud. This blog post is an honest reflection on that journey – not a highlight reel, but a deeply personal story about purpose, burnout, healing, and learning to let go with grace. My hope is that, in sharing it, other heart-centered entrepreneurs will feel seen, encouraged, and inspired to follow their own wisdom, even when it means walking away.

The Spark That Lit the Fire

I started Trusty Oak because I couldn’t find the job I was looking for. I wanted to work within a team that prioritized individual wellbeing and meaningful work. I had experience, intuition, and drive – but no college degree – and kept hitting walls in the job market. One of the most relevant books I have read three times now is titled, The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday. That rejection in my job search – the obstacle – turned out to be divine redirection. After applying to a VA agency, I had a lightbulb moment: why not build something like this myself?

It started small. A one-page website I built myself. PayPal buttons so clients could buy hours. Nothing fancy. But it let me start. Within three months, I hired my first VA. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to create something bigger than myself. A business that gave people real opportunities to thrive.

I believed I’d hit $1M in annual revenue within two years (spoiler: it took six). But even in the early days, there were signs that this idea had legs. I nervously spoke each week at networking lunches. At first, I was so anxious, I couldn’t eat until after my turn to speak was over. But people started to respond. They referred business. And I kept going.

The Climb: Scrappy Years, Silent Doubts, Small Wins

Year two was one of the hardest. My business cards said “Founder & CEO,” but I was driving for Lyft and working part-time as an office manager at a software startup. I was barely paying myself. The office manager job was super humbling. I was scrubbing toilets while reporting to young, overconfident leaders who didn’t value my contributions.

At that point, I felt desperate. A couple of friends proposed partnering with me to grow the business, and I nearly said yes. But over lunch with a trusted friend, I was asked one simple question: why? I realized I was about to make a major decision from a place of fear, not wisdom. I called it off. They were angry. But that reaction only reinforced my clarity. I kept going, on my own terms.

Burnout and the Turning Point

We hit $1M in revenue in 2021, but in 2022, everything shifted. I was working harder than ever and my body was constantly tense and in pain. Business growth stalled. Profitability was getting squeezed down. The VA industry became saturated. Offshoring began to drive prospects to choose the least expensive option instead of us. I had always been the face of our growth, but I was at the end of myself – tapped out, burned out, and tired of chasing.

That’s when I turned inward. I stopped drinking in November 2022. I hired a life coach in 2024. I started doing the work to heal from old traumas and take care of myself. I started making adjustments in the business to improve profitability and create more space in my schedule for strategic thinking and writing. The business performance improved, but something else was bubbling to the surface. I began to notice how deeply my identity was wrapped up in Trusty Oak. The more I unraveled that attachment, the more clearly I saw: it was time for me to step away.

Firing Myself: Letting Go with Intention

Letting go was a process. I had multiple offers to buy the company over the next year, but they either fell through or felt misaligned. With each experience, I learned more about what I wanted – and what I didn’t. I was scared of selling to the wrong person. Scared that the community of VAs and small business leaders our company ecosystem supports would be harmed in some way. Afraid what I had created would fade out or fall apart, and that there’d be nothing to show for the last decade of my life.

Eventually, I found the right buyer–my Chief Operations Officer and her husband! These were people I know and trust deeply, and who aligned with our company values. And they have the big vision for expanding the business in ways I always dreamed of doing, but never had the capital to pull off on my own. Once the deal was imminent, that’s when the grief hit. I started having dreams and interpreting them. One dream nudged me to write a letter to my old self. In it, I said:

“The hard-working woman you have been is honorable and appreciated, and now, I release you from this burden… First, we rest. Then, we work in flow instead of hustle.”

I also wrote letters to team members, past and present, and to my coaches. Even before the sale went through, this ritual helped me process the ending. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. No one gets this far in business alone.

Remembering Who I Am

At first, letting go of the founder identity was disorienting. Being CEO had become my entire answer to the question, “What do you do?”

But as I created space, something unexpected emerged: I began painting, writing, leaning into the arts. Something deep within me whispered to awaken my inner artist and notice how creating freely seems to activate a part of my soul that had been sitting dormant. I found myself teaching and mentoring in informal ways, and people started telling me my guidance had changed their lives. That lit something new in me.

I’m not limited to the success of my company now. My impact is expanding in new directions.

My definition of success has changed. It’s not just about revenue anymore. It’s about alignment. Joy. Flow. Wholeness. And I know that money can align with that, too. It’s a lot easier to make money when we are doing work that lights us up – the work we are uniquely gifted to bring to the world. So I’m trusting my next vocation will emerge from following my intuition.

What I Want You to Know

If you’re at the edge of burnout, or on the cusp of a big decision, here’s what I want to tell you:

• Move forward with more confidence. You can trust yourself and your intuition, especially if you stay grounded in your own wellbeing.
• It’s okay to admit you need help. Don’t wait too long to listen to the voice within.
• Delegate to create space. Not just for productivity, but to hear your soul again.

What I’m most proud of isn’t the revenue or the awards – it’s knowing I helped people reclaim their time, their focus, their lives.

What’s Next?

Right now, I’m focused on launching my book in June and leaning into rest. I’ve tried to rush into the next thing a few times, but something in me keeps saying: not yet.

Something in me still needs to heal, shift, or grow before the next chapter can unfold.

So I’m creating art, writing more, loving my family, and trusting the unfolding. This is just the beginning.

Thank you for being part of the story.

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If this resonated with you, I invite you to explore my upcoming book, join my mailing list, or connect with me on social media. The unhurried life is calling – and I believe it leads us somewhere beautiful.