Why personal development is essential for entrepreneurs and how to avoid burnout.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed of human. We see possibility. When we start out on a new business quest, we do so with energy and passion that some would call reckless. We believe in our cause and with our rose colored glasses, we forge ahead. We feel on top of the world, not terribly fazed by the relentless time demands; we wake up excited to tackle our goals and we feed off the energy of business growth. Closing sales is the best dopamine hit and we feel a little bit invincible. Until we don’t.

At some point, the early stage excitement wears off and reality sets in. You are wearing all the hats and you realize you might be in over your head. After all, many of these roles are brand new to you. You are met with supply chain issues, lack of human resources, paperwork and documentation deadlines, cash flow issues, miscommunication with vendors, struggles to keep inventory in stock. You feel inadequate, but you push through.

I don’t know a single entrepreneur who hasn’t felt this very real struggle at some point in their business. And I know for sure that we don’t talk about it enough. Whether because of ego, fear of judgment, worry that appearing weak will hurt the business or because our culture praises success and frowns upon weakness. We don’t dare let competitors or those with influence in the industry know we are struggling for fear of tarnishing our brand or reputation. So often, we suffer alone in silence.

In 2024 I closed Zoe Organics after 14 years in business. I began a deep dive, processing the experience and making sense of what I learned. The lessons continue to reveal themselves and I will be forever grateful for this first business, which I believe was training for my life and purpose. Nothing has mirrored back to me the areas that required my personal growth and development like the past 14 years as CEO of Zoe Organics.

The truth is, we are meant to evolve and grow. The very idea of staying stagnant is depressing and completely contrary to what we envision for ourselves as creative, visionary entrepreneurs. However, entrepreneurs face some big personal battles. It’s often said that entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. I’d also like to add that starting a business is the fast track to personal growth and dealing with your own sh**. The longer you are in business and the greater business growth you desire, the more personal healing and expansion will be required of you.

It took YEARS of entrepreneurship for me to finally make the connection between my own limitations (many of them self-inflicted) and the ability for my business to grow. Expansion is funny like that. Have you ever gotten really excited about a big idea or vision and then in the next breath shut it down when you realized what would be required of you to do it? Our bodies and minds want to hover at what is comfortable and familiar, but in order to reach our potential, we must be willing to get uncomfortable, sometimes full on terrified.

Around the 10 year mark of running Zoe Organics, the COVID pandemic hit. Looking back, this was the beginning of the end. Stress levels were high as we tried to navigate things we could not have foreseen. I added a Hand + Surface Spray to our products, which became a best seller for the time-being. As the pandemic wore on into year two, and we continued to lose wholesale accounts due to store closures and bankruptcy. I found myself questioning everything. I didn’t have the same joy and motivation that connected me to the work we were doing. I was burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, really burnt out. I became a college professor, which was a great distraction from what I didn’t want to deal with - my pain. I didn’t recognize what was happening at the time but I was on a slippery slope and needed help recognizing that unless I dealt with some of the underlying symptoms of my burnout, I was going to crash. But I felt stuck. Everyone was depending on me; my family, my employees, investors, customers, students, employers, vendors….

Sometimes we have to crash. Like God’s way of saying, you’ve tried it your way and it’s not working. It’s time to rest and rediscover who you are. My crash ended me up in the ER and subsequently 4 days in the psych hospital and a multiple year healing journey. My process is my own, and one I now embrace with gratitude.

Growth involves expansion. Ever feel like aspects of your life just don’t fit anymore? Like clothes that become too snug and make you grumpy and uncomfortable? What makes us think that our work, romantic relationships, friendships, hobbies and other parts of our lives won’t require a re-evaluation as we level up?

It’s important to understand that it’s ok to let things and people go that are no longer right for us. I wish I had learned this lesson sooner, but I was too much of a people-pleaser and I put so much pressure on myself to achieve a certain level of success that I didn’t stop to think about how much I was suffering. I just kept running myself ragged to prove that I wasn’t a quitter. Does any of this sound familiar?

So sit with this thought for a moment. What would happen if we prioritized our personal growth and expansion as a much as we do our businesses? How much better would we be able to serve others if we were healing ourselves, and operating from a place of inner peace? What would it do for our creative, innovative minds if we weren’t working from an anxious, frazzled state? What would it feel like to have healthy boundaries? To stop people-pleasing? To move forward with confidence in your decisions?

I want to leave you with a few strategies for avoiding burnout and expanding your personal capacity that aligns with your business growth:

1. Take breaks often so you don’t have to quit

2. Find a good therapist or life/business coach - do the work!

3. Don’t neglect your spiritual life

4. Continue to try and learn new things

5. Recognize the warning signs of burnout;

   1. lack of interest in the things that once brought your energy and joy

   2. anxiety and unregulated nervous system; panic attacks, heart palpitations, lack of appetite, fatigue

   3. avoiding responsibilities

   4. irritable and impatient (out of character)

I share these examples from my personal experience because I think it is really important to tell the real founder stories. I’m not over here beating myself up for my mistakes. I’m really grateful for these lessons that I can pass along to others and use going forward. I gave myself permission to start over. To do things differently, the way my 45 year old self would do them. My story isn’t over. A chapter has closed, but a new beautiful chapter is now being written.

If any of this resonates with you, I would love to hear from you!

xo Heather