Hello fellow entrepreneurs.

I’ve been a small business owner for the past 9 years, founding three separate companies during that time. When I first started (at age 28), I had an incredible amount of energy, creativity, focus and stamina to do so much. For a long time, I thought I was balancing it all (work/life) perfectly. But about two years ago, I started the process of what I now recognize as burn out. I didn’t really know what was happening at the time, but slowly I began to realize that I was losing my capacity to hold it all. I started to become sick, frustrated or weepy very easily. I started to feel like no matter how much sleep I got, I would wake up tired. I became short tempered and defensive. My memory started to fail me, which felt super disorienting.

Finally, a year ago, I hit a wall where I was unable to work for a couple of months, which meant I let a lot of things slip through the cracks. It’s been almost a year of pulling myself back together. I am finally feeling clear and energized again. The funny thing is, I am an Ayurvedic practitioner (I work in the wellness space), so in theory, I had the tools I needed to avoid this all along, but there were a few key mistakes I made along the way. I only see them now — looking back.

As I emerge from this crisis, and begin talking about it with more and more fellow entrepreneurs, I have realized that this experience is incredibly common. Many of us are on the brink of burnout, while others are burned out but are forcing themselves to keep going. Now, I am embarking on a project to learn everything I can about this issue because I think so many of us are suffering in silence around it.

I want to help. I am curious if anyone here would like to connect 1:1 to share your burnout experience with me? My goal is to listen to you, because I want to put together something to support fellow entrepreneurs to avoid, or recover from, burnout.

If you’re looking for a place to express your fears, frustrations and challenges around balancing it all, please connect with me by emailing me at sierra@cultivatebalance.com. Note: I will invite you for a 30 minute conversation, and it will NOT be a sales call of any kind.

I am researching the shared problem of burnout, so we can find a way through together.

I would be so grateful for your time and insight.

Wishing you all the best,
Sierra Brashear