Back in December 2019, I was completely burned out - to the point where I felt crispy inside, like there was zero moisture (energy) left.

I jokingly say that now to be funny (in my own way), but it wasn’t funny back then.

For three years leading up to that point, I had been building my community through in-person events in New York City while cranking out long-form blog content online.

Planning and promoting my events, writing blogs and promoting those, occasional podcast guesting, and other PR activities (because I couldn’t be consistent) … all of it was draining me while I was also servicing existing clients.

I had an editor, an assistant, and a small part-time event team—yet all the key tasks still fell on me.

Looking back, the biggest cause of my burnout was that I had no good results to show for it.

I kept going for a while, knowing this was a long game and consistency mattered.
But at some point, I could clearly visualize myself standing at a crossroads:

“Should I keep going to become an overnight sensation that was 10 years in the making… or switch to DSD - do something different?”

Anytime I feel the need to regroup, the first place I start is by reassessing my why.

So… why was I doing all these activities in the first place?

It wasn’t simply about getting more clients.

My goal was to move away from referral dependency.

I knew relying solely on referrals and word-of-mouth wasn’t a sustainable business development model for my business.

I had chosen to do in-person events and blogging to build my email list and nurture my leads through my email newsletter.

But the reality? It was painfully slow.

At the end of 2019, I had fewer than 250 people on my email list.

Although my blog posts were gaining popularity - thanks to their unusual yet relatable business topics - only a handful of clients came directly from learning about my services through my blog.

I was tired. I felt defeated. And worse, I could sense a feeling of resentment gradually brewing inside me.