Before You Plan the Next Quarter, Reconnect With the Woman Who Built the Business

Sometimes the clarity you’re searching for isn’t found by doing more. It comes when you finally create enough space to hear yourself again.

Summer is almost here.

And if you’re anything like I was, you’re probably telling yourself:

“When things slow down a little, I’ll finally have some time to think.”

“When the kids are off.”

“When clients are quieter.”

“When everyone else needs less from me.”

Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a moment for yourself.

But can I lovingly ask you something?

When was the last time you intentionally stepped away from your business, your family, your responsibilities, and created space just to hear yourself think?

Not a vacation where you’re coordinating everyone else. Not a weekend where you’re catching up on all the things you haven’t had time to do.

Time for you.

For years, I did something that became one of my most important rituals.

I would book myself into a hotel.

Not somewhere far away. Sometimes it was close to home. But always somewhere near water.

Because if you know me, you know nature grounds me.

Watching the water. Hearing the breeze through the trees. Walking outside without a schedule.

It quieted all the noise.

And for the first time in a long time, I could hear my own voice again.

I would arrive with my big sticky wall-sized Post-it notes, my coloured Sharpies, and no real agenda except curiosity.

But I didn’t start writing right away.

First, I rested.

I breathed.

I let myself arrive.

I went for a walk. I enjoyed a beautiful dinner. I watched a movie. I went to bed when I wanted. I woke up when my body was ready.

Because when you spend your life holding so much for everyone else, sometimes the first thing you need is not another plan.

You need space.

You need quiet.

You need to remember what it feels like to simply be.

Then, when I felt grounded, I started writing.

I wasn’t there to fix my business.

I wasn’t there because something was wrong.

I was there to reconnect.

With myself.

With the woman behind the business.

I would cover the walls with questions:

What do I want the next 90 days to feel like?

What do I want my role to be?

What parts of the business light me up?

What parts are draining me?

Where am I spending my time because I love it?

Where am I spending my time because I never stopped to question it?

What do I want for my life?

What do I want for my marriage?

What do I want for my business?

What do I want for me?

Because those are not always the same answers.

And they all matter.

When I had my private consulting practice alongside my business, I would ask:

Do I still want this?

Who do I want to work with?

How many clients actually feels good?

What does success look like now?

And often, the answer wasn’t bigger.

It was better.

For me, that meant one or two private clients at a time, for 90 days.

Deep work.

Meaningful work.

Work that energized me.

By the time I left those retreats, I had mapped out my next 90 days and often the direction for my entire year.

But more importantly?

I came home feeling like myself again.

Grounded.

Clear.

Excited.

Connected.

Because here’s something I know after almost three decades building service businesses:

It’s not that you hate your business.

Sometimes you’ve just lost yourself inside of it.

Not because you did anything wrong.

Because you’ve spent years building, serving, leading, taking care of everyone and everything.

And the woman who built it needs a moment to catch up with the life she created.

So this summer, before you plan the next quarter of your business, I want to invite you to create your own reconnect retreat.

Book the hotel.

Pack the notebook.

Bring the markers.

Choose somewhere that makes you breathe differently.

Before you pour another quarter of yourself into your business, I want to invite you to sit with yourself.

Start here:

Where do you come alive?

Finish these sentences:

I feel energized when…

I feel curious when…

I feel proud when…

I lose track of time when…

Then ask yourself:

Where have I disappeared?

I feel drained when…

I feel resentful when…

I feel invisible when…

I feel like I’m only operating when…

Don’t judge your answers.

Don’t immediately create a plan.

Don’t tell yourself all the reasons why nothing can change.

Just notice.

Because noticing is where reconnecting begins.

And reconnecting with yourself changes how you show up everywhere.

In your life.

In your relationships.

And yes, in the business you built.

Before you pour another quarter of yourself into your business…

Spend a night with the woman who built it.

She’s still there.

Maybe she just needs a quiet room, a view of the water, and enough space to finally hear herself again.