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Building a True Freedom Business: Why Sometimes You Need to Blow Everything Up to Level Up with Lena Sesardic [Ep 67]

When we talk about freedom in business, we often focus on time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom. But what about the freedom to be completely yourself? The freedom to pivot when something no longer feels right? The freedom to completely reinvent your business model even when things are “working”?

I recently sat down with Lena Sesardic for my podcast, and her story stopped me in my tracks. In October 2023, Lena made the decision to leave Spain, end her marriage, and completely dismantle her successful coaching business – all within the span of a few weeks. Not because things were terrible, but because she felt a pull toward something different.

“It was the ultimate act of self-love,” she shared. “I didn’t leave any negative situations. Everything was fine. I just felt like I could have a bigger adventure in life.”

Her story got me thinking about what true freedom in business really means, and the courage it takes to follow your internal compass even when it points you in a direction that makes no logical sense.

The Messy Middle of Business Pivots

If you follow Lena on Instagram, you’ll know she’s refreshingly open about her journey. But what struck me most in our conversation was her candor about the uncomfortable period that followed her decision – something we rarely see people share in real-time.

“I went through a really long period of three months of just massive confusion and denial,” she admitted. “I slowly stopped selling my high-ticket program. I was still trying to push my membership, but things just didn’t feel aligned for me anymore.”

For months after moving to Mexico, Lena experienced something she’d never encountered before – a complete lack of motivation. Despite having previously navigated difficult circumstances (including supporting her ex-husband through cancer), she found herself unable to work, focus, or even complete basic admin tasks.

“At certain points I was like, can I even work again? Like, have I just broken myself? Did I blow up my life?” she recalled.

This is the messy middle that entrepreneurs rarely talk about – the gap between letting go of one identity and finding another. The period where you’re drawing on savings, questioning every decision, and feeling like you’re the only one who can’t figure it out.

Why Authenticity Creates Freedom

One of the most powerful insights from our conversation was about how authenticity in your content and business creates a different kind of freedom – the freedom to evolve.

“The biggest thing that I’ve gotten out of just being open, being authentic in my content is actually a bit of a selfish thing – just feeling free in myself,” Lena explained. “When we suppress ourselves, bad things happen to our body.”

By consistently showing up as herself through each evolution of her business, Lena has:

1. Created a community that follows her for who she is, not just what she sells

2. Built enough trust with her audience that they’ll follow her through pivots

3. Attracted clients and partnerships that align with her authentic self

4. Given herself permission to evolve without apologizing

“It’s like a repulsion device or a refinement device when you are just fully who you really are,” she noted. “You start to create a community and a reality where you can just be yourself more and more.”

How to Navigate Your Own Business Pivot

If you’re feeling stuck in your current business model or sensing it’s time for a change, here’s what I learned from Lena about navigating that transition:

1. Recognize that entrepreneurs aren’t meant to stay static

“If you don’t evolve, you’re going to be left behind,” Lena cautioned. “We’re entrepreneurs for a reason. We did not sign up for necessarily stability all the time.”

If you’re craving change, don’t dismiss it as a symptom of entrepreneur ADD. It might be your intuition telling you it’s time to level up.

2. Create financial bridges, not excuses

While financial concerns are valid, they can become a crutch that keeps you stuck. “I’m not saying anyone should go broke or go into extreme debt to pivot their business,” Lena clarified, “but in the online space, everything is easier – you don’t need a lot of capital.”

Look for ways to create financial bridges during your transition:

– Freelancing or consulting

– Part-time work

– Taking on shorter-term clients

– Drawing on savings strategically

3. Keep moving, but give yourself grace

The hardest balance to strike is between forward momentum and self-compassion. “Even when I was really just so demotivated, I was still thinking about things in the background,” Lena shared. “I was talking with people in Tulum. I was trying to pay attention to business models.”

Stay in motion, even if it’s just:

– Having conversations

– Observing trends

– Exploring new ideas

– Learning new skills

But simultaneously, “let it come to you, which is so, so painful, especially as someone like me who’s so big on action.”

4. Stay adaptable, especially with AI

Perhaps the most thought-provoking part of our conversation was Lena’s perspective on how AI is transforming the online business landscape.

“I personally think that content creation is completely going to change,” she warned. “I think a lot of the brands that are seeing a very high level of rapid success and sustained success – AI is behind it.”

She believes that staying adaptable and learning how to effectively use AI tools will be critical for any online business. “It’s going to reward creativity,” she explained. “Finally now we can actually spend our energy on the thing that we’re good at, which is coming up with ideas.”

Trusting Your Journey

In January, just a few months after her big life change, things suddenly started falling into place for Lena. A WhatsApp group she started for women in Tulum grew to 50 members in a week. She began hosting events, exploring partnerships with restaurants, and even opened an e-commerce store.

“Everything just fell into place,” she said. “And I think something that people don’t talk about in the online space enough is just how long it sometimes takes to refind yourself and how scary and honestly shameful it can feel in the process.”

If you’re considering a business pivot or sensing it’s time to evolve your offerings, remember that the uncertainty is part of the process. The confusion, the fear, the dip in motivation – these aren’t signs you’ve made a mistake. They’re simply part of the messy middle.

**Ready to build more freedom and authenticity into your business?** I help service providers create systems that support their vision, not constrain it. Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss how we can set up your business to evolve with you, not hold you back.

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