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When Your ‘Dream Business’ Becomes a Nightmare: Burnout and Redefining Success with Jemma Broadstock [Ep 80]

When Success Doesn’t Feel Successful: The Real Reason Your Business is Burning You Out

Picture this: You’ve just hit six figures in your business. Your Instagram is full of congratulations. From the outside, it looks like you’ve officially “made it.”

But you’re sitting at your desk feeling completely empty. Burnt out. Wondering why success tastes so bitter.

That’s exactly what happened to Jemma Broadstock. She built a thriving agency, hit that coveted six-figure mark, and then shocked everyone by walking away from it all. Not because it wasn’t profitable. Not because she couldn’t handle the workload. But because she realized something most of us never want to admit: she had built a business that worked on paper but didn’t work for her actual life.

The Problem We Don’t Talk About Enough

Here’s what I’m seeing everywhere in the online space right now: people creating “successful” businesses that are slowly killing their souls. They’re hitting revenue goals, growing their teams, winning awards – but they feel like they’re putting on a costume every morning just to get through the day.

Jemma described it perfectly: “It felt like I was constantly having to put a uniform on every morning and be someone else in order to get through the day. And that’s like, what’s the point in starting your own business if you feel that way?”

The real kicker? Most of us think the solution is better strategy, new marketing tactics, or different clients. But what if I told you the problem runs much deeper than that?

Why Your “Strategy Problem” Isn’t Actually About Strategy

Here’s something Jemma shared that completely shifted how I think about business problems:

Let’s say your clients keep pushing your boundaries, and you’re thinking “I just need new clients.” But here’s the thing – if you get rid of all your current clients and fill up with brand new ones, but you’re still not able to set boundaries or have difficult conversations, those new clients are going to push your boundaries too.

Most people aren’t doing this maliciously. But if the deeper issue is that you want to be liked, you don’t want to annoy anyone, or you’re a people pleaser, swapping out clients isn’t going to solve anything.

This is why Jemma asks her clients a simple but powerful question: “If you do the thing you think you need to do, is it actually going to fix anything?”

It seems obvious, but when you’re in the thick of running a business, it’s surprisingly hard to see clearly.

The Real Markers of a Business That Works for You

During our conversation, Jemma shared a story that really stuck with me. She purchased from two different businesses in the same month. One was completely automated – fancy contracts, automated email sequences, the whole nine yards. The other was totally personal – basic invoices, direct communication, zero automation.

Which one made her feel more connected? The personal one, hands down.

This made her realize she was over-automating her own business and losing the human connection that actually gave her energy. Everyone was telling her to scale and automate, but that advice was pulling her away from what she actually loved about her work.

Now Jemma runs her business doing mostly one-to-one coaching. Everyone tells her this is “illogical” because it’s not scalable. But it makes her incredibly happy and fulfilled.

How to Figure Out What Success Actually Looks Like for You

If you’re reading this thinking “okay, but I have no idea what my version of success looks like,” you’re not alone. We’re not exactly taught this stuff in school.

Jemma uses something called the “best possible business” exercise with her clients. Here’s how it works:

Set aside 15-20 minutes and just write about what your best possible business would look like. Don’t worry about being realistic or logical – just write.

The twist? You need to do this exercise multiple times on different days. Why? Because what you write about when you’re having a bad health day (maybe you’ll focus on having enough money for private healthcare) will be completely different from what you write when you’re overwhelmed (you might focus on freedom and flexibility).

When Jemma did this exercise herself, she noticed patterns. Some days she wrote about having the freedom to take time off. Other days it was about working with people who energized her. The common threads became clear once she compared multiple versions.

Other tools that can help:

  • Values assessment: If one of your top values is community, but you’re trying to automate everything to scale, you might be removing the very thing that fulfills you
  • Strengths analysis: Are you actually using your top strengths in your business, or are you forcing yourself to work in areas that drain you?

Quick Wins You Can Implement This Week

1. The Gap Analysis Compare what you wrote in your “best possible business” exercise to where you are now. Where are the biggest disconnects? Those gaps are your starting points.

2. The Automation Audit Look at what you’ve automated in your business. Is it freeing you up to do more of what you love, or is it removing the parts of your business that actually energize you?

3. The Boundary Check That client problem you keep having? Ask yourself honestly: if you got completely new clients but didn’t change anything about how you communicate or set boundaries, would the problem actually go away?

The Permission You’ve Been Waiting For

Here’s what I learned from talking to Jemma: sometimes the most strategic decision for your business is the one that feels right for you, even if it doesn’t make sense on paper.

You don’t have to build a business that looks like everyone else’s. You don’t have to follow advice that works for other people if it makes you miserable. And you’re allowed to change direction, even if you’ve already built something “successful.”

As Jemma put it: “You’ve got two options. You can stay with what you’re doing, which maybe makes sense on paper and maybe makes sense strategically and keep feeling the way you feel. Or you can do something that maybe feels illogical and try it as an experiment.”

What’s Next?

If this resonates with you, start with that “best possible business” exercise. Do it three times over the next week on different days when you’re in different moods. Look for the patterns.

And remember – slowing down to figure out where you actually want to go will help you speed up getting there. It’s like having Google Maps open but not putting in a destination. You could walk around all day and be exhausted, but you’re not any closer to where you want to be.

Ready to dig deeper? Jemma has created a free 20-question assessment that gives you a personalized report on what area you should focus on to be happier and more fulfilled in your business. It’s based on psychology research and gives you specific, actionable next steps. Take the assessment here.

What does success actually look like for you? I’d love to hear about it – drop me a message and let me know what comes up when you do this exercise.

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