By Rachael Burgess
As another year begins, I notice the same pattern every time. There’s a lot of noise about fresh starts, big goals, and pushing harder than ever. And while that energy can feel motivating at first, it can also be overwhelming, especially if you’ve already been running a small business for a long time, or you’re rebuilding after a tough season.
After many years in small business, I’ve learned that January doesn’t need to be loud to be meaningful. It doesn’t need pressure, unrealistic expectations, or constant forward motion. In fact, some of the most important progress I’ve made in my businesses didn’t come from rushing into a new year with everything planned out.
It came from slowing down enough to check in with myself and decide what pace actually made sense.
I’ve burned out before, more than once. I’ve pushed through seasons thinking that working harder was the only option, especially when you’re running a home business and wearing every hat yourself. And while that mindset can get you through short periods, it’s not something you can sustain year after year without it costing you something—usually your energy, your creativity, or your joy.
What experience has taught me is that longevity in business isn’t about doing more every January. It’s about learning when to pause, when to simplify, and when to build in a way that supports your life instead of draining it. Especially at the start of a new year, when it’s easy to feel like you should already be further along than you are.
So as this year begins, I’m approaching it differently, with intention, with honesty, and with the understanding that growth doesn’t need to come at the cost of burnout.
What I’ve learned over nearly three decades in small business is that staying in it long-term means learning how to protect your energy, not just your income. And that’s what I want to talk about here.
The Part of Small Business I Learned the Hard Way
I didn’t always understand the importance of protecting my energy, especially in the early years of running a home business.
When I started my Cake Business all those years ago, slowing down wasn’t even an option I considered. I was raising my kids, working from home, saying yes to every opportunity, and doing whatever it took to keep things moving. Like many small business owners, especially mums, I believed that if I wasn’t busy, I wasn’t doing enough. If I wasn't tired, I must not be working hard enough.
And for a long time, that mindset worked. It helped me build something from nothing. It helped me show up for my customers and my family.
But over time, it also caught up with me.
There were seasons where I was exhausted before the year had even really begun. January would roll around, and instead of feeling refreshed, I already felt behind. Behind on orders, behind on plans, behind on energy. I kept pushing anyway, telling myself I’d rest “after this busy period,” even though another busy period always followed.
What experience taught me, often the hard way, is that working harder doesn’t always mean working better.
Especially in a home business, where the lines between work and life blur so easily, burnout doesn’t arrive suddenly; it builds quietly, you lose motivation, you lose creativity, and you start resenting the very thing you once loved.
I’ve had to learn to recognize those signs early. To stop treating exhaustion as a badge of honour and start seeing it as feedback. These days, I don’t rush into January trying to prove anything. I look at what my energy can realistically support. I think about my family, my health, and the season of life I’m in, not just my business goals.
Slowing down hasn’t made my businesses weaker. If anything, it’s made my decisions clearer. I’m more intentional with what I say yes to. I’m more aware of what actually moves the business forward and what simply keeps me busy.
Protecting my energy has become just as important as protecting my income. Because without energy, creativity fades, and without creativity, the work stops feeling meaningful.
And that lesson alone has shaped how I approach every new year now.
Not Forcing Momentum at the Start of the Year
Another thing I’ve learned over time is that January doesn’t need immediate momentum to be successful.
There were years when I felt pressure to come into the new year with everything decided; clear plans, full schedules, big goals already mapped out. It felt as if I didn’t start fast; I was already behind. Especially after a busy December, I’d tell myself I needed to “hit the ground running,” even when I was still tired.
And sometimes I did exactly that; I rushed decisions, I committed to things too early, I filled my calendar before I really understood what the year ahead would need from me. On paper, it looked productive. In reality, it often meant undoing things later or realizing I’d taken on more than I could sustain.
What Experience has taught me is that clarity doesn’t always show up on demand.
Sometimes it needs space.
And forcing decisions before you’re ready doesn’t create confidence; it creates stress.
Now, when a new year begins, I allow myself time to settle into it. I don’t expect all the answers straight away. I pay attention to what feels steady and what feels rushed. I let the direction become clearer before I lock things in. That doesn’t mean I stop working; it means I work differently.
There are still moments where I feel that familiar urge to hurry things along, especially when I see others moving quickly or announcing big plans. But I’ve learned that speed isn’t the same as progress. Some of the best decisions I’ve made came from waiting just a little longer, thinking things through, and trusting that clarity would come.
Starting the year without forcing momentum has helped me make better choices overall. It’s allowed me to build in a way that feels considered, not reactive. And over time, that approach has led to stronger foundations, fewer regrets, and a business that feels more stable instead of constantly rushed.
Remembering Why You’re Still Here
After all these years, one thing I’ve come to accept is that motivation doesn’t always show up the way people expect it to.
There are seasons where you feel inspired and clear, and others where you’re simply showing up because this is what you’ve chosen to build. I’ve had both. There have been times when I questioned whether it was worth continuing, especially after rebuilding more than once, or when things felt harder than they should have.
What’s kept me going hasn’t been constant passion or big wins. It’s been a quieter sense of knowing why I started in the first place. The flexibility to be present with my family. The ability to create something with my hands and my ideas. The freedom to build a business that reflects who I am, even as that changes over time.
In some years, that reason feels strong and obvious. Other years, it’s something I have to consciously reconnect with, especially when the work feels repetitive or progress feels slow. I’ve learned not to judge those quieter seasons. They’re part of staying in business long-term.
At the start of a new year, I don’t look for motivation in big goals or dramatic plans anymore.
I look for it in alignment, whether what I’m building still makes sense for my life, my values, and the season I’m in right now.
I’ve learned that you don’t need to feel excited every day to keep going. You just need enough clarity to know why you’re here, and enough trust in yourself to take the next small step when it feels right.
That’s what keeps a business going year after year. Not the pressure to push harder, but the willingness to stay connected to what matters, even when the path forward isn’t loud or obvious.
Moving Forward Without Burning Out
When I look back on the years that led me here — building businesses for nearly three decades, including two decades running my cake business — I can see how much of the business has been shaped by trial, error, and learning things the long way around.
From building my first business while raising my kids, to rebuilding after tough seasons, to starting new chapters that feel both exciting and uncertain, nothing about this journey has been linear or neat.
And even now, stepping into a new year, I won’t pretend I have everything mapped out. I’m still learning. I still misjudge my capacity some weeks. I still have moments where the industry feels overwhelming, where the competition is loud, and where the scale of what I’m building makes me pause. Small business hasn’t become easier just because I have more experience. The stakes are different now, but they’re still real.
What has changed is how I move through it.
I’m more honest with myself. I’m more aware of what drains me and what sustains me. And I’m more willing to build slowly, even when the world tells you faster is better.
I know there are many people starting this year feeling cautious, tired, hopeful, or somewhere in between. My hope is that this reminds you that you don’t need to rush your way into January to be successful. You don’t need to prove anything by pushing past your limits. And you don’t need to have the whole year figured out to take the next step.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that businesses last when they’re built with care.
When you pay attention to your energy. When you allow clarity to come in its own time. And when you stay connected to why you’re doing this in the first place, even during the quieter or harder seasons.
So as you move into this year, maybe the question isn’t how much you can do, but how you can build in a way that lets you keep going.
And if you’ve been waiting for the “right moment” to slow down, reset, or choose a different pace, maybe this is it.
