Investor Clients: Keep What Works While Building What's Next
One of the biggest myths we’re fed in business is “Follow your passion and you’ll never work another day in your life.”
That’s not how any of this actually works. And the reason that particular piece of advice is so dangerous is because it tends to set up a false choice: either stay safe doing work that’s slowly deadening your soul, or burn it all down to chase your dreams.
What I often see with seasoned businesswomen is that they’ve built something solid. Maybe it’s based on contract training work. Maybe it’s a particular service model that’s been their bread and butter for years. It’s working. It’s paying the bills. Clients are happy.
But the women themselves? They’re jaded. They really want to lean into something else. Create their own methodology. Speak more. Build a different kind of business. The vision is beckoning. The desire is real.
And they’re afraid..
Because letting go of what’s working to pursue what they really want feels risky. What if it doesn’t work? What if there’s this terrible dip in revenue? What if they end up isolated and struggling as a lone voice in the wilderness, drowning in regret…
So they stay. Another year. Groundhog Day again.
The Voice That Won’t Go Away
That voice that keeps whispering about what else might be possible? It’s not going away. At some point, you need to pause, listen to it, and make a call.
But you don’t have to burn the house down to follow the voice.
Let me introduce you to a concept I call Investor Clients.
When I transitioned from running my marketing agency into the mentoring work I do now, I didn’t just shut everything down and hope for the best. I kept three or four key clients from agency world. Not because I adored the work, but because I made a deliberate choice.
I decided that these clients were investing in me so I could create what I really wanted to build. Mindset ninja move!
They provided the financial foundation and the breathing room I needed to develop my new offerings, test my ideas, and build my visibility in a different space. They were the bridge between where I’d been and where I was going.
It’s not either/or. It’s AND.
You can keep some of what’s working AND lean into what you’re building. You can maintain the security AND explore the possibility. You can honour your current clients AND follow that voice toward something new.
And if you’re sparky-brained, you’ll recognise that all-or-nothing thinking that whispers “if you can’t do 100% of this new thing, it’s not worth doing at all.” That’s the pattern we’re interrupting here. The AND approach gives you permission to build the bridge rather than leap into the abyss, caution be damned.
What This Actually Looks Like
This is a strategic transition, rather than a dramatic exit.
You’re not announcing to your contract training clients “nice knowing you, I’m out of here”. You’re thoughtfully deciding which relationships to maintain, which to gracefully sunset, and where to direct your development energy.
You’re considering both ROI (Return on Investment) and ROE (Return on Energy). Because a sustainable business serves you just as much as you serve your clients.
You’re giving yourself time to test the new direction while maintaining the stability to do it well.
The Real Risk
The real risk isn’t that you’ll fail at the new thing. The real risk is spending another year doing work that no longer lights you up while that voice gets quieter and your optimism fades.
You know more is possible. You feel it.
So perhaps it’s time to stop treating it like a binary choice.
It’s not OR. It’s AND.
And makes all the difference.
This is just one type of business recalibration you can explore for you and your business. If you’d like support and guidance to help you find the sweet spot between maintaining the status quo and forging a completely new path in your business, take a look at the Business Sweet Spot - the Mastermind and Community Digital Strategist Leanne O’Sullivan and I have developed for women at the hem of service-based businesses - consultants, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and other professional service providers.
