My burnout crash of 2026: Where I’ve been, what I’ve learned, and what’s next!
Well hello there! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a blog post & published any kind of content for my business.
In fact, the last post I made (about 3 months ago - yikes!) was my interview with my client Reagen from RML Biz Ops about my (very) messy entrepreneurial journey and well…this year, my journey has gotten even messier!
Let’s just say that 2026 (so far) has been a year of learning some much needed but hard lessons about what it really means to run a successful online business. sigh
I know, getting dished up those lessons freaking sucks shittt, BUT I also know that the learning of these lessons is where the juice for future success lives.
So with that said, I thought I’d put my thoughts down on paper on computer screen and fill you in on all of the gory deets.
Firstly, where have I been for the last 3 months?
Two words: Burnout - again.
Unfortunately, burnout has been something that has followed me like a creepy grandpa in my entrepreneurial journey, but also in my general teaching career overall. Since I started teaching full-time in 2011, I have burned out multiple times and from these experiences, I have learned that it usually comes down to a combo of these 2 reasons:
I’m often doing way too much & not resting enough.
If you are into the Enneagram, I am a 4 wing 7 and from memory, I think it is very common for the 7’s to have an appetite that is way bigger than their stomach when it comes to work & life in general.
When it comes to my business, my enthusiasm and love for what I’m doing and what I’m building often trumps my need to rest and take quality breaks away from my work. On top of that, I’m a very all or nothing kinda gal which translates into: I’m either working 24/7 or not at all, and this is definitely something that leads me to this crash and burn cycle I’ve been stuck in for many years. I just become so OBSESSED with what I’m doing, which I LOVE, but I do recognise that this is also not completely healthy or sustainable long-term.
2. Emotional stuckness and feeling like I can’t escape something.
In 2021, I was teaching full-time at a new school and I absolutely hated it. The environment felt super toxic and I just didn’t want to be there but of course, I needed to earn money so I forced myself to keep showing up. Well, that was until my body physically shut down and wouldn’t let me continue!
During my long recovery from this particular episode, I read this book - Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski - which helped me to understand that burnout isn’t just about how much we are doing, it is more about how we are feeling when we are doing it. In their brilliant book, the Nagoski sisters explain that burnout happens when we experience emotional stuckness in an area of our lives that we feel we can’t escape from.
This blew my mind because all of a sudden it made so much sense as to why I was always burning out as a teacher - I always felt overwhelmed by the need to escape the classroom and my teaching career in general but I couldn’t, and I had to keep showing up to it day after day.
Unlike teaching, I really love web design and building my business. However, it pains me to say this but truthfully, I was also feeling this in my business before I crashed. I just kept thinking to myself: “Fuck, I think I’ve created an insatiable monster that I have to keep feeding.”
So now reflecting back, it is pretty clear to see why I ended up burning out, yet again.
Not only had I been working 24/7 with very minimal days off since April 2025 (this was when I 1st started working on Makeover Your Website), I was also feeling increasingly trapped by the business I had been building which was meant to create more freedom, choice and abundance in my life. GAH!
Secondly, what have I learned since burning out?
Lesson #1: I need to listen to and respect my body as I grow my business.
Honestly, I could feel this burnout crash coming for a good couple of months before it finally hit and my body had been talking pretty loudly for a good couple of months at least. There was the growing fatigue, anxiety and self-doubt, followed by sickness in March which led into a long, intense period of ignoring how I was really feeling and pushing through client work because I didn’t want to let these people (or myself) down. On top of my day relief teaching work, I was trying to build whole websites in a 2-3 week timeframe which resulted in me spending all of my evenings and weekends doing client work rather than resting and taking care of myself and that took a huge toll on my health - no kidding right?!
In hindsight, I should have listened to my body more and actually given myself permission to rest and not feel guilty about it… shoulda, woulda, coulda riiight? But I can definitely do better from here.
Lesson #2: I need more support as I continue to build my business.
This digital entrepreneurial journey is no joke - it’s not an easy path and it is SO lonely at times. The introvert in me loves a whole house to myself and hours upon hours of creative time in front of me. However, I’ve realised that I really really miss that sense of comradery and belonging that can come from working as part of a team or department.
Something that has really surprised me this year is that I have felt so much grief for the loss of my teaching colleagues. I was ready to leave that particular role, but I have so missed having them around to vent to and laugh with, you know? That was a huge support when I was a teacher - just always having someone around to be like: “Fuck, this shit is really hard,” and for them to smile, nod and just say, “Yes it is and we have got this.”
I’m not quite sure what me getting more support in my business looks like just yet, but this is definitely something I need to figure out. PS: If you are feeling kinda lonely too and would like to jump on a cheeky Zoom call for a no-strings-attached catch-up, then definitely hit me up on IG!
Lesson #3: I need to have stronger boundaries with myself and others.
Something really nice about me is that I love to be of service to others. It is a huge part of my ‘big why’ behind building my business - I love helping awesome people with heart-led missions bring their businesses to life via web design and copywriting. However, I’ve realised that I often will do this at the expense of my own health and sanity which isn’t a great business strategy because hey, without me, I have no business!!
To be frank, there have been lots of times over the past few months where I have consciously decided to sidestep a boundary I had for myself. Spending way too much time on social media is a huge one that majorly drains my energy. Another big one is around my pricing which for the most part has been way too low and not a match for the huge amount of time and energy that building a website really takes. And not having clear office hours especially when it comes to responding to client questions.
So more clear, strong boundaries are definitely on the menu!
Lesson #4: I need to stop forcing growth and start allowing myself to be guided.
Ok this one is a bit woo, but stick with me.
Let’s talk about masculine vs feminine energy for a sec. This is not about gender - we all have both energies within us. The masculine is that get up & make shit happen energy, and the feminine is the more flowy, receiving energy. We tend to favour one more than the other. However, in theory, when we are in alignment and functioning at our best, we utilise both of these energies in a balanced manner.
Personally, I have come to realise over the years that I am SO GREAT at being in my masculine energy. This is what comes most naturally to me. I want to make shit happen every single day. I want to conquer my to-do-list. I want to go go go and never stop. And I can function in this space for a long time and love every second of it. Until I crash and burn that is.
But what I’ve also realised is that when I’m so deep in my masculine energy, I’m actually cutting off the magic of my feminine which results in me forcing my way through life. It’s like I just need to grit my teeth, push through and make this work my way - no matter what.
And it is this sense of forcing my way through that depletes my energy but it also just makes everything way harder than it needs to be because more often that not…there IS a different, easier way, but I’m too busy being in my masculine to actually see it or be open to receiving that hit of genius.
So I’m also adding “slices of white space & silence” onto my list of needs from here, so I actually have the time & space to listen & receive my next steps.
Lesson #5: I also need to stop putting so much damn pressure on myself.
A big thing that contributed to my burnout was the internal pressure that I was putting on myself to make every website I created “not-boring”. These were the words that I had cemented into my branding cuz boring websites do suck & should be eradicated from existence.
However, these words ended up creating this intense sense of conflict within me. The next website couldn’t be like the last one, and needed to be completely unique and different otherwise I wasn’t really living up to my brand promise. On one hand, my design skills definitely improved a lot as I was being more open to experimenting and trying new things & layouts & codes. But on the other, it was like I was constantly trying to one-up myself and what I had previously created. And it wasn’t working.
During my last client project in May, I spent wayyy too long creating what was meant to be a simple landing page. I wanted to make it super fancy and different but my client ended up hating it, which was terrible, and then I had to redo it. I usually get incredible feedback so this was upsetting and jarring but also, I understood. She didn’t want it to be overwhelming with all the different moving parts and fancy features, she just wanted something simple that would convert.
This is why I’ve now switched my “not-boring” brand wording to “personality-fuelled” which is feeling like a much more gentle and expansive take on “not-boring.” It’s both the same but different.
And lastly, what’s next for Makeover Your Website?
I’ve already outlined how I’m committing to showing up differently from here due to my many learnings, but I will also be making some changes to my business model in order to bring it back into alignment with my ultimate intention of creating more freedom, choice and abundance in my life.
The Makeover Your Website Template Shop is coming!
Ahhhhhhh - I’m am SO EXCITED about this which tells me I am right on track by starting to build this arm of my business out. Honestly, building a template shop was my original idea that I was moving towards when I first started working on building this business.
Nothing excites me more than the idea of creating premium, personality-fuelled Squarespace Website Templates that are easily customisable and affordable (a big win for you) AND they can be sold multiple times over. (a big win for me - helloooo passive-ish income!)
It is definitely going to be a long-term journey, but the idea of building a template shop definitely makes me want to take a big, long exhale which feels really good. This is going to be how I can bring my vision for a freedom-based business to life which is really exciting.
2. A more affordable, semi-custom web design option will be available when my shop launches.
Once my shop is up and running, I’ll also be adding a semi-custom VIP upgrade option which will be more affordable than my custom web design service. You’ll be able to purchase one of my templates and get it customised by me on a much shorter timeline, so you can get your website up & running ASAP and keep doing what you do best!
3. For now, I’ll still be offering custom web design & copywriting but only at certain times of the year.
Right now, the only time that custom web design is actually doable for me is across the Q4/Q1 period. This means that the next available slots for custom web design will be from October ‘26 through to March ‘27.
I did extend my timelines slightly by a week earlier this year which will stand, and I also may build in some buffer time between each project so that I can fill my cup in between. All of this means that the amount of clients I can take on will be more limited and therefore the price of my custom work is going to be increasing - I’ll be reviewing this really soon & will keep you posted.
