Do you adore your work but lately find it draining rather than energising? In this episode, Anna explores the hidden pitfalls of passion-driven businesses – how loving what you do can still lead to burnout, and practical steps to reclaim balance and sustainability. Tune in for a refreshing perspective and actionable advice designed to help you protect your wellbeing while delivering your best work.

Key moments:

[00:00] Introduction & Why Overloving Your Work Can Be Risky

[00:01] What Burnout Can Look Like for Passionate Solopreneurs

[00:05] The Importance of Boundaries in Business

[00:09] Practical Ways to Protect Your Energy (Pricing, Boundaries, Services)

[00:12] Real-Life Example: Restructuring for More Energy, Revenue, and Freedom

[00:14] Inside the Business Accelerator: Sustainable Growth Without Overfunctioning

[00:15] Final Thoughts & How to Join the Accelerator

Resources mentioned:

• The Business Accelerator Programme: OneStepOutside.com/accelerate.
• Connect with Anna Lundberg: Get in touch on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Burnout for solopreneurs

This episode is for you if you love what you do (amazing!) – but lately it started to feel heavy. If your passion project, so called, has become a bit more of a pressure cooker, or if your business feels like it’s taking more than it gives, this episode is going to help you reset. Enjoy.

Welcome to Reimagining Success, the podcast that helps you build a profitable business as an independent expert on the works of you and your lifestyle. I’m your host, Anna Lundberg, former corporate insider turned business mentor, executive coach and mum of two. Whether you’re a solopreneur, a coach, speaker, consultant, I’m here to guide you in creating a business that gives you freedom, flexibility, and the fulfilment you’re looking for, ready to redefine success and build a business that you love. Let’s get started.

Okay. We’re talking today about how working hard on what you love can still burn you out. And if this hits close to home, the Business Accelerator is open for just a few more days. This is my signature programme, designed for founders and solopreneurs who are ready to grow in a way that protects their energy and doesn’t drain it. So you can join us now, you can apply at onestepoutside.com/accelerate. You’ll be able to fill in your details, book a call with me, and if it’s a good fit, you could be on our first group call next month. Hope to see you soon!

But what I want to talk to you about is… Well, do I want to talk to you about this? I don’t know. That’s an interesting philosophical question because I think it’s a bit sad to some extent, but I think it needs saying. And it’s this. Just because you love your work – and it’s amazing that we love our work, this is why we’re doing this business in the first place, hopefully – that doesn’t mean that it can’t burn you out. I think this is one of the most dangerous beliefs we absorb and we talk about a point of view. This is one of my points of view. If I’m doing meaningful work, I shouldn’t be tired, it should feel easy, it should be flowing. You know, what’s that expression that if you do work you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life? And that’s partly true because, my goodness, I’m so energised by the work I do. But there’s still some, you know, days when I’m tired from Delivery or, you know, obviously there’s admin and accounting and business development, sorts of things that you don’t necessarily love doing. Maybe you need to go to an event, you can’t be bothered or whatever it is, you know, there are other priorities. But also, even if you love every aspect of what you do, which is also amazing, unfortunately, it can still burn you out.

Passion can become pressure when you start over delivering and this energy, especially when we’re starting out, but even for further along, because we love what we do, we so believe in our mission and our message and how we can help that we get caught up in the excitement. We start over delivering. We start and we keep over delivering because we care so deeply about our clients. People I work with, we’re all passionate people, caring, we have integrity, we care. I don’t want to say too much, but we’re certainly holding too much to some extent because there’s only so much I can do. I will be perfectly. Well, perfectly is a bit of a stretch. I will be wholly present with you on a coaching call.

I will be so invested and, you know, in the business accelerator. I want to really get to know you and your business to be able to support you and I will care about you and your business and I can’t care to the point that I’m going to sacrifice my health, my family, to give you lots of support that, you know, isn’t included in this retainer that is unfair to other people who are paying the same and not getting that support. That means I’m having to work late instead of seeing my kids and, you know, missing out on other paid work, et cetera, et cetera. Right. So this is not being selfish. This is very important to protect yourself, you know, put your own oxygen mask on first, et cetera, et cetera, in order to be able to help other people. And being in alignment, in alignment with your work is amazing. You’re doing values, purpose driven work.

Doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re being imbalanced because again, that scale can really tip that you’re. Oh, just do a bit more. I’ll just do some this evening in front of the telly and I’ll just get up a bit early. I’ll do this. Oh, I’ll just check on holiday. You know, it can very easily bleed into every moment of every day. So, you know, if you’re feeling exhausted, even if your business looks aligned and even feels aligned on the outside, then this is, this is a bit of a dangerous moment. This is something to be aware of.

And look, burnout is such a loaded word. It doesn’t always look like collapse. Sometimes it can just look like working longer hours just to stay on top of things. Constantly think about clients, even outside of working hours. Saying yes to things you don’t have capacity for because you care. Feeling resentful and then feeling guilty for feeling resentful. It’s just a vicious spiral. So you can still be grateful for your business, you can still love and want to support your clients.

You can still care about your work and at the same time want it to feel different, want it to feel more spacious. Easy, if I can use that word as in ease, not easy, if that makes sense and really allow your work to give more than it’s taking. Unfortunately, the people I work with, if you’re listening, you’re probably a smart values led expert, SoloPreneur founder. We are especially at risk. You are especially at risk because you are thoughtful, you take pride in your work, you want to do right by your clients. Unfortunately, that strength can become a liability when you don’t build boundaries into your business model. And that’s something I talk about again and again. It’s so, so important.

Boundaries need to be built into your very business model design, as well as something that you practise every day. It can become a liability when you haven’t priced your services to reflect the emotional and energetic load that you’re taking on. Strength can become a liability when you believe you have to earn your rest. That’s a really dangerous belief we have in our society. Right, Work and then you can rest. Or you have to prove your value because you’re new and you need to be constantly available to over deliver. And because you care, you’re not going to stop until you have to. Until that burnout crushes you and forces you to stop.

And that’s not the point. That’s not why we started this business. Yes, we care, but because we care, we have to rest, we have to price accordingly. We have to build in those boundaries. And look, there is a difference, I guess, between intensity and sustainability. And there will be seasons where your work feels intense. That’s totally normal. If you’re starting, there’ll be ups and downs, that there can be slower periods and then you lean in and you feel energised and excited and things are working, you go all in.

But intensity needs to be the exception, not the baseline. You know, we’ve all had that experience of going off on holiday and those last couple of days, oh my gosh, bish, bash, bosh, I’ve done, you know, 10 weeks of work in 10 hours. That’s not a pace that we can sustain for the longer term. So if every quarter, every month, every week is feeling like a push, if every new client stretches your capacity, if your business only works when you overwork, then dare I say, if something’s wrong and the structure really needs to shift. For me to look at the business model again, I need to emphasise building something sustainable does not mean taking away, slowing down your ambition. What it means is we’re designing your business to support your ambition. This is again, you know, I talked last month about this point of view that we need to have. My point of view, my perspective, my opinion, my flag that I’m flying is that success is possible without sacrifice, that performance and well being go hand in hand, that we can have ambition and rest and spaciousness and family and freedom and hobbies and whatever else.

Sustainability is not in the eco sense, but by all means, if that’s what you care about, but in terms of the long term viability of your business and your life and your health is not just possible with ambition, but very much necessary in order to have the success that we want. Okay, so what could it look like if we’re going to recalibrate for that sustainability and not just live in this place of intensity and over delivering and caring too much? Well, it could mean in practical terms that you raise your prices because that’s going to reflect the true cost of delivery. You know, you’re always going to deliver this amount of hours and energy and so on. Well, okay, fine, but then your prices need to reflect that. Your prices need to increase in order to cover, make up for, reflect the additional support you’re providing. Protecting your time with clearer boundaries for clients, for prospects and leads especially, and perhaps structured delivery windows, you know, I’m super clear on, you know, I answer within office hours or now, this year in particular, I’ve really built, for example, the Business Accelerator Group calls around the holidays. We don’t do calls in August because let’s face it, most people are off anyway. Obviously don’t do it during the Christmas week.

And then I’ve made sure that they’re working around my half term and holidays and so on because that’s just the reality of my term time working. I suppose that’s how I want to manage my work at the moment and it’s something that works for a lot of my clients as well. So protecting your time with clear boundaries, structured delivery windows, this is a hard one, but letting go of services that drain you, even if they’re profitable. I know it takes courage and it’s scary to stop doing things that work financially, but if you’re finding that you’re just giving too much, then you have to ask yourself, is that money worth it? And I always joke that, oh, if they gave me a million pounds, be worth it fine. In most cases they’re not giving us millions and millions, they’re perhaps giving us 5,000 or 500 or whatever your particular thing is, in which case probably, you know, you need to set that boundary. In fact, what comes to mind is two consulting contracts I had, oh, 11, 12, 12 years ago. 12, 11, 12 years ago. One, I got paid for overtime and it wasn’t that I was working more because of that.

Let me be clear, however, the job was so job as in, it wasn’t a job, it was a contract. But the job at hand, the project I was running was so complex that it required, you know, I travelled every week, I was delivering a lot. I was very much driven by delivering that particular project and it was a whole website restage and E commerce launch and all sorts. At the time I was in digital marketing and contrast that with my next client contract. Where I was, it was very clear in the contract I was being paid for, I think was nine to five. Traditional nine to five. Ironically, you know, there wasn’t like one big project I was delivering. I was basically not hourly employed but filling sort of a gap, essentially doing what I could do during those hours, you’d better believe, and you can judge me for it.

But I left at 5:00, you know, so that’s the difference. If someone is paying me millions, then I can choose to, you know what, that’s worth it. I will take your call at 10 o’clock on a Sunday evening, probably I won’t do it anyway, to be honest. There must be a point at some point where the money is worth it. But I don’t know whether that would line would be, but if they’re not, then perhaps it’s not worth it. I found again and again I’d love to hear if this is true for you. If you’re further along and have many years of experience, as I do as well, that whenever I have leaned in and made an exception to do a call when my kids were around or when I was going to take time off, whatever it is, the call is either cancelled, they don’t show up. It’s not an ideal client, you know, that something in the universe conspires to say to me, hey, this was a wrong decision. This was not in alignment with your values. You’ve over committed here. It’s not the right thing and that’s setting you up for the wrong energy for the future. It’s not. Computer says no. Okay, so again, letting go of services that drain you, as my point, even if they’re profitable, and that’s really tough. And then fundamentally, and obviously this is bigger than just a bullet on a list, but creating a model that’s built around your capacity, your energy, your lifestyle as it looks today, as well as, as you want it to look, not just around your goals.

You do not need to take a sabbatical to feel better. By all means, take time off if you can. But the important thing is not just the one weekend holiday, whatever. It’s actually about building a business that’s going to take care of you and it’s going to be sustainable for the long term. Right? So again, you know, think about the fact and, and have that awareness around. Hang on a second. Am I over delivering? Am I holding too much? And I think the answer is almost always yes. Is that passion becoming the pressure? You’re caring too deeply.

You’re not in balance. You’re working those longer hours just to stay on top of things. You’re feeling resentful, you’re feeling guilty, et cetera. Then we might want to look at your pricing, look at your boundaries, look at your service offering and look at your model overall. So, for example, I had a client who came to me and he was really close to, I’d say burnout. You know, it wasn’t the obvious loud moment when you’re forced to take time off. Luckily, he anticipated that happening and so we worked on this before it was too late, as it were, at least in the short term. Ironically, of course, this almost burnout came from doing the very work that he was so passionate about.

And his offer was delivering amazing results, but depended on him being on constantly. And again, he was over delivering. He didn’t have those boundaries in place. He was constantly working. More, more, more. We paused, we recalibrated, and we restructured how clients move through his process. We talked about having a signature methodology or process on the podcast a few weeks ago, added in buffer time, raised his fees. Yes.

And he ended up with more energy now, more revenue so far without compromising his standards of delivery. So inside the accelerator, we’re not just talking about growth, we’re talking about this sustainable growth. Building the structures, pricing systems that are letting you grow without over functioning without over delivering for your clients. We’re going to help you get clear on what’s draining you, what to change so you’re not stuck in that cycle again. So if you’re listening to this thinking, oh, I can’t keep going like this. You do not have to last couple of days to join us now in the accelerator for this intake. You can apply at onestepoutside.com/accelerate and we’ll have a call and if it’s a good fit for both of us, you could be joining us in just a couple of weeks in our first group call of Q3 2025. Hope to talk to you soon. Bye for now.

In the Business Accelerator we do things a little differently. This is my signature programme for for independent experts who are ready to grow sustainably, strategically and with integrity. If you want more income and more freedom, but without the hustle, the hype or the one size fits all formulas, then you can learn more and join us at onestepoutside.com accelerate. Register your interest or join the waitlist@onestepoutside.com accelerate.

WORK WITH ANNA

Let us help you design a business and a life that gives you freedom from the 9 to 5. There are several options for how you can work with us. Choose the programme that’s right for you.

The Outsiders Business Accelerator

A mastermind for service-based business owners, freelancers and online entrepreneurs who are ready to achieve success on their own terms. onestepoutside.com/accelerate

1:1 Coaching & Mentoring

If you’re looking for one-to-one support to help you achieve your specific life and business goals, Anna has a limited number of spots for individual coaching and mentoring. onestepoutside.com/coaching