The Power of the Pivot: Building a Values-Based Business Without Losing Yourself

I want to talk today about the power of the pivot when it comes to running a values-based business - and not the glossy, Instagram-friendly version of it.

Personal Brand Alignment After a Major Life or Career Shift

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you already know I’ve pivoted many times in my life. And some of you might be wondering how I went from being a breathwork facilitator and full-on plant medicine cheerleader… to web design and digital marketing.

If you don’t know the full backstory, check out this post where I walk through that journey in more detail - how I went from being a television director, to a yoga teacher and raw vegan culinary educator, to breathwork facilitator, plant medicine woman… and now here I am, working in the digital marketing space.

And I promise you - it actually makes sense.

But here’s what's interesting: pivoting is everywhere right now.

I’m seeing it in my own community, in my social circles, and especially online. And while pivoting can be a deeply honest, necessary, and soul-led decision… it has also become a very convenient sales tactic in the digital marketing world.

So I want to talk honestly to the people in my community who are pivoting — because I see you. And I also want to talk about why so many people are pivoting right now.

Why a Values-Based Business Requires Honest Pivots

There is a real awakening happening.

For one thing, in the last decade or so, plant medicine went through a massive renaissance. And for many people, it genuinely cracked something open. It helped them reconnect to themselves. It helped them heal. It helped them remember who they were.

But what I’m seeing now; and what many of us are openly talking about behind the scenes - is that people are realizing they don’t actually need the medicine to find their soul. They don’t need it to stay connected. They don’t need it to live spiritually aligned lives.

Commodification, Capitalism & the Cost of “Healing”

And alongside that realization, there’s something else many of us have been waking up to.

The commodification of plant medicine.

What started for many people as a sacred, ancestral, community-based practice has, in a relatively short amount of time, been absorbed into the capitalist machine. Packaged. Branded. Marketed. Scaled. Optimized.

Ceremonies turned into luxury experiences.Healing turned into culturally appropriated theatrics.“Transformation” turned into a price point.

And while I want to be very clear that not every facilitator, retreat center, or space is operating from this place (many are deeply ethical and heart-led) it would be dishonest to ignore what has also been happening.

Because for some businesses, the focus slowly shifted.

From healing… to revenue.

From responsibility… to expansion.

From care… to content creation.

And when money, growth, and prestige become more important than safety, integration, and humility, something sacred gets lost.

I think many of us reached a point where we had to ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions.

Is this actually about healing anymore? Or is this feeding the same extractive systems we said we were trying to dismantle? Are we liberating people; or creating new dependencies dressed up as spirituality?

And for a lot of people, myself included, those questions couldn’t be ignored. Because when any practice; even a powerful one - becomes something people feel they need in order to be whole, connected, or spiritually “evolved,” we’ve crossed a line. That’s not liberation. That’s another hierarchy.

And watching something that once felt deeply reverent become another cog in the capitalism machine has been heartbreaking for many. So stepping away wasn’t about rejection.It wasn’t about denial.It was about discernment.

It was about recognizing that healing cannot be rushed, scaled, or sold without consequence; and that no medicine, teacher, or system should ever replace someone’s own inner authority.

And so many people I’ve known for years in the spiritual space have left. Some have found entirely new careers. Some have gone back to the careers they had before their healing journey began. Some have returned to their home countries and are rebuilding from the ground up.

Others are leaving because they’re disillusioned; and rightfully so.

Because alongside that renaissance, there has been a lot of darkness exposed. Gurus. Power dynamics. Exploitative business models. Spiritual branding that talks about integrity while actively violating it. Plant medicine spaces that preach healing while operating from ego, manipulation, or straight-up harm.

And many of us reached a point where we could no longer participate - not without betraying ourselves.

So we pivoted.

Not because it was trendy.Not because it sold better.But because integrity demanded it.

We couldn’t keep working in certain ways while claiming to live in alignment with our values. We couldn’t keep teaching one thing while watching something else unfold behind the curtain.

That kind of pivot takes courage. And grief. And honesty.

There are also people pivoting for another very real reason: they’ve spent 20 or 30 years in a career that no longer lights them up. And instead of numbing out or staying stuck, they choose to follow something deeper - something that feels more meaningful, more alive, more in service to their happiness or the greater good.

Those pivots are valid too.

But then… there’s the other kind.

Selling with Integrity in a World Obsessed with Rebranding

The fake pivots.

And let’s just call it what it is.

You know them.

The 2018 girl bosses who were screaming about hustle culture, millionaire mindset, and grinding your way to freedom; who now seem to have collective amnesia about all of that and have magically pivoted into their radical rest era.

Same people.Same sales tactics.Same manipulation.

Just rebranded as “slow living,” “soft life,” or “nervous system regulation”; still selling the same bullshit, just wrapped in a new aesthetic.

That kind of pivot isn’t growth. It’s hypocrisy.

And it mirrors exactly what we’re seeing in parts of the spiritual world; people selling integrity while walking completely out of it.

So when I talk about the power of the pivot, I’m not talking about reinvention for attention. I’m not talking about abandoning one identity just to monetize another.

I’m talking about discernment.

I’m talking about choosing to change direction because the old one no longer matches who you are; not because it stopped selling, but because it stopped being true.

Real pivots are quiet sometimes. They’re uncomfortable. They often cost you audience, income, identity, and certainty before they give you anything back.

But they give you one thing that matters more than all of that: Self-respect.

And that’s the difference.

Integrity, Business & the Next Right Step

So I want to close this by bringing it back to where I’m standing now - not just personally, but professionally. Because the truth is, everything I’ve shared today about pivoting, integrity, discernment, and walking away from systems that no longer align… absolutely applies to business.

In fact, I think it’s one of the most important conversations we can be having about business right now.

When I look at branding, marketing, and selling, I don’t see them as separate from values; I see them as an extension of them. Your personal brand isn’t just your visuals or your messaging. It’s how you move. It’s who you’re speaking to. It’s what you’re willing (and unwilling) to do in order to succeed.

And in my experience, the most sustainable, successful, and genuinely joyful businesses are built when there’s alignment between:

• who you are

• what you believe in

• what you offer

• how you market

• and the audience you’re actually meant to serve

When those things are out of sync, business becomes exhausting. It starts to feel performative. You’re constantly chasing, tweaking, rebranding, or questioning yourself.

But when they’re in integrity?

Marketing gets simpler.Selling feels cleaner.And growth feels supportive instead of draining.

That’s the lens I bring to my work now as a digital marketer and business coach. I don’t believe in pushing people into strategies they’re not ready for. I don’t believe everyone needs to be everywhere, doing everything, all at once. And I don’t believe success has to come at the cost of your nervous system, your values, or your self-respect.

Which is why I created my Digital Clarity Session.

This is a 60-minute digital marketing and business strategy consult for people who have a million ideas and nowhere to start - or who find themselves standing at a crossroads in their business.

On this call, we can talk through things like:

• whether it actually makes sense for you to launch a website right now

• if starting a podcast or blog is supportive or just another thing on your plate

• which social platform best matches your message and energy

• how to start building an email list or community without overwhelm

• or how to craft offers that make sense for the stage of business you’re truly in; not the one you think you should be in

This isn’t about me telling you what to do.It’s about helping you see your options clearly - so you can make decisions from alignment instead of pressure.

If that sounds supportive, head here to explore my offerings and make sure you’re signed up for my weekly newsletter, Digital Marketing Made Simple, where I break all of this down in a way that’s practical, human, and actually usable.

And whether you book a call or not, my hope is that this reminds you of this:

Pivoting isn’t failure.Integrity is a strategy.And building a business that feels good to live inside of is not only possible - it’s worth prioritizing.

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Listen to this blog as a podcast via my show Analog Girls, Digital World: where we unpack digital leadership, ethical online business, and everything in between.