Every summer, Elizabeth audits what worked, what didn’t, and where she felt frustrated, and this year she’s sharing that audit with you. In this episode of the Messy Success Podcast, she opens up about a routine that fell apart almost immediately, and uses it as a jumping-off point for a much bigger conversation about work-life balance for business owners and what it actually takes to build a life you don’t need a vacation from.

Last summer, Elizabeth was up early nearly every day, walking, posting sunrise photos, building what felt like a real identity shift. This summer, that routine lasted about a week. Instead of brushing past it, she gets specific about why: her family started staying up later, the heat and bugs made mornings less appealing, and her more consistent work schedule changed how mornings felt overall. Rather than treating this as a failure to fix, she treats it as information, a reminder that life is going to life, and that the goal was never a perfect system. It was noticing what’s working and staying curious about what isn’t.

The episode also gets into what did work. A new studio, a set Tuesday and Thursday schedule, and consistent childcare from her mother-in-law changed the entire shape of her summer. She talks candidly about what it’s like being a mom and running a business when stable recurring revenue doesn’t actually change how much you want to work, and about the emotional weight back-to-school season carries for her every single year, even though, as she puts it, her kids are the ones who are actually fine.

Maybe the most grounding part of the episode is her reflection on support. Living close to family, having consistent help, being able to leave the house to work: none of that is luck, she says. It’s a choice, made on purpose, at the cost of other opportunities. That reframe, that you have more choice than you think you do, is the thread running through the entire episode.

This is a behind-the-scenes, no-perfect-answers kind of conversation, and it’s worth a listen if you’ve ever set an intention, watched it fall apart, and wondered what that says about you.

SHOW NOTES:

02:23 The summer win nobody expected

06:08 When the morning walks stopped working

09:17 Why back to school breaks her every year

11:37 The money question that didn’t come up

13:52 The support system that’s actually a choice

16:45 The rush she works so hard to avoid

18:03 What’s next this fall

20:30 The gratitude that ties it together

CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH:

Hang out on Instagram

Join The Community Builder

Work with Elizabeth

Book a Free Marketing Powercall

Submit a Question

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Join the waitlist for Elevate and become the next version of yourself

Take the Marketing Action Quiz

Free Conversation Starters Guide for your Facebook Group!

Join the 2027 Elevate & Inspire Waitlist