What I Learned About Building a Business After Losing $75K
Jul 16, 2026
Article By Nancy Boyd
I did not sit down one day and decide to start a business. I got drop-kicked into it.
A sudden illness forced me out of a lucrative corporate career, and for a while there it looked a lot like an ending. Then I squinted at it from a different angle and realized it might be an opportunity wearing an obstacle's clothing. Once that clicked, I was off and running. Not gracefully, mind you. But running.
That's more or less the theme of everything that's happened since: the thing that looks like a wall is sometimes a door you haven't tried the handle on yet.
The part where I had no idea what I was doing — the entrepreneur learning curve
Let me be honest about the early days. There was a steep learning curve, and an even steeper one hiding behind it — learning to trust myself as an entrepreneur. I kept waiting to feel like I'd earned the title. What actually happened was quieter: I gradually noticed that this was how I'm wired. Not a costume I was trying on. The real thing. This was where I belonged.
For anyone standing at the bottom of that same curve, here's what I'd tell you. Give yourself time to make mistakes — you're going to make them anyway, so you may as well take the pressure off. Find someone you trust to mentor you. And take bold action... after you've prepared the groundwork. Bold and unprepared is just expensive.
The time I almost quit
I'll spare you the suspense: yes, there was a moment when I genuinely thought about quitting my business for good.
A business partner betrayed me, and I lost more than $75,000 in annual revenue in one go. I sat with the very reasonable thought that maybe it was time to pack it in. And then, instead of quitting, I got mad. Turns out anger, properly aimed, makes excellent fuel. I started over.
If I'm being fully truthful, it also helped that I had very few other options and even less left to lose — which is its own strange kind of freedom. When there's no exit, you might as well go forward.
Here's what that season taught me: some risks are worth taking. It's a little like the Serenity Prayer. So much of this work is learning to tell the difference between what's yours to change and what isn't, what you can control and what you can't. Grip the wrong things too hard and they'll wear you out. Let go of the right ones and you get room to move.
What I actually do all day
These days I work as The Soul Mechanic. The core of it: I help thoughtful, self-aware people — often leaders and creatives — learn how to evolve and stay stable during chaotic and stressful situations. Not one or the other. Both at once. Growing and keeping your footing while the ground moves. It's the same thing that kept me going when I wanted to quit — learning to stay stable in the chaos instead of being thrown by it.
Then there's the writing. I've written more than a dozen books — soul-deep guides for adults, and, plot twist, a cozy children's mystery series called the Stinkerton Detective Agency Mysteries. It's staffed by skunks. I did not plan this; I basically took dictation from a dream and tried to keep up. And here's the funny part: those little mysteries quietly teach kids the exact skills my adult readers work so hard to recover — noticing carefully, waiting before judging, and trusting that most problems give way to a patient, kind mind. Same wisdom. Two doors in.
The unglamorous secret to keeping it going
People sometimes ask about my routine, bracing for something elaborate. It's this: just show up. That's the whole thing. Simple — but, as anyone who's ever done it knows, not always easy.
As for tools, I lean on a few. My autoresponder, several AI tools I've customized for my own use, and some formatting and publishing tools. I'm very much #notageek, so anything that spares me time and frustration goes straight to the top of the stack. No loyalty, no sentiment — just whatever stops me from crying at my keyboard.
And social media? It's genuinely connected me with remarkable people, several of whom have become close friends. The biggest mistake I see people make with it is disappearing down rabbit holes. I'll confess to the occasional "mental health break" watching silly cat and dog videos, because we could all use a little more laughter in a day. But I keep it on a leash, so I come back to my work refreshed instead of guilty. There's a difference between a breather and a black hole.
The best advice I ever got — and the thing I wish everyone knew
The best piece of advice I've received: get clear about where you're trying to go. That's your vision. Don't lose sight of it, because it will carry you through the mucky parts — and there will be mucky parts.
And the thing I wish everyone knew? Never say never. Things change, which means far more is possible than you can see from wherever you're standing right now. Explore. Adapt. The things that look like endings are often just pointing at a different way to get where you were going.
If success itself has taught me anything, it's a short lesson: stay humble. That's it.
What's next
I've got several important new books on the way, plus two new programs designed to help people anchor into what's true for them. Most of it is genuinely new ground — territory I haven't shared anywhere before. I'm a little giddy about it, honestly.
A few fun facts, since you've read this far: I'm a foodie and a lifelong animal lover — soft heart, will of steel when it comes to protecting anyone at risk of harm. And I was named International Coach of the Year in 2009, which remains the professional win I'm proudest of.
If you'd like to be first to hear when I have new events and books coming, sign up here — you'll also get my free book, Partner With The Power, as a welcome gift. You can find more of my work at brightwings.com, on my author site nancyboyd.com, on my Substack Soul Mastery Dispatch: Nurturing the Spirit of Change*, and through my new program, Meaning Makers.*
© 2026 Nancy Boyd. All rights reserved.
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