A few years ago, I was deep in the world of mergers and acquisitions. My company took small and medium businesses and scaled them fast. And I was good at it. I helped companies grow ten times bigger in just two years. It was exciting, fast, and full of big wins.

But there was a problem.

To create that kind of success, I had to give everything I had. Long days. Late nights. Pressure that never stopped. I missed family moments that meant the most. Even though the businesses were growing, I was slowly burning out.

And the truth is, SMEs seem to always get the hard end of the stick.

I know this because I lived it myself.

There were times when my own staff could borrow more money than I could. Times when I had to “just suck it up” and take care of everyone else—especially during COVID—while juggling stress, responsibility, and constant problems. Many small business owners carry the load for everyone, and most people have no idea what it really costs.

But I did.

I understood it because I had lived it. From a young age watching my parents run businesses to running my own, I have felt a deep passion to make things easier for business owners just like them.

One day, all the pressure caught up with me.

I burned out.

So I stepped away. I packed my bags and spent six months traveling around Europe with my husband and two daughters. No boardrooms. No deals. No constant stress. Just space to breathe and figure out what I wanted my life to look like.

During that time, something important became clear.

I loved helping businesses grow. I was naturally skilled at strategy, problem-solving, and building strong systems. But I didn’t want to lose myself—or my family—to work again. I knew there had to be a better way.

And while I was away, the world changed fast.