Meet Shel

A lot of the advice out there comes from people who found something that worked — and built a following teaching it. And maybe it did work... for that season. The problem is business changes (just like life). What got you here won't always get you where you want to go next.

What they don't talk about is how every business goes through seasons — just like a person's life.

The small business owners who "make it" aren't the ones who never hit chaos. They're the ones who knew where they wanted to go and stayed focused on getting there.

Having the brain space and financial stability to see opportunities when they come up — and being ready to take action — is how successful businesses are made.

I know this because I grew up in a successful entrepreneurial family. It was simply understood that you guide your business through hard seasons the same way you'd guide someone you care about through theirs. It was in the actions and stories. Just never spoken out loud as a "this is how to be a successful small business owner with a good life."

It took a while for me to understand what my parents and grandparents were doing that made them successful in business, and I've taken my share of lumps because of it.

I want your journey to be easier.

My Journey

I started with a degree in accounting, but I quickly learned numbers were just the starting point.

The real start came when I systematized and turned my husband's struggling plumbing company into a thriving operation.

My dad was the CEO of my great-grandmother Ruth's business. When he got sick and died in the early 1990's, I stepped in to run Granny's business.

Suddenly, I found myself responsible for 30 grieving employees and a 7-figure John Deere dealership and school bus operation I had to learn on the fly.

That was a hard season. And it wasn't the only one. I eventually bought Granny's business outright when the banks refused to finance a 90-year-old loan guarantor. Then came navigating the financial challenges of being in retail for 9/11 and the 2008 recession, and we came out stronger on the other side.

I know what it's like to be in the thick of it, living through the chaos, the sleepless nights, the worry about meeting payroll or paying the bills, and the heavy pressure of being the one responsible for everything and everyone. 

I also know the freedom that comes when your business is aligned and life is good.

After 17 years, I sold the business—and my job along with it. So I started over with 113 acres and a herd of grass-fed cattle.

I listened to the gurus and "industry experts" who said to diversify revenue streams and "add value" rather than what I knew to be true. So I added products and markets and... complexity to one of the most complex business models there is.

It became a mess. I lost sight of what I wanted my life to look like and how the business fit in. It was draining me, not fulfilling me.

That's when I discovered Mike Michalowicz and received a farm vitality grant to get certified in Profit First, the Pumpkin Plan, and Fix This Next. It systematized and put into a framework what had worked for me in the past and gave me confidence to stop listening to the experts. Sales increased and the business thrived.

I also realized that personal development is what had led me to start the farm in the first place — and how crucial it is for every small business owner. To deepen my learning of how I could show up as my best self and help others do the same, I trained with Brendon Burchard and became certified in the High Performance Coaching framework.

15+ years later, that farm season is winding down. I'm getting older, and what I want my life to look like has changed. So the business is changing with it.

After 35+ years and more than a few hard business seasons of my own, I've decided to use what I've learned to help overwhelmed small business owners do the same.

Here's what I learned the hard way, and what you just don't hear enough: the mess behind the scenes is completely normal.

Business is hard and messy, especially if you're a founder building your operating system from scratch while trying to make money and still have a life.

And that mess? It's not a sign of failure. It's a sign that you're in a season that's asking you to adapt.

You can run a business that feels calm, aligned, and highly profitable without sacrificing your life in the process.