Rhythm, Storytelling and Running a Creative Business Sustainably

In 2025, my body started speaking more loudly than my plans.

It asked for rest when my mind wanted momentum. It asked for softness when my work was still full of ideas. Listening didn’t come easily — and it shaped what followed.

At the beginning of the year, I chose the word rhythm as my north star. I wanted my life and work to move with more ease, more flow. I was also keen to create a more consistent presence online.

Finding Rhythm in a Growing Creative Business

My business turned two last January — very much still in its toddler phase. Meanwhile, I had taken 50 turns around the sun and find myself deep in the middle of change. Hormonally. Physically. Metaphysically!

That tension is what shaped much of last year, where deep creative, messy energy existed side by side with deep exhaustion. It was a year of loving my work fiercely while, at times, wanting to step away from it altogether. Of momentum and meaning alongside moments where everything felt too loud, too much, too close to the edge.

My toddler-esque business was fun but demanding, requiring a frenetic, outward-facing energy. And yet, my inner world was craving quiet, rest and reflection as I navigated menopause.

It still feels strange writing about menopause — how did I get here so quickly? I’m grateful there are so many women rewriting what this stage of life looks like, and that these conversations are finally happening. Even so, it still takes me by surprise that this is where I am.

For me, menopause has not been a gentle transition but a full-bodied reckoning: broken sleep, relentless hot flushes, emotional swings that left me feeling raw and overwhelmed.

Running a Purpose-Led Business in a Relentless World

While navigating all this last year, there were also photoshoots, brand films, conversations and collaborations that brought me immense joy. Days rooted in storytelling — through brand photography, content creation and mentoring – the work that lights me up and makes it easy to show up, to be visible, to say yes. And yet, behind the scenes, there were many days of unravelling.

Some days, the effort it took simply to show up — as a parent, a partner, a business owner — felt impossible. I felt as though I needed to be more of everything, but had nothing left in the tank. I wanted to be calmer with my children. More spacious in my relationship. More present in my business. More grounded in myself. Instead, I felt the frustration of not having the energy to be the presence I longed to be.

I’ve started this new year intentionally slow, taking time to reflect. And I’ve realised that perhaps there was another reason I felt so bone-tired — one that wasn’t only about hormones or age.

Our world is A LOT at the moment. I could write a whole other post about the mental load and emotional weight of living through this social and geopolitical moment, especially for those running purpose-led businesses in a 24/7 digital culture, but that’s for another time.

Plus, I actually packed A LOT into my life last year.

Celebrating the milestones

Alongside the steady, day-to-day work of running a business and supporting clients, there were significant milestones: completing Vicki Knights’ visibility mastermind SEEN; attending Kelly Pietrangeli’s Soul Explorers retreat in Ibiza as in-house photographer; and launching  my newsletter, lead magnet, mini-shoots, a new storytelling mentoring offer, and my podcast, Uncover Your Story.

Outside of work, there was growth too.

In episode two of the podcast, I shared the moment I was told I was pre-diabetic — a wake-up call that pushed me to prioritise movement in my life (alongside working with a nutritionist and attending a fermentation workshop so I could incorporate fermented foods into my diet). I deepened my yoga practice, started playing padel, began karate classes, and took on the biggest commitment of all: welcoming our puppy, Miso, who brought joy and chaos in equal measure, but also made us get out and walk.

Storytelling, Visibility and the Fear of Getting It Wrong

The podcast took more effort than anything else I launched last year. But sitting with women doing purposeful, heart-led work — listening, learning, sharing those conversations through long-form storytelling — is the work I’m proudest of. It’s deepened my belief in storytelling as a tool for connection, visibility and impact for purpose-led businesses.

Creatively, I thrive when I’m helping other people share their stories. That’s familiar ground. Where things get shakier is telling my own. Which feels uncomfortable to admit, particularly when I’ve believed I needed to project absolute confidence in sharing my own stories.

This year showed me how much perfectionism can still get in my way — the fear of saying the wrong thing, of being misunderstood, of appearing foolish or self-important. The fear of getting it wrong.

A sentence from my episode 11 of my podcast – a conversation with mindset coach Shilpa Jamieson has stayed with me: authenticity comes by doing. You don’t think your way into it. You practise your way there. You show up imperfectly. You learn. You adjust. Confidence grows not from certainty, but from repetition.

I’ve also realised that my own lived experience of visibility and imposter syndrome allows me to show up more honestly — and more effectively — for my clients who are navigating the same terrain. This experience now sits at the heart of my storytelling mentoring, where I support women to share their work with confidence, clarity and care.

Another important learning came from working with Vicki: my purpose has to be bigger than my fear. If supporting women to share their stories — helping purposeful work reach the people it’s meant for — matters more than how I’m perceived, then fear doesn’t get to be in charge.

What 2025 taught me

Perhaps the most important lesson 2025 taught me, though, is that I need to run my own race, at my own pace. For me, constant visibility does not equal success.

So many times last year I looked around and panicked, feeling I couldn’t keep up with the pace I saw others maintaining online. My work matters deeply to me — I am endlessly passionate about my clients and what we create together. But I’ve had to remind myself, work is not the epicentre of my life. My relationships — with my family, with my friends and with myself — are. And in this season, navigating menopause, parenting, partnership and change, boundaries around work are no longer optional.

Actually, I’ve realized this will be a good thing for my business too.

Earlier, I mentioned that listening to my body didn’t come easily. And that led me so, so close to burnout. Because of my passion for my work I pushed myself too hard. And frankly, as a result, everything, began to really dim. For a while I lost my zest. Slowing down has brought me back. I can feel the ideas stirring again now, the stories beginning to take root. I’m tending them more carefully this time.

Choosing Intention Over Intensity

So I’m still exploring my rhythm — one that involves deeper work, fewer Instagram stories, more meaningful connection. More real-life conversations. More movement. More time outside. More space to be present.

And I’ve noticed something in conversations lately — with friends, clients, other women in business. So many of us are reflecting on how relentless last year felt, and how something needs to change.

But, it’s made me think that 2025 didn’t ask me to do less because I’m in midlife. It asked me to do things differently because the pace and pressure we’re living under isn’t sustainable. We need more honesty. More care. More respect — for people, for planet. And that has to start with ourselves.

Maybe that’s the beauty in unravelling: when we stop forcing ourselves to hold everything together, we make room for something truer to emerge.

My word for 2026 is intention.

This is what I’m choosing to bring to the body and life I’m actually living.

And of course this includes my work with (primarily) women running purpose-led businesses — founders, creatives and change-makers — helping them tell intentional stories through brand photography, films and thoughtful content creation.

I’m excited to see what unfolds.

If you’d like to explore working with me this year, please get in touch at: sarah@sarahoughton.co.uk