Are You Pivoting… or Just Rebranding Your Breakdown?

If you’ve been in business longer than five minutes, you’ve probably had a moment where you told yourself, “I’m just making a pivot.”

And then 48 hours later you’re knee-deep in a brand-new offer, rewriting your website, changing your bio, and suddenly you’re questioning every life choice you’ve ever made.

That’s not a pivot. That’s a spiral wearing a blazer.

Last week I was on a coffee chat with a young woman who’s an online business manager, and she’s getting acquainted with Notion. She’s seen me in a few AI trainings and wanted to know how I got into what I do now, because ultimately they’d love to follow a similar path.

So I walked her through the whole evolution: Freelancer → VA agency → hourly OBM → high-ticket retainer OBM → group program teaching AI + systems → and finally landing on what I do now: AI-powered business builds inside Notion.

And the funny part is while it looks like I’ve “changed” a lot over the years, I really haven’t.

Every time I pivoted, I wasn’t throwing my business in a totally new direction. I was doing one of two things:

• Narrowing my focus (more specific tool, clearer problem, tighter lane)
• Expanding my offering (same lane, bigger outcome, better delivery)

It was progression. Stepping stones. Skills stacked on skills. A slightly meandering path, sure, but still headed toward the same vision.

And that’s the difference I want to call out, especially in the AI era, because I’ve watched a lot of business owners confuse “pivoting” with “chasing what’s hot.”

I had a coach years ago who did this constantly. Every time I turned around, it was a brand-new offer that had nothing to do with the last one. It was spaghetti at the wall, 24/7. From the outside it looked like the dream: Big launches, big money, lots of “boss babe lifestyle” vibes.

I stopped working with her, and not long after, found out she shut the business down from burnout.

It was shocking at first, until it wasn’t.

Because here’s what was really happening: she was stretching too thin, chasing money, and sprinting toward the next dopamine hit.

If you’ve ever lived in that cycle, you know exactly how it ends.

You get the rush.
You launch the thing.
You “reinvent” your business.

And then you crash… leaving you feeling desperate, behind, and weirdly ashamed that you “can’t keep up.”

That’s not growth. That’s survival mode with Canva.

Pivoting vs Spiraling (the real difference)

Pivoting is still movement toward a vision, and that vision isn’t just “more revenue.” It’s:

• Who you want to serve
• How you want to serve them
• What you’re becoming known for
• What you’re getting better at, on purpose

Spiraling is chasing the dopamine hit of novelty (or trend or quick cash) and calling it strategy, and it’s downright dangerous, emotionally and financially, because it keeps you from building anything stable enough to actually scale.

While pivoting results in progress, spiraling is a result of panic.

Weekly Challenge

This week, run your next (or latest) business idea through these 3 filters. For each one, call it Green Flag (pivot) or Red Flag (spiral). Be quick and honest.

1. Does this connect to your vision and the person you serve?

• Green flag: Same audience + same problem + clearer delivery (you’re narrowing or upgrading).
• Red flag: New audience/new problem because it sounds fun, is trendy, or just “might sell fast.”

2. Is this building on what you already know, or starting from scratch?

• Green flag: You’re stacking skills you already have (or deepening one you’re known for).
• Red flag: You’re reinventing huge chunks of your business model (new niche, new offer, new platform or some combo…all at once).

3. What’s driving the decision: strategy or relief?

• Green flag: You can explain the move in one sentence that starts with “Because my clients need…”
• Red flag: The main reason is “I’m bored / I’m behind / I need money fast / I saw someone else do it” (dopamine first, consequences later).

Rule for the week: If you get 2+ red flags, you don’t move forward. You pause, simplify, and pick the smallest next move that supports the offer you already sell.

*And if you want the exact AI prompt I use to coach you through those answers (so you don’t have to do all the mental heavy lifting yourself), that’s going in The Caffeinated Entrepreneur: The Refill that drops tomorrow!

Now DM me and tell me: What’s the biggest pivot you’ve made that felt like it could’ve been a spiral… but it ended up changing everything for the better?

Or, bonus points for humility, what’s something you chased that looked like a “smart business move”… and it quietly sent you into a spiral?

I read every reply. And yes, I will absolutely tell you that I have been on BOTH sides of this coin too.