The Journey No One Sees: Walking Beside a Business Owner

When people talk about business ownership, the conversation usually revolves around freedom, flexibility, and the pursuit of passion. What rarely gets discussed is the emotional weight that comes with it—the invisible roller coaster that business owners and the people who walk beside them ride every single day.

My husband owns With Purpose, a business consulting firm, and over the years I’ve had a front-row seat to the reality of entrepreneurship. Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart. It is a constant dance between vision and responsibility, courage and doubt, risk and reward. It’s a journey that most will never fully see or understand unless they’ve lived it.

Entrepreneurship starts with passion—but passion alone doesn’t keep the doors open.

Yes, you can turn a passion into a business. You can feel deeply called to serve, help, innovate, or solve meaningful problems. But if you don’t know how to run a business, that passion can quickly become overwhelming. I’ve watched talented, driven people flail—not because they lack ideas or heart, but because they lack business acumen.

Owning a business requires understanding fundamentals: leadership, operations, cash flow, and strategy. Without those, even the most brilliant vision starts to crumble under pressure.

One of the hardest things to watch has been the endless cycle of noise. Listen to this expert. Follow that podcast influencer. Buy this course. Try that strategy. Each voice promises clarity, growth, and success—but too often leaves business owners just as confused as when they started. Information overload replaces focus. What should feel empowering instead becomes paralyzing.

The truth is, advice without context doesn’t help.

Every business is different. Every leader is different. Without someone who understands your industry, your numbers, and your goals, you’re just collecting ideas instead of building a sustainable business.

And then there’s money—the topic most business owners avoid until they can’t anymore.

You cannot lead what you refuse to look at. Understanding your numbers is non-negotiable. That means having a budget, knowing where your money is going, and making decisions based on reality—not hope, fear, or avoidance. Numbers aren’t emotional, but our relationship with them often is. When my husband began helping business owners truly face their finances with clarity and strategy, I saw the relief it brought. Awareness creates power. Avoidance creates anxiety.

At the heart of every business is vision—ideas swirling in your mind, ideas that feel so clear internally but struggle to find form outside of you. Visioning is beautiful, but it’s not enough. You have to take what’s happening in your head and translate it into something your team can understand, believe in, and execute.

That’s where leadership comes in.

Building a team isn’t about hiring people and hoping they “get it.” It’s about clearly laying out the vision, defining roles, setting expectations, and empowering others to run with it. When vision is foggy, teams become frustrated. When leadership lacks clarity, execution falls apart.

What I’ve learned—walking this road alongside my husband—is that business ownership should never be a solo journey.

The roller coaster of leadership, money, and growth is too much to navigate alone. It takes someone coming alongside you—someone who understands strategic planning, can identify pain points, and isn’t afraid to ask hard questions. Someone who can bring objectivity when emotions run high. Someone who helps you move from reacting to leading with intention.

That’s the heart behind With Purpose.

It’s not just about growing a business. It’s about growing leaders who understand their numbers, lead their teams well, and build something sustainable without burning themselves—or their families—out in the process.

This journey has taught me that success isn’t flashy. It’s steady. It’s intentional. And it’s deeply rooted in clarity. Business ownership may not be for the faint of heart—but with the right support, strategy, and purpose, it can be one of the most meaningful journeys a person ever takes.