We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Winkler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Burnout is a b**** and I know that firsthand! In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, my business experienced explosive growth. I had also just started my MBA at Texas Woman’s University with a concentration in Women in Leadership. Although it was awesome to have all of this going on in my life – especially when others were struggling so much with the pandemic – it was also really hard. Like so many others, I became a homeschooling mom too, while also going to school AND running a business. It wasn’t long before I experienced crippling burnout. I lost sleep, I gained stress weight, I went to a therapist for the first time since my childhood, I got on anti-depressants, I felt like I was meeting myself coming and going. And I kind of shut down for a while.

Then, I started reading about how women experience stress differently and how the patriarchy influences our work and the spaces around us. And I found out how to help myself out of burnout. It wasn’t until recently that I started teaching others how to do it too.

I have worked for myself for 10+ years. I started as a freelance writer and then segued into marketing copywriting. About 5 years ago, I took the leap into marketing and founded my boutique marketing agency. Through that journey, I realized that I consistently had one message: You don’t have to do things the way THEY tell you that you have to. And now, I’m focusing my work on business coaching with a concentration on helping women break up with burnout.

I’m here to help people shift from business as usual and toward a new paradigm of inspired, Empowered Leadership. I’m here to break down the old structures and the “shoulds” that the corporate greats and traditional business coaches espouse. I’m ultimately here to help more women make more money in a way that feels good for them, so they can do more good in the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a recovering perfectionist and a recovering over-achiever. In my community – whether we work together, refer clients to each other, or you just follow me on Instagram – it’s safe to be YOU. I create spaces where people can produce their best work, cultivate their creativity, and make an impact on the world – no matter how big or how small. I’m excited about my new program, Break Up With Burnout, starting in October 2022. It’s a 7-month group program and community experience for women who are ready to kick burnout to the curb through techniques that are customized to THEIR needs. I don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions because we’re not cookie-cutter people.

Over the years, I’ve earned a master’s degree in military history (I’m all about psychology and strategy!), an MBA in women’s leadership, a Master Mindfulness Facilitator certification, and so much more. Seriously, there are more little certs in the past couple of decades than I can count! I’ve also built three businesses – one that sold to another company, one that flopped, and my current business, which is experiencing its own evolution right now.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As a woman, I was taught that I needed to present myself a certain way – confident but not too bold; intelligent but not too smart; friendly but not too loud. Society teaches us these things. And if you’re like me, it can be really stressful to try and remain in this box. Luckily, I’ve worked at and with companies where boldness isn’t limited to just one gender, so that helped. Over the years, however, I’ve had to learn to trust MY instincts, rather than the lessons of my youth. I had to take the risk of speaking up at a meeting, presenting an idea I believed in, or saying no when my boundary was the most important part of the exchange. I was able to unlearn the very unsupportive lesson that I was too much and it changed everything in my life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Sure! I’ve had several pivots in my business and life. I’m in the middle of a business pivot right now, so I’ll tell you about this one. For years, my clients have hired me for one thing and experienced more than they expected. I came into their businesses as their marketing consultant and virtual CMO, and soon – in every case – I began to fill the role of their most trusted business advisor. In everything from expanding their business and hiring new team members to their own pivots in product offerings or programs and beyond – things that had very little to do with their marketing. Many of these conversations centered on mindset, overcoming the internal stories we bring into every relationship and interaction, and the concerns of being burnt out despite doing what they love. So, recently, I stepped fully into the role as a business coach, with a focus on helping women break up with burnout. It’s something I’ve done for years, so it makes sense. Every pivot comes with its challenges, though, and it’s extremely interesting to me to be in the midst of this pivot and to be doing it with a commitment to zero burnout.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://goodbusinesswitch.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themeganwinkler/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganwinkler1/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MegWinkler

Image Credits
Brooke Genn