Pivot, Don’t Quit It

The most resilient business leaders aren’t the ones who always get it right the first time. They’re the ones who know how to adjust without giving up. They pivot instead of quitting.

At Blazer Strategies, we’ve had to pivot more than once. And not just in small ways. We’ve taken entire parts of our original business model and scrapped them. The easy move would’ve been to throw in the towel altogether, but we’ve chosen a different path.

When Politics Didn’t Work

One of our early ideas was to consult on political campaigns. I’ve got a Masters of Public Affairs, and I’ve studied government and public policy for years. I’ve even been a candidate twice. Local and state elections matter deeply to me because they affect the everyday lives of people in our communities. So it made sense to try to bring that experience into Blazer’s work.

But it didn’t click.

I wanted to be a consultant to campaigns — not a manager — because it was the only way to build a sustainable business around small, local elections. But that structure was so different from the norm that it created friction right out of the gate. We struggled to set clear boundaries. We had to chase down payments. The work became 24/7 stress for what added up to around $12 an hour.

We cared about the work, but we couldn’t keep doing it that way. So we shut that part of the business down.

It wasn’t quitting on our values. It was choosing a model that didn’t burn us out.

A New Approach to Employee Ownership

Another early initiative was in the employee ownership space. I had strong ties to the community from my time leading the Missouri Center for Employee Ownership. The values aligned beautifully: shared responsibility, long-term thinking, community wealth-building. So I went all-in.

For a year and a half, I pitched. I met with leaders. I followed every lead I had. And I didn’t land a single contract with an employee-owned company.

But something else happened: we started attracting small businesses and nonprofits that served employee-owned companies. These groups weren’t the original target, but they were a great fit. They needed help. They aligned with our mission. And we understood their world in a way most vendors didn’t.

So instead of walking away from employee ownership entirely, we just shifted focus. We stopped chasing the big ESOPs and started serving the people around them. That’s where we’ve done some of our best work.

Pivots Aren’t Accidents

Whenever I hear the word “pivot,” I picture that Friends episode where Ross is yelling at Chandler to turn the couch up the stairwell. He keeps shouting, “Pivot!” while the couch stays stuck.

That’s what it’s like when you know you need to change but don’t know how.

Over time, I’ve learned that being able to pivot well isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill set. And it’s one every business owner needs and likely one that any business leader can develop. These three things have made the biggest difference for me.

1. Keep Learning

If you run a business, you need more than experience. You need exposure. I make time to learn constantly. Podcasts like Acquired and My First Million are in my regular rotation. I read local business news to see what models are succeeding and what forces cause businesses to close. I subscribe to newsletters in and outside my field. I even watch Shark Tank and HGTV house flipping shows to see how people navigate business in real time.

My job puts me in front of a lot of strategies already, but I make a point to add to that toolbox. The more examples I see, the more options I have when things don’t go as planned.

2. Build a Team That Will Tell You the Truth

You need people around you who will say, “You’re wrong” — and you need to be able to hear it.

Twice in the last six months, I was ready to pull the plug on major projects. I’d already played out every scenario in my head and didn’t see a way forward. But both times, someone on my team pushed back. They saw something I didn’t. They reminded me why we started.

And they were right.

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when something fails. If your initial plan doesn’t work, it can feel like the whole idea was bad. But often, the idea is solid. It just needs a new angle. That’s where your team comes in — if you’ve built a culture that allows for honest feedback.

3. Ask for Help

Blazer Strategies would never have gotten off the ground without outside help. I was working with an executive life coach when the business idea first came together. I’ve had therapists, ADHD coaches, and regular meetings with the Small Business Development Center. In a few weeks, I’ll be bringing in a fractional CFO to help with finance and accounting.

You don’t have to do everything on your own. In fact, you can’t. And pretending otherwise just slows you down.

Don’t Quit. Turn.

Some days, quitting will feel like the most reasonable move you can make. But not every hard stop is the end of the road. Sometimes it’s a signal to try something different.

We’ve made it this far not because everything worked perfectly, but because we’ve been willing to change course. We didn’t quit politics entirely — we found a more sustainable version of public service. We didn’t abandon employee ownership — we found the people around it who needed us most.

The next time you hit a wall, ask yourself if it’s really the end — or just time to pivot.