Should you pivot, quit, or persevere?

I talked to smart business thinkers about how to approach the current economic landscape, particularly as a small business owner.

Last fall, I got to talk shop with some brilliant business minds—strategists, sales experts, community builders and business thinkers—about the changes we’re seeing in the business landscape. One question that feels particularly urgent right now: A lot of small business owners are wondering whether or not to throw in the towel, pivot their business to respond to what’s going on, or if they should stick it out and push harder.

If you’re staring at your lead funnel wondering where everyone went, or if you’re questioning if your business is still viable in today’s world—you are not alone. The landscape has shifted dramatically. And a lot of what worked five years ago just isn’t landing anymore. After fifteen years of building businesses and working with leaders, I’ve seen a few patterns and practices that can help.

I want to break this down, not just from a tactical standpoint, but from a mindset perspective, too—because what’s required of us as entrepreneurs is changing. And if we don’t specifically address what’s changing, a lot of business owners may think that they are doing something wrong and throw in the towel too early, when it’s really the entire system that has shifted, and it’s up to us to respond strategically.

Here’s what I’m seeing, what we’re talking about, and what I’m doing.

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Should You Pivot, Persevere, or Quit?

Strategies & mindsets for small business owners in 2025

IF WE HAVEN’T MET BEFORE

I'm Sarah K Peck and I'm a business strategist, leadership coach, and entrepreneur. Over the last twenty years, I've studied psychology, received a masters from Penn Design, and an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and I've been a small business owner for 15 years. That means I've lived through multiple economic shifts, navigated entrepreneurship as a new parent, then through Covid, and again through a medical emergency. Over the last decade, I’ve coached and worked with hundreds of founders, leaders, and entrepreneurial operators.

In addition, I am part of a strong community of business strategists, marketers, sales geniuses, and peer business owners that I talk to on a regular basis about what we're seeing. A huge thank-you to Michelle Warner, a business wizard who I partnered with to host “Business As Usual? Or Throw In The Towel?” for my entrepreneurship group. Shout-outs to Alexis Grant, Margo Aaron, Sean O'Connor, Kaleb Leíja, Allison Davis and more! Talking to other business owners is essential for navigating pivots, downturns, and market volatility.

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The Game Has Changed. Here’s Why.

BEFORE you throw in the towel, before you conclude that your business isn't working anymore, and before you shift to trying a half dozen new things, it’s important to get clear on why the business landscape is dramatically different than it was a decade ago.

While business owners are rightfully concerned about the economic tumult and the wild political swings, things actually got harder before 2025. Yes, this current season is making things even worse. But it’s important to remember that many folks across the board were tired, burned out, and frustrated for much of the last five years. There’s a pervasive sense (and objective data) that it is harder to generate leads, convert customers, and sell.¹

Here's why ↓

AN ERA OF ‘FREE MONEY’ AND ‘EASY LEADS’

The era of free money and low-cost leads isn’t here anymore. (I explain what this means in more depth in the video above.)

If you look at the last ten to twenty years, especially in the United States, we’ve had huge periods of startup growth, with both venture capital flowing and relatively easy business borrowing. When interest rates are super low, it effectively means borrowing money is ‘free.’ With easy access to capital, the cost of starting a business is low. But today, interest rates are higher, loans are harder to get, and things are more expensive. This means both the costs of starting and sustaining a business are much higher.

In addition, leads were also pretty cheap and easy to get. With the rise of social media, email marketing, digital marketing, and online business, you could find potential customers quickly and at lower costs. Coupled with first-mover advantages of the social-tech space, early business owners could gain massive upsides.

Today, however, consumers are more discerning (aka consumer maturation). People are more cautious, more burned out, and more discerning. Acquisition costs are higher, advertising costs are higher, customers are spread across dozens of social media apps, and the tech platforms with the best leads can charge premium prices. Layer in the complexity of consumer privacy regulations and this means it’s harder to reach customers. It's not harder than ever, it's just harder than during the ‘gold rush era’ of the 2000s and 2010s.²

YES, BUSINESS IS HARDER. NO, IT’S NOT WHAT YOU DID.

The important takeaway: If you feel like business is harder in general, it is, for a whole lot of people. The mindset mistake a lot of people are making is the "grass is greener" assumption — that it’s only *their* business that is uniquely doing badly, and they'll have more luck if they pivot to an entirely new business model, or shut down entirely. This might not be the best strategy, even though it feels awfully tempting.

I want this to be reassuring, in a way. If it feels like things are taking twice as long, and they’re twice as hard—say, you have half as many customers than 10 years ago— that doesn’t necessarily mean your product is broken. It means the rules have changed.

And there are key things you can do from here.

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PLEASE NOTE: The context and strategies below are particularly useful for small business owners, bootstrapped businesses, and folks who still have access to their key vendors and core resources. If you’re affected by supply chains, if you are a larger business or you are a more mature business with the capacity to scale new product offers, then these strategies are likely too simple for you—let me know in the comments what still lands.

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Here’s How to Adapt Accordingly.

1. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE UNIQUELY GOOD AT

Start by asking: What do I do really well? What is working in my business right now?

So many of us have a handful of offers on the table—five, six, ten different things—and only one or two are actually generating significant revenue. That’s the workhorse. That’s where you start. Review your products or services, and drill down to the core offer that brings in revenue. Zone in on your specific genius. List out where you already have systems, suppliers, leads, and contacts in place.

Evaluate your existing assets: How many leads do you have, what market are you in, what do you already have built, and what are your key strengths and skills?

When pivoting or trying new things: Seek confirmation that your current business is truly dead in the water, or no longer viable. Too many people throw in the towel on businesses that need to be tightened up. If you do want to pivot, consider how you can double down on an existing asset or strength.

Mindset Trap: When the Grass Feels Greener…

It can be extremely tempting to want to throw in the towel and give up when things are tougher than before. But before you leap to a grass that seems greener, consider: What will you have to build, acquire, purchase, or do from scratch to make this work?

If you need to build a new product, and talk to an entirely new market, and generate an entirely new lead list, is that going to be cost-effective? Make sure the profit margins are worth it, and the costs are reasonable. It’s not wrong to pivot, but thinking that a new business landscape will be easier may be a mindset fallacy.

The mindset trap that people fall into? Believing that by switching to a new product or market, they’ll be able to return to the era of easy leads and quick returns they experienced a decade ago.

It’s okay to look over at all the pretty land around you, but you might be better off sticking to your own garden and adding some new fertilizer and mulch, and investing in the garden you currently have.

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2. DOUBLE DOWN. MAKE IT EVEN BETTER

Double down on your key offers.

Once you’ve identified what’s working best, focus your energy there. As tempting as it is to throw spaghetti at the wall when things get tough and to let tantalizing new ideas steal your focus, that’s usually a fast track to burnout. So instead of adding a ton of things to your plate:

Go all in on your core offers. Consider what it would look like to go all in. “Every week, make your service or offer a little bit better,” Michelle Warner told me. That’s how you play the long game and stand out.

Review your numbers. Make sure you still have the margins you need to make this business work. If rising costs have outpaced your offer, then the model may no longer be viable—and it’s smart to acknowledge that early. Make sure your core products are profitable in the face of inflation and longer lead times. If they are, double down and keep going.

Reposition as needed. A key strategy during downturns is to continue to do what you do best, but reposition it within the context of a recession. Remind your customers why this investment matters now. Connect it back to what they are currently challenged by, and re-assert the value of your business.³

Keep showing up consistently. Get clearer and louder about who you help and how. This is not the season to hide out or wait for things to stabilize. Claim your space, sharpen your message, and reintroduce yourself to your people.

Mindset Trap: Over-Stuffing Your Offers

Eliminate distractions and busy work. Cut what isn’t working, unless it’s essential to your core strategy. Fight the urge to launch 10 new things or burn everything down. That’s stress talking, but it will lead you to overwork (and burnout).

Don’t over-stuff your offers. In a panic, it’s easy to assume your offers need more. But your customers are stressed too. If you overload your offers, you risk confusing or losing them. Keep your offer clear, deliberate, and intentionally scoped.

People often prefer a deliciously cooked steak with the perfect pairings (or a single bowl of scrumptious pasta), over the all-you-can-eat buffets of randomness.

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3. DON’T SPREAD YOURSELF TOO THIN.

Your biggest strategic move is not burning out.

When things feel uncertain—when leads dry up or clients hesitate—it’s easy to panic. More offers! More bells and whistles! Pack your offer with extras! Try every new marketing strategy! The temptation is to throw spaghetti at the wall, launch new programs, and try to be everywhere at once.

That urge comes from fear. I’ve felt it, too.

Don’t spread yourself too thin. I’ve done this the hard way—offering too much, too fast. When you pare down, you get clarity. You preserve your energy (and your team’s!) And you give yourself space to respond to the real-time needs of clients and customers (who are also stressed and stretched right now).

So instead, ask yourself: What can be cut? What’s draining energy without delivering results? Not forever—but for now.⁴

Right now, business owners need capacity. During downturns, business owners actually need to reserve some capacity in order to be responsive and resilient. Your clients might want more hand-holding. Marketing is taking longer. You might have less energy than you used to have. So it’s even more strategic to stay focused on your core offers. You’ll also want to reserve some capacity so you can stick it out for the long-term.

If you fill all of your time creating new work for yourself, you’ll run out of gas. Your biggest strategic move is keeping space on your calendar so you have time and energy to respond to clients, to think strategically, and to weather long sales cycles.

Mindset Trap: More is Not More

Instead of panicking and offering everything in the kitchen sink, resist the urge to do everything. Your clients are craving clarity, consistency, and steadiness. Remind them, “Hey, here’s what I do. Here’s who I help. Here’s how I can support you.”

If you try to sell everything, people will remember nothing. Cut the frills.

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4. THE BIGGER QUESTION: DO YOU HAVE BANDWIDTH?

This is the real question that I’m seeing across the board. Folks are tired from the yearly pivots, adaptations, and changes. They are exhausted from the volatility. So the deeper question to ask yourself is:

Can you sustain the version of your business that exists now? Do you have the energy to keep going, knowing it might take longer and be less lucrative for a little while? If you can dig in and stick this out for the long haul, that’s what it’s going to take.

Because if you can say yes—if you’re willing to adjust expectations and keep refining your core offer—there is still a path forward. You don’t have to quit. But you do have to acknowledge the shift.

If the answer is no? That’s not failure. That’s strategy. Stepping back, pausing, or even closing a chapter is sometimes the smartest move.

Mindset Trap: I’m The Same Person As Before

Just like the business landscape has changed, the psychological landscape has changed. So many business owners are burned out—from online business, constantly pivoting, and the intensity of entrepreneurship.

When evaluating your business strategy, it’s also wise to evaluate your capacity and drive, too. For me, after having children, my capacity went down significantly. (I’m not the same bouncy sprite I was in my 20s, not by far!) My time is more limited, my energy lower. It’s wise to factor this in when business planning—which is why I plan around 25-hour weeks instead of 40-hour weeks.

[Want to work smarter, not harder? Click here to download my free mini-book with three core worksheets to help you focus, do less, and cut down your work hours]

What do you legitimately have bandwidth for? The math I’m seeing is folks are twice as tired, have half as much time, and things are costing twice as much. Make sure you can sustain your business with these resource shifts (including your own capacity).

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THE BOTTOM LINE

We’re in a season of contraction. That doesn’t mean the end—it just means we need to lead differently. Be sharper. Be calmer. Be focused.

So, should you pivot, persevere, or quit?

Only you can answer that. But here’s the recap:

1. Understand the context. Things are more expensive. Leads cost more.

2. Focus on your core offers. What are your workhorses, your revenue generators?

3. Double down on what’s working. Focus on your core offers, clear up your core message, and make that offer even better where you can.

4. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Simplify what you can. Eliminate clutter, and fight the urge to do everything and be everywhere.

5. Check your energy. If you have reduced capacity or energy from burnout or long-term business work, keep simplifying and focusing your business plan so you can sustain it for the long haul.

And if the numbers still work? Congratulations! Keep going. You’ve got this. If you choose to keep going, we’re going to do it with clarity and intention—not hustle and panic.

We’re playing a longer game now.

— Sarah K Peck

Leadership ☀︎ Business ☀︎ Parenting ☀︎ Mindset ☀︎ Humor ​
Startup Parent​ (Podcast) ​
Founders With Kids​ (Community) ​
Wise Women’s Council​ (Leadership Incubator)

You can also find me on ​LinkedIn​, ​Substack Notes​, and ​Threads​.

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DO YOU PREFER VIDEO OR WRITTEN POSTS?

This post is both video and written. Above is an 11-minute video distilling these massive conversations into a four-part framework to evaluate and adjust in your business. Do you have a preference for video, audio, or written? Let me know by voting in the poll below.

1. “There’s a pervasive sense (and objective data) that it is harder to generate leads, convert customers, and sell.” Not all businesses felt the squeeze at the same time. Many folks saw a business boom in specific industries, due to a market shock or a sudden shift that made business particularly strong for a period. Responding to the Covid pandemic, for example, was a market shock that boosted many businesses for a few years, and shuttered others in sweeping ways. The huge upswing in DEI work after the horrific murder of George Floyd was another sudden shift. Governmental policies create sudden and unexpected events that disrupt the ‘normal’ functioning of a market. Many folks that lived through a ‘boom’ for a few years are experiencing a market retraction and ‘bust’ in many ways, and trying to figure out if their businesses are still viable. (Please note: I am not specifying if they are valuable or important, just whether or not the market is paying for these services in the same way. The marketplace is not a moral arbiter, and can be a ruthless destroyer.)

2. “This means it’s harder to reach customers. It's not harder than ever, it's just harder than during the ‘gold rush era’ of the 2000s and 2010s” Finding customers has almost always been a business problem that’s hard to crack. Consider the print media and broadcast television era before the internet. It was far harder to know how many people you reached, how they found you, and what channels were the most successful. In many ways, the current landscape can be seen as a correction from the era of too-easy leads and the early boom of the digital landscape.

3. Marketing in a recession is the topic of another essay. Even if we’re not in a recession by economic terms, Michelle Warner reminded me that consumers can behave like they’re in a recession even if the numbers are still up. Rapid market changes and uncertain futures can also change people’s behavior, making people want more safety, security, and stability.

4. “What’s draining energy without delivering results? Not forever—but for now.” Interestingly, this is why I stopped the Startup Parent Podcast during the pandemic, because each episode could take 10-20 hours (reading the books, interviewing guests, editing, blog posts, social media sharing, etc). Trying to do that without childcare (aka small kids trapped at home) made it take twice as long, and I felt like I was losing my mind. It was the easiest thing to pause that immediately created a ton of space in my calendar. Do I miss it? Yes. These videos are actually part of my effort to return to the medium in a new way!