may 23 newsletter

May 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Hi ,

I want to take you back a couple of years.

I’d just bought out my partner.
We were hitting big revenue numbers (but profit was low).
The brand was thriving and growing publicly.
I had a team full of talented women who believed in the mission.

From the outside, it looked like everything I had worked for was finally working.

But inside?

  • I was waking up at 3am running payroll numbers in my head.

  • Writing launch copy because no one else nailed the tone.

  • Editing projects that weren’t aligned because I hadn’t given clear outcomes.

  • Fielding Slack messages for things that should’ve been obvious.

  • Doing what felt like holding the team, the revenue, the vision, and the emotional climate of the entire business.

And the part I didn’t want to admit?

The more people I hired, the heavier it all felt.

I thought I had a team.
But what I really had… was a group of people orbiting around me.

If I stepped out? Everything slowed down or people got incredibly distracted by things that weren’t priorities or needle movers in the business.
Because I was still the bottleneck.

…and it was all of my own doing.

And here’s what I want you to hear if you’re in a similar season:

You don’t have a team just because people report to you.
You have a team when roles are clear, ownership is distributed, and results are delivered consistently without you being involved at every turn.

I didn’t have that.
So I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a founder.

I let go of the team I thought would take me to the next level.

Not in a dramatic way.
Not in anger.
But with clarity, data, and a commitment to rebuild from truth.

🧠 If you’re in this season, start with these 3 questions:

1. Is every person on your team tied to ROI, capacity expansion, or client delivery?

If not, you likely have “support” roles that are costing more than they’re contributing.

2. Can you confidently say what success looks like in each role without micromanaging?

If not, you’ve hired people… but you haven’t built a team.

3. If you left for a week with no warning, what would break in your business?

That’s your biggest vulnerability and where your leadership needs to focus.

What I did next (and still do today):

I ran a “Team Energy + ROI Audit.”
Here’s what it included:

  1. Time Audit: I tracked where my own time was going. If I was still doing things that weren’t in my zone of genius, that was a sign the org chart was off.

  2. Team ROI Map: I looked at each team member and asked:

    • How much are they costing (salary + time)?

    • What are they owning (not just doing)?

    • Is this role driving revenue, retention, or operational ease?

  3. Communication Breakdown: I looked at how often I was pulled in. If I had to explain the same thing more than twice, I knew I had a clarity or capability problem.

  4. Org Chart Reset: I threw out the old chart and started fresh. One that started with what the business needed—not who I’d hired years ago.

What I learned:

  1. Hiring doesn’t fix leadership problems.
    The wrong hire will just multiply your stress. The right one will unlock capacity.

  2. People-pleasing is expensive.
    Keeping someone on because they’re “nice” or “loyal” is the fastest way to overpay for underperformance.

  3. You don’t need a big team - you need a high-functioning one.
    5 A-players with clear ownership will outproduce 10 B-players with vague roles.

  4. Your team reflects your standards.
    If you’re accepting confusion, reactivity, or mediocrity, it’s because you haven’t drawn the line yet.

XO,

Natalie

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Run your own mini audit this week. Ask yourself:

  • What’s the true cost of each role on my team?

  • What decisions am I avoiding out of fear or loyalty?

  • What would this look like if it were 10x simpler?

Don’t wait for burnout to force you to change. Choose clarity now.

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