As women, we’ve all been fed the same “boss babe” advice: work harder, stay consistent, never stop showing up. Hustle culture makes it seem like if you’re not constantly grinding, you don’t actually want it.

But here’s the thing…hustling harder isn’t the fix. It’s the problem.

I know because I lived it. For me, hustle meant always being “on.” Answering emails late at night, saying yes to things I didn’t have space for (or really didn’t even want to do in the first place), posting just for the sake of being “consistent.” It left me so burnt out that I started questioning if I even wanted this business anymore. At one point, I seriously considered leaving it all and going to nursing school.

And it wasn’t that I didn’t love what I was doing. It was that I was building it in a way that didn’t work for me.

Why Hustle Doesn’t Work

Hustle culture leaves zero room for creativity, intuition, or rest — the very things that actually move your business forward. When you’re always “on,” your nervous system gets stuck in overdrive. And when that happens, you’re not leading…you’re surviving.

And not everyone is built for constant output. Some people thrive in that mode. But for the rest of us? Forcing ourselves into that box only leads to burnout and resentment.

Running a business isn’t about running yourself into the ground. It’s about building a business that supports you.

What to Do Instead

Here’s what I’ve learned (and what I now help my clients put into practice):

Redefine success.

Forget the Instagram formulas. What makes you feel supported and alive? Build around that.

Take CEO Days.

I block time to work on the business instead of just in it. No meetings, no client work…just vision, planning, and space to think.

Ditch rigid consistency.

I don’t force myself to show up the exact same way every day. I honor my energy, my season, and, yes, even my cycle.

Let systems sustain you.

I lean on automations and workflows so I don’t waste energy remembering every little thing. It frees up brain space for the big-picture stuff.

Hold boundaries like a CEO.

My clients know my office hours and how I communicate. That way I don’t feel like I have to be available 24/7, and I can show up fully when I am on.

This isn’t about working less. It’s about creating space for the right work. You know, the kind that actually grows your business and keeps you aligned.

Leading Differently

Hustling harder isn’t leadership. It’s survival.

Real leadership means knowing yourself — your nervous system, your wiring, your leadership style — and creating a business that works with you, not against you.

Because when you lead from that place, growth feels sustainable. Success feels spacious. And your vision actually has room to expand.

So if you’re exhausted from the constant grind, here’s your permission slip: you don’t have to do it their way. You get to build a business that feels good for you.

That’s where the real success lives.

If you’re ready to explore what that looks like, that’s exactly what I help female founders do inside my Vision-to-Execution Accelerator and Intensives.