I was the biggest in my niche and I still burnt out. Here's my '90% you' theory to avoid that.

I was the biggest in my niche and I still burnt out. At one point, I had what most people in my industry would consider a dream business: a growing community of passionate customers, features in major publications, one of the most recognised platforms for ethical and sustainable fashion in Australia and New Zealand.

From the outside, it looked like success, and in many ways, it was.

But behind the scenes, I was drowning, suffocating, exhausted. I was so overwhelmed and on edge that when someone asked me how I was when I was ordering a coffee, my chest would tighten.

I had built a business that was 'successful', but I wasn’t okay.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. I was mentoring other founders (for free at the time as it just felt natural in my role as CEO of a slow fashion e-com store) on sustainable systems, values-led growth, and ethical leadership. And yet, I was running myself into the ground.

Hustling so hard. Pushing through the pain. Saying yes when I wanted to say, 'No way man, I am so beyond capacity already'. And I constantly poured from an empty cup.

And it wasn’t because my strategy was wrong or what I was selling wasn’t good enough or I didn’t care. If anything, I cared too much. I felt like no one else on earth could possibly care more than I did in those building years.

It was because I wasn’t looking after me, the founder. And that cost me everything.

At the five-year mark, I hit burnout hard. The kind of burnout that doesn’t go away after a weekend off or a bottle of wine. The kind that makes you question your purpose. The kind that makes you consider quitting the very mission you used to wake up excited for. 

And when the doctor looked me dead in the eye tapping his big pile of MRI results, heart examination graphs and 71 million blood tests in front of him, while he said, 'There's nothing wrong with you, you're just working too much and you're stressed', I knew something had to change. 

So it took stepping away and rebuilding everything from the inside out for me to realise the truth: your business doesn’t succeed or fail based on the length of your to-do list. It succeeds or fails based on you, your mindset, your health, your belief, your energy, your purpose.

That’s when this '90% you' theory was born. Not from textbooks, but from lived experience.

So if you’re feeling tired, stuck, or quietly wondering why things still feel so hard even though you're doing all the 'right' things, this one is for you.

If you came here for the silver bullet to slow fashion success, you're going to be disappointed, because I don't want to share a million-dollar-making hack. I want to introduce you to a different kind of business pie chart, one where your well-being is the main ingredient. 

You can have the best product, a beautifully thought-out strategy, and even a supportive community but if the person behind the business (that’s you) is exhausted, lost, or spiralling in self-doubt, you stay in the hampster wheel, until you ungraciously fall right off. 

And it's not just my experience either. I’ve worked with hundreds of slow fashion founders, and I’ve seen the same pattern again and again. 

The product isn’t the problem. The strategy isn’t the problem. They've done the work. But their mindset is a shambles. Their belief system is falling apart. Their energy, health, and clarity is a mess. And they're not growing. They're working more than they ever have, but they're not growing. 

And that’s the real risk. So here’s my theory. 

90% of your success is about you. Your mindset, mental health, nervous system, purpose, creativity, energy. 

4% of your success is about your product. Wild, I know, but stay with me.

3% of your success is about your strategy, but also how you go about implementing it.

3% of your success is about your support network, because the people you surround yourself with can hold you back or push you forward. 

Let me walk through each slice of this success pie. 

90% you. The founder behind the business.

This is where almost everything begins and where it can unravel just as beautifully.

Your mindset shapes how you lead, how you handle slow weeks, how you recover from setbacks, and how long you keep going.

Your nervous system decides whether you operate from calm creativity or chaotic burnout.

Your beliefs direct your decisions, pricing, marketing voice, and even how boldly you sell.

Your health and habits like sleep, movement, nourishment, screen time, all affect your ability to show up fully and lead with purpose.

And you can’t separate your business from your being. And yet, so many founders try to treat symptoms instead of the root cause. 

Sales dip? Launch something new. Low energy? Push harder, drink more coffee. Visibility down? Post more.

But if you’re exhausted, anxious, unaligned or disconnected from your purpose, none of those tactics will work. You are not a machine, you are the mission.

That shift changes everything. Because when you’re in your power, your message hits harder, your energy resonates louder, and your business becomes magnetic.

So your 90% includes:

  • Your mindset: self-belief, confidence, resilience.
  • Your vision: why you're doing this, and who you're doing it for.
  • Your emotional regulation: how you cope with highs and lows.
  • Your creativity and clarity: your ability to solve problems, market your magic, and lead your mission.
  • Your daily habits, boundaries, and energy.

You don’t need to be 'perfect', you just need to be present. And that starts with choosing to put yourself first, not last, in your business priorities.

4% product. It's not what you sell, it's what you stand for.

You’re already creating something beautiful. You care deeply about ethical production, circularity, slow craftsmanship, and making garments with meaning.

But your product, no matter how thoughtful, can’t carry the entire weight of your business. A great product matters yes, but without an energised, inspired, confident founder leading it, it will stay hidden. You could be selling the world's most sustainable product made in the world's most ethical conditions with the world's most admirable purpose, but if you're tapped out, you're going to market it in a flat, uninspiring way. 

Your product doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be positioned, shared, and sold, consistently and boldly. And that only happens when you, the founder, feel aligned and confident enough to show up.

Product matters, but not more than the person building the brand.

3% strategy. Plans only work when you do.

Strategy gives direction. It’s the map, the container, the framework. But strategy doesn’t move mountains, people do. And when you’re overwhelmed, scattered or deep in self-doubt, even the clearest strategy feels impossible to action.

A sub-par strategy executed with energy, belief and confidence will always outperform an A+ plan sitting on your desktop untouched.

And your business strategy will only land when it’s designed for you, your energy, your values, your season of life.

That’s why strategy only makes up 3% of the pie. It matters, but it’s useless without a regulated, resourced, creative founder to carry it.

3% support network. You can't be the whole village.

Even the most aligned, visionary founder needs a village.

Mentors. Coaches. Industry friends. Fellow fashion founders. Cheerleaders in your inbox.
People who see your potential when you forget. People who understand the specific struggles of building a purpose-driven business in a fast-paced world.

The right support doesn’t just give you advice, it gives you perspective, permission, space to pause, and often, the confidence to keep going.

But support works best when you let it in. And letting it in often means you’ve done the inner work to believe you’re worthy of receiving it and being comfortable to ask for it in the first place.

And this is why this pie chart changes everything.

Too often, founders try to fix the 10% and ignore the 90%.

They tweak their strategy. Fiddle with their packaging. Post more. Create more. Push harder.

But it’s not a strategy issue. It’s not a product issue. It’s a you issue, and that’s actually good news.

Because when you shift, everything shifts. Your brand voice gets clearer. Your marketing becomes stronger. Your energy sells. Your community grows. Your decisions strengthen. And your business works.

So if you're looking at your annual plan and questioning why you're not where you want to be, it might be time to scrap the old way of doing business and try these five mindset shifts that can change everything. 

1. You are your greatest business asset. Protect your energy the way you protect your IP.

2. Confidence is a practice, not a personality trait. Talk to yourself like someone you love. Choose thoughts that support your mission.

3. Rest is productive. A depleted founder can’t change the world. A grounded one can.

4. You don’t have to do it alone. Ask for help. Join spaces where you can be seen and supported.

5. You are worthy. Already. Not when you have your first $10k month. Not when you sell out a collection for the first time. Right now, already. You don’t have to earn your worth by overworking. You are enough, right now, as you are.

So take care of you. Protect your energy. Show up for your mission. And remember: sometimes you have to take a step back to clear the path to move forward. 

Claire x

I was the biggest in my niche and I still burnt out. Here's my '90 percent you' theory to avoid that The Fashion Advocate sustainable fashion coach business mentor best
The Fashion Advocate ethical sustainable circular slow fashion business strategy mentor online course marketing how to

I spent my first five years in business stressed and in debt.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or if you're not making enough sales to survive, you're not alone. I've been there.

I was exhausted and I wanted to quit.

Then I worked out a strategy that dramatically changed my business, increased my sales, and saved me time. I want to share it with you!

READ MY STORY

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