🔄 How to Know When It’s Time to Burn It All Down (aka Pivot or Rebrand)

Let’s be honest: every creative has had that moment where you want to burn it all down. Quit the projects, shut the laptop, sell the supplies, maybe even move to a cabin in the woods and raise goats instead. (No? Just me?)

But the urge to “burn it down” isn’t always self-sabotaging, sometimes it’s just your brain’s dramatic way of saying: hey, this isn’t working anymore. And that’s where the pivot (or even a rebrand) comes in.

The Myth of a Single Roadmap

One of the hardest truths about building a creative career is that there’s no single roadmap. Yes, there are strategies, methods, and frameworks that can help you succeed, but what success looks like is different for everyone. When you’re building a path outside of the traditional “establishment,” there really isn’t a set model to follow, you have to figure out what works for you, which is often the hardest part.

What works beautifully for one artist, maker, or workshop host might feel like a cage for someone else. And to make it even trickier, the “right” model for you won’t stay fixed forever, it evolves as you do. That’s why pivoting (and sometimes rebranding) is such an essential part of the creative path. It’s not about failure or giving up; it’s about realigning with the kind of work and life you actually want.

For me, that meant realizing that running in-person workshops at scale wasn’t actually what lit me up. Creating was. And that’s why I shifted my focus to building an online brand, a space where I could keep creating while helping others build their own workshop dreams.

Signs It Might Be Time for a Change 

The signals rarely arrive in a neat, logical package. More often, they show up as small whispers or nagging feelings, (or sometimes a complete health crisis lol) like:

• a quiet gut sense that something isn’t working anymore

• noticing your energy feels drained instead of expanded

• realizing you’re staying in a role, format, or space because of “shoulds” instead of genuine joy

• feeling like your brand no longer reflects the creative you’ve become

These are the breadcrumbs worth following. 

The Digital Age Shift

Creative careers today look nothing like they did a decade ago. The rise of digital platforms means you can build a brand around workshops without a single permanent venue. Your audience might be local, global, or both. And as tools like AI evolve, the way we teach, share, and even create art is shifting at lightning speed (don't get me started on this topic... I have mixed feelings ok).

That doesn’t mean your craft is less valuable. (In fact, I truely believe in-person events/communities will see a huge boom, a different topic for another day...) If anything, it means there are more models than ever before. You can run intimate in-person workshops, build online communities, create hybrid experiences, or weave all of the above together. The point isn’t to lock yourself into one format; it’s to keep asking, what feels aligned now, and how does my brand reflect that?

Finding Confidence in Change

Trusting yourself to change comes down to two practices:

1. Acknowledging the fear. It’s normal to feel like you’re letting people down or stepping away from stability. Fear means you care.

2. Anchoring into your bigger vision. Ask yourself: what will give me more freedom, creativity, and growth long-term?

When the bigger vision feels more energizing than the fear, that’s usually your cue to step into it.

Embracing the Next Chapter

The beauty of creative careers is that they’re never static. They’re living, breathing, constantly evolving, just like you. Pivoting doesn’t mean abandoning your path; it means choosing to walk it more authentically.

So if you’re standing at a crossroads, wondering whether to hold on or let go, remember: creativity thrives in movement. And the scariest shifts often lead to the most expansive chapters. (Me telling myself).