In this article, we’ll hear from Tamisha Williams, founder of Tamisha Williams Consulting, who shares her journey of navigating an unforeseen business challenge. After launching a new group coaching program that didn’t take off as planned, she had to reassess, adjust, and find a new way forward. Her story highlights the power of flexibility, self-reflection, and staying true to core values—even when the original plan doesn’t work out.
What does your business do?
Tamisha Williams Consulting supports BIPOC women and nonbinary leaders to thrive in their careers without sacrificing wellness. Through executive and team coaching, we help clients prevent burnout, develop wellness-centered leadership practices, and navigate workplace challenges. Our approach integrates mindfulness and somatic practices with leadership development to create sustainable career success and improved quality of life.
What unexpected event forced you to change?
In the spring of 2024, I launched a year-long group coaching program, Abuntu Circle. Coming out of maternity leave, I hoped this program would help me continue running my business while working from home with a toddler. I developed the program to allow me to serve the same number of coaching clients I had before, but instead of seeing them 1:1, I would be able to see them in groups of 6-8. This structure would have minimized my direct contact time and given me more time to be present with my daughter and have room for visioning and strategic planning for my business. I was confident I would launch the program and get it filled. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Given my new context and limited capacity, I went into go-mode to change my plans and consider how to maintain my business and serve my clients.
What were your initial concerns and biggest risks?
My initial concerns were that I wouldn’t have any business that year. I had already told my 1:1 coaching clients I wouldn’t do 1:1 coaching. Many had gotten new coaches or didn’t ask for funding from their jobs. I was afraid that when I returned to them to say that I was now available for 1:1 coaching, they wouldn’t be available to work with me because they were already working with another coach or had reallocated their professional development time and funds elsewhere.
I was also afraid that they would see my failed launch as a judgment on my ability to help them succeed and meet their goals. I didn’t want them to see me as unreliable or someone who goes back on their word.
My other concern was how I would maintain my business if I went back to 1:1 coaching, given the heavy time commitment involved with providing service to single clients at a time. I needed to figure out a more robust childcare plan and had limited time to think of it as I was also tired because I was raising a little human.
The most significant risk was a year when my business didn’t earn, and my clients didn’t receive the support they needed.
What changes did you make, and how quickly?
I launched my program for sign-ups in April of 2024 with the hope that by August of 2024, I would have three filled cohorts. By May/June of 2024, I recognized that I wouldn’t meet my goal and had to use the summer to make changes.
The first thing I did was talk to my Mom, who would be assisting me with childcare, to see how many more days and hours she’d be willing to help. Thankfully, she agreed to come by 2-3 days a week. Based on her availability, I created a coaching schedule. I then reached out to my coaching clients and professional network to let them know that I was open for 1:1 coaching, team coaching, and speaking engagements.
By the end of the summer, I was able to sign on several coaching clients and also had a few speaking engagements in the queue. I had about a two-month turnaround. Because I would be doing 1:1 coaching in a different context, I limited the days I was coaching and changed my hours so that I ended the day earlier to account for taking care of my daughter.
This approach reflected my core value of ‘Sustainability’ in action. I needed to assess my practices through a human-centered lens and make decisions based on my actual capacity as a new mother, not just my business aspirations. Rather than pushing forward with an unsustainable plan, I adapted to honor my family’s and clients’ needs.
What was the hardest part of adapting?
The hardest part of adapting was temporarily letting go of the dream and vision I had developed for a healthy, well-paced, sustainable year. I was still able to create a well-paced schedule that was responsive to my family’s needs; however, it was drastically different from what I had envisioned with my year-long group coaching program.
As someone who coaches clients on wellness-centered leadership, I had to practice what I preach. This meant truly prioritizing my well-being and family care while maintaining my business. It wasn’t easy to shift my expectations, but it demonstrated how my core value of ‘Wellness’ shapes my business decisions. This experience strengthened my credibility with clients because they could see I wasn’t just talking about wellness; I was living it, even when faced with unexpected challenges.
The other challenging part was reminding myself not to give up on my program but to keep it on the back burner because a failed launch didn’t mean a failed idea.
How did the pivot impact your business?
The pivot kept my business alive. I brought back some of my old 1:1 coaching clients and onboarded two new clients. The pivot also allowed me to reconnect with my professional network, which helped keep my business in the minds of other professionals around me.
Any unexpected benefits?
I see my failed launch as a fail-forward. I took away key lessons I wouldn’t have learned had I not tried. The first lesson was to give myself time to make a big adjustment to my business. My year-long group coaching program was a shift away from my original target client community that I had been serving for three years. I shifted from primarily serving as a DEI education consultant to an executive coach focused on serving BIPOC women and nonbinary leaders in various industries.
Because I had a new target client, I needed to spend more time developing my community in new industries and building their trust in my expertise. Because of this realization, I’ve intentionally spent the last year cultivating my network of professionals in various sectors, especially getting to know more business owners and corporate leaders, two groups I want to serve more.
Another unexpected benefit is that I took the time to rebrand my business and showcase my new focus area on my social media, website, and newsletters. The failed launch gave me a perspective that helped me clarify how I wanted to move my business forward.
Additionally, because I had fully developed the year-long coaching program, I used that offering to establish a signature program and guiding principles for my organization which now drive all of my programming and services.
What would you do differently?
In the future, I will not make any major changes to my business after a leave. Knowing how much of a shift having a baby would have on my life, I would have maintained my focus, limited my coaching hours, and used the following year to have vision and strategy time before making the significant shift in focus and services.
What advice would you give other business owners facing an unexpected pivot?
When you are aware of significant shifts taking place in the lives of your employees, consider ways to plan for continuity during their leave and upon their return. Where major shifts can wait, hold them off until your employees can be fully present for the heavy work that comes with shifting focus, rebranding, and attracting new clientele.
For solo-preneurs, take time now to think about the sustainability of your business if you were to have to be out for an extended amount of time. What plans do you have in place to keep the work going? What might need to be on hold until you can better run the business? Who can you speak with now to help you plan for the unexpected?
