I just did it. It was scary.

Cheryl Butler, Joy Transformation Coach, Helping Women Navigate Life Transitions with Purpose, Balance & Authenticity

What would you do if the safe path stopped making your decisions? Cheryl Butler knows exactly what that takes. After decades running a successful accounting practice, she sold it, walked away, and reinvented herself as a joy transformation coach, health coach, and sound practitioner. It took her months to wrap her head around it. And she did it anyway.

Her dad bought a garbage company and told her: if you want a job you'll always have, do something nobody wants to do — but everybody has to. Taxes. She became the accountant people trusted — the "hippie accountant" who did your taxes in ten minutes, then spent forty-five minutes helping you with the real stuff: your sleep, your stress, your life. This is about what happens when the life you built stops fitting — and what it takes to build a new one.

It's never too late to reinvent yourself

Cheryl had every reason to stay put — successful practice, clients who depended on her. But something shifted when she moved her office from the quirky, plant-filled space that felt like her to a stiffer, more corporate one. It looked nice. The staff was happy. But it wasn't her anymore.

Letting go wasn't clean or simple. She forgave herself for what felt like abandoning her staff and clients, grieved, and signed the papers anyway. The buyer hoped she'd stay on for four or five years. She lasted just over a year. When a vision starts pulling you and you don't pay attention, she warns, that's not good news.

You can't do it alone — so don't try

Everybody needs someone in their corner. Not friends and family who don't understand what you're doing — someone shoulder-to-shoulder with you, who gets it. Cheryl found that in a few friends who went through her coaching process with her, and their transformation was her affirmation: this was what she had to do.

Her advice to any woman wanting to make a transition: just do it. She found a course, got her coaching certification, and did it in her off hours while still running her practice. She lost her routine overnight; it took months before she got excited again. Courage, she proves, doesn't mean not being scared. It means moving while you're scared.

The myth she believed: being your own boss means freedom

Cheryl is honest about the biggest myth she bought into: that being her own boss would be easy, with all the time in the world and real freedom. Instead, she says, she "bought herself a job." She didn't know how to say no, so she kept saying yes — to more clients, more staff, more responsibility — until she was working constantly and wondering whether she was any further ahead. You leave a job to get freedom and end up with a bigger job than the one you left.

Her definition of success changed too. Growing up, success meant what her dad modeled: always another opportunity to grow, work hard, make more money. Now it's different: being healthy and happy in what she does, seeing her family every day, being comfortable in her own skin, feeling proud of the day's work. "You could be successful but you won't be happy at it," she says — and she's seen that happen too.

Take care of the person behind the business

Forty years at a desk gave Cheryl a sore neck and mornings full of headaches. So she started practicing Tai Chi with her husband, walking with her son's dog, drinking her water, getting her sleep back. Small things. Life-changing things.

She also shares her morning practice, done for years: before you even crawl out of bed, take a deep breath. Name five things you're grateful for — the full fridge, the gas in the car, the conversation you're about to have. Decide how you want to feel today. Pick one prosperity action, like issuing the invoice you've been avoiding. Then write, "Wouldn't it be cool if..." — something that could really happen. And finally, "Wouldn't it be awesome if..." — the wild dream, right out in the stratosphere.

She has proof the "wouldn't it be cool if" part works. Years ago, as a single mom in December, she was terrified she couldn't cover payroll. Every day she wrote: wouldn't it be cool if a client came in and paid me in full. One day a man walked in — not even her client — and paid his late brother's bill, plus a prepayment for himself. "I put it out there and then it came back to me," she says.

Dig for your real why — and have some fun

When Cheryl coaches someone who doesn't know what they want, she asks one question over and over: "Why is that important to you?" A surface goal like losing weight leads to wanting to look better, which leads to something deeper entirely — maybe wanting to feel attractive in front of a husband, to rekindle a relationship. "Get to the core of it, not the surface," she says. The same applies to your business: why are you doing this? If you don't have that foundation, the business will fall apart — or you'll be successful at it and miserable.

And finally: bring fun back. Mexican music with dinner, Japanese music with sushi. Experiment with colors. Stop being so serious about everything — in your life and especially in your business. Fun isn't frivolous. It's fuel.

"Take that step, just do it."

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Cheryl Butler believes every season of life offers an opportunity to grow. She is a Joy Transformation Coach, entrepreneur, and former accountant. She helps people navigate change with confidence by combining business fundamentals, personal growth, and holistic wellness to create businesses—and lives—they truly love.

Follow her on LinkedIn | Facebook | Visit her website

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