Burnout was looming for a hands-on business founder, until she slowed down. Now her personal and professional relationships are better than ever
- Mandy Pao, 35, got ‘so caught up’ with running her branding agency that, after seven years, she was exhausted. Her relationships at work and home suffered
- Realising she’d lost sight of what was important, the Hong Kong businesswoman slowed down. Now she coaches others to do the same, and is happier than ever
Mandy Pao was on the brink of burnout in 2022. She’d wake in the middle of the night, jot down notes and work through weekends. Her exhaustion was palpable, her mind foggy.
“I always needed to be very hands on with the business, I couldn’t let go. I started to feel not myself,” she says.
Pao had been running her own branding and marketing agency, EQ, in Hong Kong for seven years, growing it from a one-woman show to a team of eight. But the stress of building the brand was taking a toll.
“Along the way I started to lose sight of what is important to me because I got so caught up with the results and numbers,” says the 35-year-old.
Financially things were going well, but the rest of her life was crumbling. She didn’t have the time or energy to spend with her partner. She couldn’t stay awake to watch TV with him, and would pass out on the sofa. She didn’t see her parents or friends and was getting snappy with colleagues.