April 2, 2025

Despite Jelly Wax’s rapid growth and success, behind the scenes, I was struggling. Two years in, I faced burnout, operational chaos, and mounting financial issues. I realized I needed a break.

What I did next—stepping away from my business completely for nearly two years—felt like failure at the time. In retrospect, it was the most important business decision I’ve ever made.

The Breaking Point and the Pause

The success of Jelly Wax was overwhelming. I was trying to do everything myself—marketing, fulfillment, customer service.

Though I had two people helping with customer service, that was it. I had hired some consultants, but unfortunately, they weren’t a good fit for me at that point in my life.

By the end of the second year, despite impressive sales, I was completely burned out. I had made poor investment decisions and faced financial difficulties that my family had to help resolve.

I realized I was way over my head and didn’t know what I was doing. I made the difficult decision to pause the business completely, move to Austin, Texas, and take time to heal and reflect.

The Healing Process

During my break from Jelly Wax, which lasted nearly two years, I focused on personal growth and healing. This period was crucial for my eventual comeback.

I wasn’t just resting—I was learning how to take care of myself and be in my own skin without feeling like I needed to accomplish a number or reach a certain revenue goal.

When I first started Jelly Wax, it was largely about validation—a way for me to receive love, admiration, and recognition.

I needed a lot of love and self-affirmation. The break gave me space to reexamine these motivations and develop healthier relationships with both myself and my business.

A Partnership That Changed Everything

During this time, I met my partner, who completely changed my perspective. He was the first truly stable, calm, and kind person I had met in a long time. He gave me the space I needed to heal and to understand what I wanted to do with my life and business.

He saw what I had accomplished with Jelly Wax and encouraged me to return to it, believing in me when I had lost faith in myself.

As a professional chef, he understood that food is healing and cooked meals specifically designed to help balance my hormones and improve my physical health. Through healing my body, I was able to heal my mind as well.

A Fresh Start with Support

After about a year of recovery, I felt ready to consider returning to business. My partner took savings he had accumulated and invested in me and Jelly Wax, becoming a business partner as well as a life partner.

This trust was transformative—it showed me that trusting the right people can be incredibly rewarding. His investment provided the financial foundation needed to restart the business properly.

The Challenge of Multiple Businesses

During my break from Jelly Wax, I also launched Project Pollywog—a brand selling frog-themed jewelry with a portion of profits supporting frog conservation.

This passion project reconnected me with my love of animals and jewelry design, taking me back to my roots with Hannah Must House.

Project Pollywog grew quickly, reaching six figures within the first six months. However, as both businesses expanded, I faced a difficult truth: I couldn’t effectively run both simultaneously.

The creative demands, operational complexities, and divided focus stretched me too thin.

Despite Project Pollywog’s alignment with my personal interests, I made the difficult decision to pause it and focus entirely on rebuilding Jelly Wax.

Lessons in Focus and Self-Care

This experience taught me several valuable lessons:

Focus is a superpower, not a limitation. By concentrating my energy on one business, I could give it the attention it deserved. Problems that seemed impossible with divided attention became solvable when given proper focus.
Self-care is a business necessity, not a luxury. Burnout isn’t just personally devastating—it can destroy your business. Taking time to heal was ultimately the most strategic business decision I could have made.
The right partnerships make all the difference. My partner’s support—both emotional and financial—made rebuilding possible. Having someone I could trust completely transformed my business trajectory.
Sequential growth beats simultaneous expansion. I’ve learned that building businesses one at a time, rather than simultaneously, is generally the wiser path. This isn’t about abandoning dreams but recognizing that some goals are best pursued in sequence.

Conclusion

The Jelly Wax I rebuilt after my break was fundamentally different from its first iteration. With clearer values, better systems, and the right support, the business became more sustainable and purpose-driven.

Rather than just selling waxing products, we’ve developed a platform for addressing larger issues around body image and self-acceptance.

My journey from burnout to breakthrough wasn’t straightforward, but it was necessary. Sometimes the most challenging decisions—like stepping away completely or pausing a successful business—are exactly what’s needed for long-term success.

By prioritizing healing, focus, and the right partnerships, I transformed not just my business but my entire approach to entrepreneurship.

The path required patience and difficult choices, but these deliberate steps ultimately created a more sustainable foundation for growth.