Before the Numbers: Standing on Business

Access our 2025 Impact Report by clicking here.

Before I was able to put a name to exactly what I was doing, I just knew there was a calling. A humble, quiet one to help organizations experience transformation and navigate the change that comes with it. It was a knowing that I was meant to help people think clearer, lead better, and stop losing themselves inside institutions and systems that didn't really love them back.

S. Daniels Consulting didn’t start polished. It started with faith, questions, and a whole lot of humility. I didn’t have a blueprint being a first-generation business owner, but I was confident in my lived experience, hard-earned discernment, and a responsibility to steward the gifts God placed in my hands. The early days were a bit disorganized, and sometimes, I said yes when I probably shouldn’t have. I focused on figuring it out as I went and learning in real time what it means to do business without losing your soul.

As the work grew, so did the pressure, and not just the financial kind. It was a pressure to be everywhere and to scale because everyone says that’s what success looks like. There was a pressure to perform growth instead of honoring what the work actually required. My dreams expanded fast, but my capacity didn't magically catch up. That was a gap that can humble you if you let it.

Last year did exactly that.

When the economy shifted, organizations pulled back. Our work in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic systems all felt tighter, slower, more cautious. I felt it too. I watched our revenue dip, and instead of panicking or forcing momentum, I took it as a big sign. I never thought about it as failure, just a message that it was time to apply pressure differently.

And that's exactly what I did.

I got more honest about my own energy and more protective of my time, while being more selective about clients. I chose depth in our work over volume. I prioritized alignment over applause, and I stopped pretending that being busy meant being effective.

The most beautiful result of this journey has been the growth that's come with it, both personally and professionally. What emerged from trusting this process was a business practice that felt truer. Quieter. Stronger. One rooted in systems thinking, real decision-making, and long-haul leadership. The kind of work that doesn’t always trend, but always holds. And, the kind of work that honors people, context, and consequence.

This impact report is a reflection, but a record of a year where the dream didn’t disappear, it just shifted. Where I chose to steward what I’d been given instead of running it into the ground. Where I learned, again, that pressure doesn’t have to break you. It can refine you.

This is the work. Still growing. Still learning. Still standing on business. Still grateful for the gift.