Most people think the biggest pivot happens when they leave one career to start another. Sometimes the bigger pivot comes after you've already started the next thing.

When I first talked with Sue Van Klink, she and Lisa Hartley were building a business around a revenue growth methodology they hoped would help founders scale their businesses.

A year later, I returned expecting an update on how the business was growing. Instead, Sue described something more interesting. The methodology was working as they'd hoped. But validating the first ideas had led to an unexpected second pivot.

From Collaboration to Clearly Defined Roles

As the business evolved, so did the partnership. Like many founding teams, Sue and Lisa discovered that building the company also meant gaining clarity about the roles each was best suited to play.

Lisa is a critical founding associate, with specific expertise in sales and marketing and a passion for leveraging systems and strategies centered around the customer.  She has centered her contribution on delivering exceptional client work focused in these areas, while Sue is doing the core work of building SVK & Associates into the enduring company envisioned and taught in the model.

For Sue, taking on primary ownership and driving the vision forward, isn't about moving away from a partnership. It's about honoring the roles each wants to play at this age and stage of life. And it's about creating the clarity needed to pursue a larger vision, while continuing to rely on Lisa's collaboration, perspective, and ability to challenge ideas as a trusted sounding board.

Validation Before Expansion

What fascinated me most was what happened as Sue built her vision. Many entrepreneurs believe that once they launch their business, the hard part is over. Sue believes the opposite.

The first phase was proving that the Revenue Flywheel methodology worked. Through revenue audits and project work with clients, Sue, Lisa and the SVK team helped companies identify the barriers preventing growth. Each engagement confirmed that the methodology created real value.

But something unexpected happened. Validation didn't simply prove the methodology. It revealed a much larger opportunity. As Sue explained, validating the methodology "exposed the missing elements." Instead of confirming they had built the right business, it showed her they had only built the first layer of it. The work revealed that founders needed a complete system that could help them at every stage of growth.

That realization became the beginning of a second pivot.

Building Something Bigger

Today, Sue sees the end game as building an enduring growth company. Consulting engagements remain important, but they are only one layer of a much broader model. Education through courses and workshops gives founders access to proven thinking regardless of their budget. Revenue audits and project work provide deep, customized guidance, while a curated community connects founders who often feel isolated as they build their companies. Solutions and practical tools extend the work even further, creating a system that can grow without relying entirely on consulting hours.

Underlying it all is something Sue understood from the beginning. She never wanted to build a business that depended solely on trading hours for dollars. She wanted recurring value for her clients and a recurring revenue model that would allow the business to grow beyond her own capacity.

Listening to Sue, I couldn't help thinking that she was applying her own methodology to herself. Just as founders need to validate their assumptions before scaling a company, she had validated her own business before deciding how to grow it.

Validation Creates Clarity

Sue's story reinforced something I continue to see among successful redirectors. Some people spend months or even years trying to design the perfect next chapter before taking action. Others learn by moving. They experiment, validate, adjust, and then pivot again as each step reveals the next one.

Sue didn't describe this period as messy or uncertain. She described it as necessary. Without first proving that the methodology worked, she could never have envisioned the larger company they’re building today. Validation wasn't the destination. It became the bridge to greater clarity.

That may be one of the most valuable lessons for people building businesses after a career pivot. The first version doesn't have to be the final version. Sometimes the only way to discover the bigger opportunity is to prove the first idea in the marketplace and pay close attention to what it teaches you.

Advice for Those Still Finding Their Way

Sue's advice reflects the journey she’s lived.

Don't let “perfect” become the enemy of progress. Very few people pivot perfectly the first time. Keep pivoting until you find what truly works.

Find your community. Very few people build meaningful businesses alone. Surround yourself with people who challenge you, support you, and contribute strengths you don't possess.

Be willing to step back in order to move forward. Sometimes what feels like slowing down is actually building the foundation that makes future growth possible.

Do your homework. Understand the problem you're solving, validate that people truly need it, and know what makes your solution different before trying to scale.

Most importantly, don't confuse validation with completion. Sometimes proving your first idea is exactly what allows you to discover your second and better one.

A Double-Click Pivot

Near the end of our conversation, Sue found the phrase that captured her journey.

"I'm a double-click pivoter," she said. Then she explained why. "The mission hasn't changed. The journey hasn't changed. But the vision became bigger and clearer. I couldn't have envisioned on day one what I'm envisioning now."

As I reflected on our conversation, I realized Sue may have given a name to something much larger than her own experience. Successful pivoters I've interviewed rarely make one perfect leap. They move forward, learn from experience, validate what works, and allow each stage to reveal the next one.

Perhaps that's what successful redirection really looks like. It isn't about finding the perfect destination on the first try. It's about having the confidence to keep learning, keep refining, and keep becoming.