How to Restart your Career as a Social Impact Entrepreneur

Anam
Aug 4
3 min read

A Step-by-Step Guide to Restart Your Career with Purpose and Confidence

Restarting your career as a social impact entrepreneur isn’t just brave, it’s necessary for many who have paused their ventures due to personal transitions, business shutdowns, or life-changing events like maternity leave. Yet, this topic is rarely addressed, especially from the lens of women entrepreneurs navigating career reentry.

Whether you left your business due to internal conflicts, funding challenges, or motherhood, this guide offers a practical roadmap to restart your career and rebuild with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

Why Social Entrepreneurs Need to Talk About Starting Over

Entrepreneurship often follows a cyclical path, starting, pausing, evolving, or pivoting. Many social entrepreneurs, particularly women, find themselves needing to start again after a break. Sometimes it's due to external circumstances like business closures or funding issues. Other times, it’s because of internal life shifts such as pregnancy, caregiving, or burnout.

And yet, the ability to return, renew, and rebuild your social impact career is a powerful, underutilized strength.

Start with a Fresh Perspective

If your last business chapter ended on a difficult note—be it burnout, partnership fallout, or unexpected closure, it can be hard to regain trust in others or in yourself.

To shift into a new mindset, ask yourself:

What lessons did I learn from my past venture?

What strengths and insights do I bring into this new chapter?

What would I do differently or better this time?

Remember, this isn’t a reset. It’s a rebuild with experience. You’re not starting from scratch; you’re starting from strength.

Build a Consistent Routine

Creating structure is essential when returning to entrepreneurship. The brain thrives on habits, and a consistent routine builds the foundation for long-term business success.

Here’s how to do it:

Block focused hours daily for your work, even if it's just 2–3 hours at first.

Establish 3 daily work rituals, like reviewing your calendar, following up on key emails, and updating your task list.

Design 3 weekly personal rituals that connect your mind, body, and soul, this could include exercise, reflection time, or a creative outlet.

Routines ground you. They help rewire your brain for focus, especially during transition periods.

Set Grounding Goals

Without direction, restarting your career can feel overwhelming. Get clarity on your short- and mid-term goals by asking:

Where do I see myself in the next 9–12 months?

What skills do I need to develop or sharpen?

What are my networking and visibility goals?

What’s the next milestone for my social impact project, and when should I aim for it?

By identifying your impact goals and a clear timeline, you minimize distractions and focus your energy on meaningful progress.

Reflect, Rinse, Repeat

Success in entrepreneurship doesn’t come from constant hustle—it comes from strategic reflection.

Every few weeks, pause and ask:

What actions are delivering the best results?

How do I feel about my current momentum?

What should I continue doing, pause, or eliminate?

Is my energy aligned with my mission?

These check-ins help you track progress, realign when needed, and maintain emotional resilience through the ups and downs of business life.

Adopt a Growth-Oriented Mindset

Starting again, whether after maternity leave, a failed venture, or personal setback requires a strong entrepreneurial mindset.

Here’s what to remember:

You’ve done this before, you can do it again, and even better.

You now have more knowledge, experience, and awareness than when you started your first social venture.

You’ve built networks, tools, and wisdom that didn’t exist before.

Your potential hasn’t disappeared; it’s simply evolving.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed or doubtful, remind yourself: You’re rebuilding, not beginning. And that distinction holds immense power.

You’re Not Starting Over, You’re Starting Wiser

The journey of a social impact entrepreneur isn’t linear. Life happens. Breaks happen. But the mission you carry and the change you want to create is still very much alive.

This is your opportunity to restart your career with intention, and your past experiences are your superpower, not a setback.

Stay grounded. Stay focused. And trust the new version of you that’s stepping into this next chapter.

To learn more about how Hermenow Accelerator is supporting women-led social enterprises in MENA, please visit our website, www.hermenow.com.

If you are a HerMeNow participant or alumni, book your free coaching session now through the HerMeNow website https://www.hermenow.com/wellness.