What is the next phase of my business?

Updated 23 July 2026 by Chanelle Segerius-Bruce

Working out the next phase of your business tends to become urgent around the ten year mark, usually when people start asking to pick your brain. This guide is for established experts thinking about moving into mentoring, coaching, speaking or teaching: the signs you are already there, the two-step process that starts the shift, how to price for access, and a set of journal questions that make the answer a good deal clearer.

The signs you are already in it

Has any of this happened to you? Colleagues asking you for coffee to talk through their business. People messaging to pick your brain. Acquaintances emailing for advice.

If so, do not be irritated by it. It is the natural progression of a career, and it is what happens when the next generation comes up looking for people to learn from.

I work with a lot of women who want to move out of work-work-work mode and into leadership, mentoring, coaching, speaking and hosting. Like me, most of them have been in business for more than ten years. That is usually when the question arrives, because you cannot keep working the way you have been forever, and there is no reason you would want to.

Stop working for peanuts

There is a two-step process that starts to reveal what your next phase looks like.

One, put your prices up. Raising them moves you to the higher end, and your years of experience are what backs that up. You have the clients, you have made your name. Letting go of the people on lower packages frees up the time you need to do anything else, and shows you where to outsource.

Two, decide what you actually want to teach, and whether you want to mentor or coach. Then look honestly at your packages and let go of anything that makes you cringe. You will need to be ferocious about this.

My friend Jenna reminds me that a change is as good as a holiday. So be brave and freshen things up. Work with people differently, whether that is one to one or moving online, which is my own favourite because it is so focused inside a 45 to 60 minute container.

Price for access

Here is the principle to hold on to: the more access people have to you, the higher your price needs to be.

Charge for your experience and for all the years behind it. Remember the twelve-hour days you got through, over and over, to know what you now know.

The work I do with clients here is looking at their packages and deciding what moves up a level. That means pricing and packaging, and it means building a personal brand around the expert they already are.

The homework

Get your journal out. Sit still for a moment, close your eyes and breathe. When you feel calm, work through these and write the answers down.

• Where do you want to be a year from now?
• What does your ideal day look like? What time do you wake up, and what are you wearing?
• Who is next to you?
• What are you going to do that day?
• How are you going to make your money?
• Are you still offering done-for-you services, or have you moved away from that?
• Are you teaching? Coaching? Mentoring?
• Are you hosting a VIP day, or a workshop?
• What makes you happy?
• How do you want to serve people?
• Who is supporting you, and what have you started to outsource?
• If you are planning a holiday, where are you going and where are you staying?

Let the answers flow rather than editing them, and go properly deep into the visioning. Make a vision board for where you want to be this time next year, then ask what you are going to do to get closer to it, and how you are going to show the world you are the expert you already are.

Anchor it to your why

Always come back to why you are doing this. Are you supporting your family, or a lifestyle? Are you helping relatives? Where do you want to send your children to school? Is there a charity you have always meant to support?

Let yourself dream a bit about what the money is actually for. The purpose behind it is what you hold on to when the rest of it wobbles.

Key takeaways

• People asking to pick your brain is the signal, not an annoyance.
• It tends to land around the ten year mark, because you cannot work that way forever.
• Raising your prices is step one, and letting go of the lower packages is what makes it real.
• Cut anything in your packages that makes you cringe. Be ferocious about it.
• The more access someone has to you, the higher your price needs to be.
• Journal the vision in detail, including the ordinary parts of the day.
• Anchor it to what the money is actually for, because that is what holds when things wobble.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know I am ready for the next phase of my business?

The usual sign is that people start coming to you for advice rather than for the work. Colleagues asking for coffee, messages asking to pick your brain, emails asking what you would do.

Should I raise my prices before or after I change my offer?

Before, in most cases. Raising prices and releasing the lower packages is what frees up the time and attention you need to build anything new.

How much should I charge as a mentor?

It follows access. The more of your time and attention someone gets, the higher the price needs to be, and your years of experience are what justify it.

What if I am not sure whether I want to coach or mentor?

Work through the journal questions first. What the ideal day looks like usually answers it faster than thinking about job titles.

Do I have to give up done-for-you work entirely?

No, and plenty of people keep a slice of it. The question is which parts you would keep if you were honest, and which ones you flinch at.

What if letting clients go feels too risky?

It is the part everyone hesitates over. Raise prices first, let the lower packages go as they naturally end, and use the freed-up time to build what comes next.