Stop Eating the Burnt Toast

Years ago, a client told me a story I’ve never forgotten.

She told me a story about how one morning she made toast for her partner, her children, and herself.

One batch of toast came out burnt.

She gave the perfect slices to her children.
She made sure her partner’s toast was just right.
And she quietly took the burnt one for herself.

Her partner looked at her and said, “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m having my toast.”

“But it’s burnt.”

She stilled and stated a bit indignantly, “I am not going to give anyone else burnt toast!”

Then her partner said something that stopped her cold:

“You don’t need to eat burnt toast. I’ll split mine with you. You get one. I get one.”

She had never even considered that as an option.

If you’re a service-based business owner making six figures, and still stressed about money, I want you to sit with this.

You are eating burnt toast.

You:

• Pay your team before you pay yourself

• Keep clients happy at all costs

• Over-deliver to avoid complaints

• Absorb team drama so no one else has to

• Carry the invisible load at home

• Quietly carry credit card debt while running a “successful” business

From the outside, it looks solid.

From the inside?
You’re exhausted.

You are the main income earner.
Everyone depends on you.

And yet somehow… you’re last in line.

Let’s call it what it is.

A business that makes money but doesn’t pay its owner properly is broken.

It doesn’t matter how many clients you have.
It doesn’t matter how good your brand looks.
It doesn’t matter how busy you are.

If you are carrying debt while everyone else gets paid, you are eating burnt toast.

Here’s the harder truth:

No one is forcing you.

You are choosing to absorb the pressure.

You are choosing to protect everyone else from discomfort.

You are choosing not to raise prices.
Not to reduce scope.
Not to set boundaries.
Not to restructure.
Not to say, “This isn’t working.”

I say all of that with respect, I’ve seen it repeatedly in my clients.

Here’s the thing, high-capacity women are very, very good at holding everything together.

Breathe.

Now, imagine this instead:

• You pay yourself first.

• Your pricing includes margin.

• Your team owns their problems.

• Your clients respect your boundaries.

• Debt is reducing — not growing.

You don’t need to burn everything down.

You do need to stop automatically eating the burnt toast.

Here’s the question:

Where, specifically, are you eating burnt toast in your business?

Be honest.

Is it:

• Your salary?

• Your pricing?

• Your boundaries?

• Your willingness to tolerate chaos?

• The emotional labor you take on?

What would it look like to compost that instead?

Not in theory. In one decision this quarter.

You built a six-figure business.

You are not fragile.
You are not incapable.
You are not irresponsible.

You might be over-functioning, and over-functioning women often end up underpaid.

It’s time to stop eating burnt toast, please.