Meet Sydney Clare

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sydney Clare. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sydney below.

Sydney, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?

I started my career as a Special Education teacher. I had the empathy, the knowledge, the passion, and the deep understanding of student development. I was really good at what I did, but the burnout was unbearable. Every year during the summer, I would talk myself into staying: “This year will be different, it will be better, it will be easier.”

Needless to say, it wasn’t. Each year progressively got worse and worse and worse…

During my 4th year of teaching, I sustained a significant injury. Yes, I had sustained numerous injuries before, but this one was different. It was bad. As soon as it happened, I knew it was bad. I was walking a student down the stairs during a fire drill when he became escalated and threw his body back on top of mine. The swelling from other assaults, the wreck of a nervous system I had from 4 years of teaching led to 9 months of not knowing I had a top rib out of place—and 18 months in Workman’s Comp nearly every week.

Yet, I persevered. “It’ll get better… It’ll get better… It’ll get better,” I said to myself on the drive home, ready to disassociate so my husband didn’t have to hear about the abuse I was sustaining every day.

I thought that level of burnout was normal, that eventually I’d adjust. That’s why I stayed as long as I did.

My injuries throughout the years had been bad. There were times that people would ask me if my husband was abusing me, out of concern. “No, it’s just my job. My husband is amazing,” I would say, and shrug off their concern.

I started the 2022 school year and—10 days in—I was already filing another Workman’s Comp claim. That was the final straw. And the only time in the 14 years we’ve been together that my husband said: “No. You’re done. We will figure it out.”

It swept my feet out from under me.

What is my purpose in life then?
Is all this work I’ve done for 9 years a waste of time?

I felt lost. I felt depressed. I felt incredibly burned out. I felt anxious trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage and bills. But I needed that push. My husband believed in me, trusted me, and was my biggest cheerleader.

I honestly couldn’t find a job after I left teaching that wasn’t in education. I ended up doing a service term through AmeriCorps, doing Volunteer Coordinating for a local non-profit. The short-term job security and significant pay cut was stressful—all while still going to Workman’s Comp and working through the trauma I had accumulated.
But something shifted during that time. I began healing—physically and mentally. I started recognizing my burnout patterns, even if I wasn’t quite ready to completely let go of them.

At the end of my service term, I applied to 500 jobs. I was able to find a few jobs that were excited to hire me, but they were all in education—and I just knew I couldn’t go back to that world. I couldn’t put myself back into the very environment I knew would break me again.

Then I found a job at a family-owned business doing Talent Acquisition and Development. I enjoyed the work, but the business was sexist. When I had my first child, I was treated like I didn’t matter. During that time I was burning myself out trying to earn a promotion that never came—and that realization shifted everything for me.

I continued to do the same thing—working for other people, over and over again—expecting a different outcome, expecting to be treated differently, expecting boundaries to be honored. Expecting the burnout cycle to break on its own.

But every boss I have ever had didn’t respect those boundaries. They always wanted more from me, with little return to myself.

The many shifts I’ve taken in my career—while frustrating, confusing, and unpredictable—have taught me so much about burnout. Boundaries are not optional; they are necessary. And they must be revisited often.

You have to be in alignment with yourself to be successful, and that starts by getting quiet enough to recognize when something feels off. When it does, it’s time to set a new boundary—or reestablish one that’s being crossed.

One of the most powerful tools in preventing burnout is the ability to confidently say “no” when something doesn’t align with your life and values.

So often, especially as women, we feel like we have to say yes. We’ve been conditioned to believe that saying no is selfish—but that belief leads to burnout, bitterness, and resentment.

Here’s the other big truth I’ve learned: every path you take—every heartbreak, every detour, every season of depression or uncertainty—is shaping you. Those experiences aren’t wasted. They’re lessons.

If I hadn’t gone through all of that, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to start my own business. I wouldn’t have the chance to spend more time with my son. I wouldn’t have developed the clarity or capacity to sit with myself and truly listen to what I need.

Today, I run a business as a Course Content Strategist and Virtual Assistant, where I support coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs who are building their businesses and trying to make a meaningful impact—without burning out in the process.

I help my clients create impactful courses, systems, and strategies that are aligned with their energy, their lifestyle, and their goals. Because I want them to be successful, to share their message, and to create change in the world—without losing themselves along the way.

I am grateful for the burnout I experienced—because it gave me my life back.

So if you’re stuck in a season of burnout and struggling to get out—sometimes the only thing left to do is take the leap.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m the founder of Sydney Clare Solutions, where I work as a Course Content Strategist and Virtual Assistant supporting coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs who are driven by purpose and committed to creating impact—without sacrificing their well-being.

What I do is so much more than task management or content support. I help my clients take the big ideas in their heads and turn them into organized, aligned, and digestible course materials, programs, and systems. Whether I’m mapping out a course launch, drafting modules, managing email sequences, or handling administrative operations, everything I do is rooted in one belief: you don’t have to burn yourself out to make a difference.

What’s most exciting about my work is being able to help clients bring their vision to life and feel lighter doing it. I’ve been in the trenches of burnout—I know what it feels like to give too much and feel like it’s never enough. That’s why I’m passionate about building sustainable systems and honoring how each person is wired to work best. It’s not just about productivity; it’s about preserving your energy while still sharing your brilliance with the world.

Right now, I’m especially excited about a workshop I’m hosting for entrepreneurs who are ready to create their own course but aren’t sure where to begin. In this session, I’ll guide participants through choosing the topic their audience wants, outlining their course, selecting the right tech, and developing a basic marketing plan. This workshop is the foundation of my own course, launching later this summer, designed to help purpose-led business owners bring their offers to life in a way that’s clear, confident, and sustainable.

With a Master’s in Training and Development, I specialize in crafting engaging, accessible learning experiences that leave your audience wanting more. My goal is to meet people where they’re at, support them in clarifying their message, and help them share it with a wider audience—without losing themselves in the process.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were resilience, self-awareness, and the ability to set and hold boundaries.

Resilience helped me keep moving, even when I felt completely depleted—physically, emotionally, and mentally. There were so many moments when it would have been easier to quit entirely, but I kept showing up, even if it looked different each time. Resilience doesn’t mean pushing through at all costs—it means continuing to find your way, especially when the path forward isn’t clear yet.

Self-awareness came more slowly, but it changed everything. I started recognizing my own burnout patterns, noticing when I was disconnecting, over-giving, or ignoring my body. That awareness gave me the power to shift, reflect, and eventually choose something different—something that actually supported me. It’s what ultimately led me to build a business that honors how I work best.

And boundaries—they were the game changer. Learning that boundaries aren’t selfish, they’re essential, was a turning point. I used to think saying no meant I was letting people down. Now I understand that saying no is often what allows us to say yes to the things that truly matter—and to protect our energy, our creativity, and our impact.

For folks who are early in their journey, my biggest advice is:
Pay attention to how you feel. Your body and your nervous system are sending you signals all the time. Don’t ignore them.
Start practicing boundaries now, even in small ways. You don’t need to wait until you’re burned out to protect your energy.
And most importantly, give yourself permission to pivot. Your path doesn’t have to be linear, and sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is walk away from what’s breaking you.

Everything I’ve built in my business today—as a Course Content Strategist and VA—has come from those lessons. I help coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs create impactful courses and sustainable systems so they can share their work without burning out like I did. Because the world needs your message—but not at the cost of your well-being.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One book that played a significant role in my development is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I first read it during a time when I was questioning everything—my career, my identity, and what I was truly meant to do. The simplicity of the agreements felt like truth I had always known deep down but hadn’t been given permission to fully embrace.

The most impactful agreement for me was “Don’t take anything personally.” As someone who came from a background in education and service, I had spent years absorbing other people’s pain, projections, and expectations. I internalized so much that wasn’t mine. This agreement helped me start to let go of that weight and separate my worth from others’ reactions or judgments.

Another transformative one was “Be impeccable with your word”—but not in how I spoke to others. For me, it was about how I spoke to myself. I realized how often I spoke harshly to myself, or dismissed my own needs. Learning to be impeccable with my inner dialogue helped me rebuild self-trust. It shifted the way I made decisions, honored boundaries, and recognized my own voice.

Together, the four agreements gave me a framework to come back to when I felt overwhelmed or unsure. They’ve shaped the way I move through the world—and how I’ve built my business. Now, as a Course Content Strategist and VA, I work with clients who are also trying to show up authentically, create impact, and protect their energy. These agreements continue to guide me in supporting them from a place of alignment and clarity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sydneyclaresolutions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyclare.solutions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571726156122
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-clare/
• Other: Alignable: https://www.alignable.com/thornton-co/sydney-clare-solutions

Image Credits

Photos with the highlighters and the headshot with the orange dress are from Casey O’Day Photography.