I’m Afraid of Losing More Than Just the Business

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

Esther Perel Global Media

Mental Health, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Education, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 15.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

She’s watching the company she co-founded unravel—strained partnerships, family entanglements, and the weight of guilt, anger, and responsibility pulling her in every direction. Now she wants to ask Esther: how can she protect her relationship with her brothers but still free herself to move on to what’s next? Esther Callings are a one time, 45-60 minute interventional phone call with Esther. They are edited for time, clarity, and anonymity. If you have a question you would like to talk through with Esther, send a voice memo to [email protected]. Over the last few years, workplace culture has been transformed by remote work, inconsistent in-office presence, and an intergenerational workforce. Where Should We Begin? At Work is a new game designed to transform your work culture – one story and one relationship at a time. Brought to you by Esther Perel and Culture Amp, this isn’t your typical icebreaker. It’s a new data-backed game that will help you create community at work. Details at https://game.estherperel.com/products/where-should-we-begin-at-work Want to learn more? Receive monthly insights, musings, and recommendations to improve your relational intelligence via email from Esther: https://www.estherperel.com/newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, Esther. The context of my question is that around 10 years ago, my business and I established a company together.
0:08.7	That company has grown and been successful across most of that last decades, during which both of my brothers have joined and been promoted into leadership positions.
0:17.8	Around three years ago, my relationship with my business partner deteriorated we both had some
0:23.2	personal issues which impacted our professional relationship so I decided to take a step back
0:29.2	I've taken a non-executive role I've explored some other really really exciting opportunities
0:34.1	so whilst I retain a directorship and a shareholding, I'm no longer involved in the
0:38.5	day-to-day running of the business. That arrangement worked really well. We had some teething
0:43.5	problems, but the first year was pretty successful. But during the second year, the company has
0:49.1	unfortunately started to fail. I believe we've had a good strategy, but the implementation's been poor and the
0:55.3	relationships between my brothers and my business partner have also broken down at times.
1:00.2	We're in a position now where we hope to sell, but we may well have to close the business and make
1:04.3	the team redundant. And that's a process I'm really struggling with. Some of that's about old
1:09.4	stories and myself, so I feel very, very
1:11.8	responsible for my family, for my team, for my clients, for my business partner. I feel ashamed
1:17.5	that I haven't done my job well enough to keep the business thriving and successful. But I'm
1:22.8	also struggling a lot with a lot of sadness and some feelings of anger because I feel like I've placed
1:29.0	trust in people who I care about very deeply. And I'm struggling with the fact that the business is now
1:36.0	in the position it's in due to decisions and actions that they have taken. So my real question is,
1:42.2	how can I best reframe my thinking to set up our relationships for the best, whatever the business outcome, my family, because I love and care about them very deeply, and my business partner, because we'll continue to know each other in a professional context.
1:56.0	Thank you. Support for the show comes from focus features and their new film Downton Abbey, the grand finale.
2:20.3	Glamour, romance, scandal, Downton Abbey, the grand finale. Glamour, romance, scandal, Downton Abbey returns for one final, unforgettable event.
2:24.3	It's 1930 and as a new era begins, the future of Downton is at stake.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Esther Perel Global Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Esther Perel Global Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.