172. I Lost Everything & It Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened | How I Started Somewhere, Part 2

Part 2 is here. And this one goes deeper.Part 1 was about how I built the brand. And in this episode, I share about the moment I almost lost myself entirely and what happened when I chose to burn it all down anyway.2023 started with a growing business and ended with a relationship that wasn't. A trip to Bali. A decision I didn't expect and that shocked everyone, including me. I stopped the podcast indefinitely. One day later, I met my ex-fiancé.What followed was two years I didn't see coming. A 9-5 at a marketing agency. A promotion. An engagement. A mortgage. Everything that looked right on paper. Everything that felt deeply, quietly wrong.By the end of 2024, the engagement was over. The job was gone. The house was sold. I moved back in with my parents at 26.On paper, I looked like a failure. In real life, I felt like I'd just dodged the biggest bullet of my life.This episode is about what happened next. How I rebuilt from scratch, restarted the podcast, moved to the Gold Coast, had my first 20k months in business, and became the most unapologetic version of myself. The version I always knew was in there.In this episode:→ The Bali download that made me stop the podcast and why I knew I had to trust it→ The relationship that took me completely offline and what that season taught me→ What it actually felt like to have the 9-5, the fiancé, the mortgage... and feel nothing→ Moving back home at 26, selling the house, ending the engagement, and why I'd do it all again→ How I restarted Start Somewhere, what the numbers looked like, and why I always knew it wasn't over→ The mentors, investments and moments in 2025 that changed everything→ What it took to go from broke to 20k months. And the identity shifts that made it possibleThis is the episode I wish I had when I was in the middle of it all.→ The Start Again Series — exclusive stories and private lessons from this chapter. Join the email list for instant access: https://isabellestartsomewhere.kit.com/startagain→ Apply for Private Mentoring with Isabelle: https://form.typeform.com/to/v4IPMC49→ Bingeable Branding Mastermind: https://www.isabelleprestia.com.au/bingeable-branding-mastermindConnect with Isabelle:→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelle.startsomewhere/→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelleprestia/→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IsabellePrestia29→ Website: https://www.isabelleprestia.com.au/