Beyond Business: Grief, Healing, and Identity with Mai-kee Tsang

What happens when you step away from everything you’ve built—not just for a week off, but for months of deep rest and reflection?

In this episode of Feminist Founders summer series on women’s invisible labor, Becky talks with Mai-kee Tsang, who took a two-month sabbatical after seven years of running her business. What started as a response to grief became a radical reimagining of work, worth, and identity.

Together, they explore:

• How grief and pet loss led Mai-kee to create space for healing
• Why sabbaticals are not just breaks, but tools for reclaiming agency and rest
• The “ego death” of stepping away from business identity and embracing the messy middle
• The guilt and fear many entrepreneurs feel when stepping back or walking away
• How invisible labor shapes women’s relationship to work and rest
• The importance of redefining success beyond productivity and business ownership
• Why giving yourself permission to “just be” is a feminist act

Mai-kee reminds us that walking away doesn’t erase the value of what you’ve built. It can be a form of liberation, a chance to listen to yourself again, and to reimagine what’s possible when you’re no longer defined by your work.

Mai-kee Tsang is a writer, mentor, and former Sustainable Visibility® strategist. After seven years of entrepreneurship, she took a sabbatical to grieve, heal, and reconnect with her identity outside of work. Today, she continues to hold space for community through her email letters, Cup of Catch-ups, and experiments in simply being. Sign up for Mai-kee’s email list

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