Most people talk about business success, but what about business endings? What happens when the thing you’ve poured your heart, soul, and literal sweat into suddenly crumbles? In this episode of The Fully Expressed Podcast, we sit down with Joshua Church, entrepreneur and performance coach, to talk about what it really means to navigate the hardest season of your career.
After co-founding Edge Theory Labs, a $20M business that introduced the world’s first portable ice bath, Josh found himself facing an unimaginable decision—shutting it all down. But rather than seeing it as failure, he saw it as an invitation to step deeper into faith, trust, and leadership.
Letting Go: When Your Business No Longer Feels Like “You”
Josh opens up about what it means to detach your identity from your work. When a business becomes part of your DNA, closing its doors can feel like an ego death. So how do you separate who you are from what you do? He walks us through the process of realizing that his business wasn’t the endgame—it was his greatest teacher.
The Power of Hard Conversations
One of the toughest parts of shutting down a company? The conversations. Letting go of employees, talking to investors, and telling customers that the business is no longer operating—it’s an emotional rollercoaster. Josh shares the mental shifts that helped him stay grounded, even when facing tough criticism, financial loss, and a flood of hate mail.
Trusting God Through Uncertainty
The biggest lesson? Surrender. Josh shares how his faith carried him through one of the hardest transitions of his life. He talks about the mantra that kept him going—”God, lead me where I’m needed most.” If you’ve ever found yourself questioning what’s next, this is a conversation that will remind you to trust the timing of your life.
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
- The emotional weight of leading a company through failure
- How to detach your identity from your business or career
- The power of having difficult, but necessary, conversations
- Navigating external pressure, hate, and public perception
- The privilege of pressure—how challenges refine you
- Why trusting God (even when things don’t make sense) will always lead you where you need to be
This episode is a masterclass in leadership, resilience, and knowing when to let go so something new can take its place.
