By: Gesche Haas, Founder & CEO of Dreamers & Doers

Building a business is rarely predictable. In recent years, economic shifts, cultural changes, and market volatility have made growth increasingly complex to navigate. For many founders, the challenge has been learning how to stay resilient while continuing to move forward.

In this feature, Dreamers & Doers members reflect on the headwinds that have made growth more difficult and the strategic decisions they’ve made in response. From rethinking business models to strengthening operational foundations, these leaders share how they’ve adapted in moments of uncertainty.

Their experiences offer a useful perspective that, even in unpredictable times, thoughtful decisions can contribute to stability and may open new paths for growth.

Adapt Your Offering to Current Market Needs

When tackling growth through uncertainty, adaptability is key. Leaders navigating ongoing change have remained open to necessary adjustments in their respective industries. Career strategist and Work Rewritten founder Samantha Alvita, for example, rethought what her prospective customers might need in order to meet them where they are.

“As political, social, and economic uncertainty increased, more of my clients, especially younger professionals, were unemployed and far less hopeful about the future,” she says. “I responded by creating lower-cost templates and written resources that met the moment while still sustaining my business.”

Founder and Executive Director of Superbands, Jessica Sikora, made notable changes to connect with customers as well. The results suggest the potential impact of staying adaptable during unpredictable periods.

“We shifted from traditional mental health programming to a culture-first platform rooted in music and fandom,” she says. “The result has been stronger partnerships, increased engagement, and what appears to be a more sustainable model that may support long-term impact.”

Linda Du’s team at Moola Money has focused on adapting their technology to work with, rather than compete with, the latest advances.

“Against a backdrop of rapid AI adoption and ongoing economic uncertainty, we focused on building an explainable, AI-first product that helps users understand how policy and market shifts affect their personal finance,” the founder says.

Adjust Your Strategic Positioning to Meet the Moment

Empowering clients to withstand change is another key element of the plan for successful leaders and businesses. As founder and CEO of Better Together Agency, Catharine Montgomery created resources to help her customers navigate moments when they want to speak out without getting caught in the political crossfire that often feels inevitable in this climate. This shift also helped her improve positioning for her own business.

“This gave us a clear mission in the market when many agencies were avoiding these conversations,” Montgomery says. “We’ve attracted mission-driven organizations that need help communicating their values without triggering backlash or staying silent when their teams expect leadership.”

Level Up Creators has also adjusted their offerings in the market, focusing on smaller, founder-led businesses instead of prioritizing volume.

“The result was greater revenue predictability, improved client retention, and a business that may be less exposed to short-term market swings,” founder and CEO Amanda Northcutt says of that decision. “Volatile markets reward clarity.”

Let Uncertainty Fuel Innovation

Weathering change does not necessarily mean the end of innovation. Businesses can still pursue industry-shaping initiatives as they navigate periods of uncertainty. Industry change may, in some cases, contribute to innovation and diversification.

Strategic and creative agency Leap year has significantly adjusted their offerings to better serve the business community in difficult times.

“We’re applying our sprint model to more services and ongoing partnerships so we can provide what is needed in this moment, whether that’s a polished custom website or a more streamlined landing page,” founder and CEO Evan Sargent says.

Parity Lab has responded to global and cultural shifts by introducing a paid global fellowship with a sliding-scale model. This move has given the social enterprise the opportunity to test revenue generation alongside philanthropy. It also led to the launch of a new platform and initiative.

“Overall, the funding shock was a jolt that clarified our strategy and accelerated our transition toward a hybrid and more sustainable model,” founder and CEO of Parity Lab Mathangi Swaminathan says.

Choose Steadiness Over Speed

When in doubt, resilience and creativity can play an important role. Leaders at Consider Labs and Go To Market have reflected this in their approach.

“I decided to switch my business from an agency model, where a lot of what we did was content writing, to a leaner model, in which I doubled down on strategy and coaching,” says Chedva Ludmir, CEO and founder of Consider Labs. “This leaner approach also allowed me to diversify both the audiences I cater to and my delivery methods. I’m not relying on just a few clients and have more freedom to explore possibilities.”

They also suggest that resilience does not always mean accelerating growth.

“When tariffs and broader economic uncertainty hit in early 2025, I saw clients hesitate around anything that felt non-essential,” says Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer at Go To Market. “Instead of pushing harder on sales, I chose to slow down and meet people where they were, focusing on steady communication and long-term relationships.”

Invest in Scalable Solutions That Outlast the Crisis

Ongoing success also relies on strategic, scalable thinking. Charmaine Green-Forde, founder and CEO of Chapter tOO, has invested heavily in building proprietary intellectual property that may support growth for the business regardless of the political, social, and economic climate.

“That shift is creating more growth pathways and reducing volatility tied to corporate spending cycles,” Green-Forde says. “This moment is encouraging founders to build more durable, future-ready models. I believe long-term growth may come from businesses that combine human insight with scalable intellectual property.”

‍All individuals featured in this article are members of Dreamers & Doers, a highly curated community and PR Hype Machine™ amplifying extraordinary women entrepreneurs and leaders through authentic connections, credibility-boosting visibility, and opportunities that support ambitious goals. (Learn more about membership here.)