Menopause and the Midlife Entrepreneur
· @Talibah Branch
Menopause often arrives just as a woman's business is finding its feet. You don't have to choose between the two.
You've spent years building the expertise, the confidence and the network to finally do it your way. You've launched the business, or you're about to. And then the sleepless nights start. The word you need disappears mid-sentence on a client call. The energy that carried you through a 12-hour day simply isn't there.
If that sounds familiar, you are not losing your edge. You are going through one of the biggest biological transitions of your life, at exactly the moment you're asking the most of yourself.
The conversation no one has in business circles
Menopause and entrepreneurship overlap far more than most business advice admits. Symptoms often begin in a woman's 40s and can last up to a decade. Those are the same years many women are at the height of their careers, raising families or caring for ageing parents.
In a recent Inc. article, "Menopause and Entrepreneurship: How to Adapt and Thrive", serial founder Nellie Akalp writes candidly about this. She recalls fighting to stay awake through long meetings, then working late into the night to finish tasks that brain fog had made impossible during the day. She notes that "women own roughly 39 percent of US businesses", roughly one in three UK entrepreneurs is a woman, and there are now around 1.6 million women-led businesses in the UK. so this isn't a niche issue. It touches a huge share of the business world.
The symptoms that matter most to a founder are the ones that hit thinking and stamina:
- Brain fog and memory lapses, when your whole business runs on ideas and decisions
- Poor sleep and night sweats, which drain the energy you need to lead
- Mood changes and anxiety, which can shake confidence in front of clients and teams
- Hot flushes, often at the least convenient moment
Akalp also points out that menopause is still treated as taboo at work, so many women hide or downplay their symptoms. For founders, that pressure can be even sharper. When you are the business, admitting you're struggling can feel like admitting the business is struggling.
Five ways to run your business through menopause
The good news: being your own boss gives you more freedom to adapt than almost any employee has. Here's how to use it.
1. Give yourself grace, and the facts
If decisions suddenly take longer or you feel overwhelmed by things you used to handle easily, it's easy to question your ability. Akalp puts it well: this is a biological shift, not a personal failure. Understanding what's happening in your body is the first step to working with it rather than against it.
2. Plan your week around energy, not the clock
Notice when your mind is sharpest, often the morning, and protect that time for strategy, writing and big decisions. Save admin, invoicing and emails for your low-energy hours. Shorter work blocks spread across the day can be more productive than a straight 9 to 5. A rest in the afternoon is not laziness. It's recovery.
3. Get it out of your head
When brain fog hits, external systems carry the load. Try:
- A written to-do list or daily checklist
- Voice notes for ideas that arrive at 3am
- Automated reminders and a simple task management tool
- Written workflows for the jobs you repeat every week
4. Have a plan for bad days
Some days you'll feel like your old self. Make the most of them. On harder days, switch from "go" mode to survival mode: sort tasks into must-do-today and can-wait, delegate what you can, and let the rest go without guilt. Capacity in menopause is dynamic, and the good and slow days balance out.
5. Look after the foundations
Sleep, movement, hydration and how you eat all play a part in how you feel day to day. Small, consistent changes often make a noticeable difference. And if symptoms are affecting your work or wellbeing, speak to your GP. You don't have to just push through.
Midlife is a business advantage
The qualities that get you through menopause are the same ones that make a strong leader: flexibility, adaptability, strategic thinking and resilience. Akalp argues that facing this stage with determination rather than fear can become a leadership advantage in itself.
Women starting or growing a business in midlife bring something younger founders can't fake. Decades of work and life experience. A clear sense of what matters and what doesn't. A network built over years. And very often, a business born from lived experience, solving a problem they have faced themselves.
Menopause can be the moment you stop trying to work like you did at 30 and start building a business that fits the woman you are now.
You don't have to do this alone
At Branch Forward, we support women aged 35 to 60 through perimenopause, menopause and every midlife transition, including the ones that happen in business. Whether you're building your first company or leading an established one, you deserve information and support that fits real life.
Start here: download our free Branch Forward Starter Guide for simple, practical first steps to feeling more like yourself again.
Are you running a business through menopause? Tell us what's helped you in the comments, or share this post with a fellow founder who needs to hear it.
Further reading: Nellie Akalp, "Menopause and Entrepreneurship: How to Adapt and Thrive", Inc., 6 March 2026.
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for medical advice. If your symptoms are affecting your daily life, please speak to your GP or a healthcare professional.
