03/18/2026
Some of the most successful companies in the world have filed for bankruptcy.
Yes — intentionally.
Right now there’s conversation around entrepreneur Fawn Weaver and the whiskey industry that’s bringing attention to something many people misunderstand about business.
When most people hear the word bankruptcy, they think the company is collapsing.
But that’s not always true.
Many large companies file Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a strategic move.
Chapter 11 allows a company to keep operating while it restructures its debt, renegotiates contracts, and reorganizes financially.
The doors stay open.
Employees keep working.
The brand continues to operate.
It’s essentially a legal way to reset the financial structure of a business.
Airlines have done it.
Major retailers have done it.
Some billion-dollar companies have done it.
In the business world, this isn’t always failure.
Sometimes it’s financial strategy.
And I think there’s a deeper lesson here about how we think about money in our personal lives.
So many people carry shame when their finances need to change.
But businesses restructure all the time.
They renegotiate.
They reset.
They rebuild.
And we’re allowed to do the same.
Money isn’t about never making adjustments.
It’s about having the courage to make the changes that move you forward.