This year taught me more than I ever expected. There were wins, challenges, business growth, motherhood, maternity leave, and more. In this episode, I’m walking you through my full Year in Review, highlighting what worked, what didn’t, the surprising lessons learned, and what I’m taking into 2026 with renewed clarity and intentional focus.
Listen in as I share insights from a year that included launching a new offer, scaling systems, taking a 12‑week paid maternity leave, and showing up again with more resilience than ever. Whether you’re wrapping up your year or beginning your planning, this episode is your invitation to take meaningful stock of your own business.
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2025: My Most Honest Business Year Yet
2025 has been one of the most full, challenging, and incredible years in my business (and life). I think it’s so important to take time to sit down and do a full CEO review. In full transparency, I’m sharing it with you so you can do the same.
Why Year-End Reflection Matters
Taking time to reflect isn’t just about looking back, it’s about gaining clarity so you can plan with intention. Whether you’re a photographer, creative, or entrepreneur of any kind, carving out time to reflect is one of the most powerful practices any CEO can adopt.
End-of-year review allows us to celebrate progress, process failures, and reconnect with our why. It’s where we extract real insight from the whirlwind that was the past 12 months.
What Worked for Business: Wins That Really Mattered in 2025
Instagram Stories Became a Frontline Strategy: This year, I leaned into Instagram Stories as my main communication and sales channel. It felt natural, low-lift, and totally aligned with how I love to connect with my audience. By documenting my days, soft selling, hard selling, and opening up conversations in DMs, I saw a direct line from story to sale.
Personalized Coaching Portals: I also reimagined the client experience for my one-to-one coaching clients. Every client now has their own custom portal with call recordings, resources, next steps, and links. This eliminated confusion, boosted clarity, and helped clients feel supported at every step.
Open Discovery Calls: Having an open calendar for Zoom discovery calls made a huge difference in my business. These calls gave me a better understanding of my clients’ pain points, provided valuable market research, and simplified my sales process. Sometimes they led to new clients, sometimes they didn’t, but they always offered clarity.
Simple Lead Tracking: I started tracking leads in a Google Sheet — nothing fancy, but incredibly effective. It helped me identify patterns, improve follow-up, and focus on what was really working.
A 12-Week Paid Maternity Leave: Taking 12 weeks off and still seeing revenue come in? That felt like a massive personal and professional milestone. The systems I built worked, the content I batched ahead of time was published on schedule, and I was able to rest without guilt.
Blogging and SEO: I stayed committed to creating long-form content on my blog, and it paid off. Not only did this boost my site’s SEO, but I also started seeing traffic from generative AI searches like ChatGPT. Blogging is becoming a primary way for people to find us online.
What Didn’t Work for Business (And What I Learned)
Time Tracking Fell Off: I stopped tracking my time, and that led to disorganization and unclear priorities. It became hard to assess what was working and where time was going.
Inconsistent Instagram Feed: While my Stories were strong, my feed got neglected. Engagement dropped, and I lost some momentum in visibility and growth. Lesson learned: set up a better system and ask for help if needed.
Overcomplicating Sales Calls: At times, I presented too many options on calls, and it led to decision paralysis. Clients felt overwhelmed. Now I’m simplifying my offers and presenting them with greater clarity.
Facebook Group Flatlined: My Facebook group engagement and conversion rates dipped significantly, likely due to algorithm changes. Right now, it’s on the chopping block as I assess where to invest my time.
Highs, Lows, and Business Lessons
Some of my biggest highs this year included launching my new course Affiliate Boss, helping my clients get fully booked and raise their prices, and proving to myself that my business is resilient.
But there were also lows. September was my slowest month after returning from maternity leave. I doubted myself. I questioned whether the momentum would return. Spoiler: it did. October became my best month of the year.
Key Lessons I’m Taking into 2026:
- Simplify Sooner: Complexity kills momentum.
- Consistency Matters: Even imperfect action moves the needle.
- Your Business Can Survive Your Absence: Build it with systems that work without you.
- Celebrate and Process: Don’t skip over your wins or your setbacks.
- Invest in Support: Coaches, friends, team members. You need people.
Looking Ahead to 2026
While I learned so many valuable lessons about what makes my business better and how I can successful run a business that allows me to b called to both, here’s what’s ahead:
- I’m hiring a new VA to support the back end of my business
- I’m coming back to YouTube (cue nerves and excitement!)
- I’m refining and streamlining my coaching programs
- I’m staying focused and well-resourced in every area of life
This next year is about intention. I’m choosing depth over breadth, clarity over complexity, and creativity over comparison. I want to show up in a way that feels rooted, confident, and aligned.
Find It Quickly:
00:46 – Reflecting on Business Practices
01:41 – Podcast Introduction and Personal Journey
03:33 – CEO Review and Yearly Reflection
05:17 – Wins and Successes of 2025
12:14 – Challenges and Lessons Learned
18:06 – Highs and Lows of the Year
24:04 – Looking Forward to 2026
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