What Worked, What Didn’t, and What We’re Doing Differently in 2026

Here's the truth about growth: it doesn't happen in the doing alone. It happens in the looking back, the honest evaluation, and the intentional adjustment.

Every December (okay, we actually start this process in October because we're planners like that), we sit down and do something most business owners avoid... we get brutally honest about our year. What lit us up? What fell flat? What needs to be left in the past?

This isn't just an exercise in nostalgia or just staring at a screen. It's strategic. Because the businesses that scale sustainably aren't the ones that keep doing the same thing harder. They're the ones that stop, assess, and optimize based on real data and real results.

So grab your coffee (or wine, we don't judge), and let's walk through what 2025 taught us, and more importantly, what we're doing about it in 2026.

What Worked This Year

Let's start with the wins, because honestly, there were some good ones.

We launched the Expert Content Society. This was our big move in 2025, a membership designed specifically for service professionals who want to master LinkedIn content without spending hours staring at a blank screen. The goal? Help coaches, consultants, and service providers share their expertise consistently using AI as a strategic partner, not a replacement for their voice.

The response? Better than we hoped. Our members are seeing the best LinkedIn results they've ever experienced since joining. Some are finally posting consistently (which, let's be real, is half the battle). Others are seeing engagement they didn't think was possible. The content prompts we created are doing exactly what we designed them to do... making content creation faster without sacrificing quality or authenticity.

Our affiliate and partnership program became a growth engine. We've always believed in the power of collaboration over competition, but this year really proved it. Through strategic partnerships with incredible people who share our values, our Expert Content Society community has grown to over 250+ members. These aren't just business relationships. They're genuine friendships built on mutual respect and shared missions.

LinkedIn content strategy got clearer (and the data backs it up). Here's what we're seeing across the board:

Video is still king. Short form, authentic, personal content continues to outperform just about everything else… it’s also an amazing TRUST builder.

LinkedIn newsletters are non negotiable. With open rates hovering around 40 to 50% (compared to typical email benchmarks that are far lower), newsletters are one of the smartest moves you can make. LinkedIn auto invites your followers and connections when you launch, which means day one subscriber jumps are real.

Carousels are your friend for engagement. Multi image and document posts are sitting in the 6 to 6.5% engagement rate range, making them top performers. They encourage dwell time, clicks, and meaningful interaction.

Consistency wins, period. Creators who post weekly see a 9% boost in engagement. Those who post inconsistently? A 25% drop. The algorithm rewards reliability.

Client outcomes we're genuinely proud of. Several of our clients have grown so much through strategic LinkedIn use that they can't take on additional clients right now. They're not turning people away because they're bad at sales... they're turning them away because they're too successful. They're hiring bigger teams. They're scaling. That's the kind of problem we love helping people have.

Our team is growing, and it feels right. We've brought on amazing people who genuinely care about our mission and vision. Growth isn't just about revenue. It's about building something sustainable with people who make the work better.

What Didn't Work (And What It Taught Us)

Now for the harder part. The stuff that didn't go as planned.

We're still working on evergreen funnels in several areas of the business. Here's the thing about funnels... they're not "set it and forget it." We've been focused on increasing visibility and getting more people into the top of the funnel, but we're learning that awareness is only the first step. Getting people to truly understand what we do and how we help takes consistent nurturing, clear messaging, and patience.

Lesson learned: visibility without clarity is just noise. We're tightening up our messaging so that when people discover us, they immediately know whether we're the right fit.

We tested several things in the Expert Content Society that... didn't stick. Some ideas sounded brilliant on paper. In practice? Overcomplicated. We kept adding features, resources, and bonuses thinking more would be better. But our members kept telling us (through their actions, not just their words) that they wanted simplicity.

Lesson learned: simple wins. Always. Every time we've stripped something back to its core, engagement goes up. When we've added layers, people tune out. 2026 is all about keeping things beautifully simple.

Some things felt harder than they should have. You know that feeling when you're working really hard but not seeing proportional results? Yeah, we had some of that this year. Our operations and processes weren't as tight as they needed to be, which meant more manual work and less scalability than we wanted.

Lesson learned: processes aren't sexy, but they're everything. In 2026, we're obsessing over streamlining and optimizing our backend so we can continue to scale without chaos.

What Surprised Us in 2025

Every year brings unexpected lessons. Here's what caught us off guard.

Market and audience shifts were real. Buying patterns changed in ways we didn't fully anticipate. Here's what we're seeing:

Clients expect personalization. Generic solutions don't cut it anymore. People want customized approaches that speak directly to their specific situation.

Multiple decision makers are now the norm for high ticket offers. It's not just one person signing off. It's partners, spouses, business managers. The buying committee has expanded.

Research is deeper and trust matters more than ever. Clients are doing their homework before they ever reach out. They're looking for referrals, reading testimonials, checking LinkedIn recommendations. Trust is the currency. Make sure you are asking for recommendations on LinkedIn, these really do build trust and credibility!

Communication speed matters. Slow responses mean lost sales. Period. If you're taking days to reply, your prospect has already moved on to someone who values their time.

Clients want a smooth buying journey. Friction kills conversions. Complicated booking processes, unclear next steps, vague pricing... all of it creates drop off.

What this means for us (and you): make your offer specific, position around clear problems and outcomes, show niche expertise through case studies, design an easy buying journey with fast response times and transparent communication, build proof through testimonials and client stories, and keep communication frequent and personalized across the entire relationship, not just during the sale.

Affiliate partnerships and launches became unexpectedly massive wins. We knew partnerships would be valuable. We didn't realize they'd become one of our primary growth channels. The right relationships with the right people created momentum we couldn't have manufactured any other way. Remember that LinkedIn is a great place not just to find leads, but also to connect with some pretty amazing power partners!

We got crystal clear on the team we want in place. This year forced us to raise the bar on everything we do. We're done settling for "good enough." We want excellence, alignment, and people who are as committed to the mission as we are.

LinkedIn changes kept us on our toes. The platform continues to evolve, and staying current with trends and algorithm updates isn't optional... it's essential. The businesses winning on LinkedIn in 2026 are the ones adapting quickly and testing consistently.

What We're Doing Differently in 2026

If we had to sum up what we hope for in 2026, in just one word, it would be: OPTIMIZATION.

We're not reinventing the wheel. We're not chasing shiny objects. We're not burning ourselves out trying to do everything. We're taking what works, making it better, and scaling it strategically.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

More planning with action….. less talking, more doing. We've spent enough time in strategy mode. 2026 is about execution. Clear plans, measurable actions, consistent follow through.

Continuing to simplify and streamline. If it's complicated, we're removing it. If it creates friction, we're fixing it. Simple systems, clear processes, efficient workflows.

Focusing our time and energy where it matters most. Growing the Expert Content Society, creating incredible value for our clients, and increasing visibility through speaking engagements, podcast appearances, LinkedIn lives, and workshops and trainings for groups.

What we're intentionally NOT doing: Overworking. Burning out. Working unproductively. Taking on low scope projects that drain energy without delivering proportional value.

This isn't about doing less. It's about doing what matters, exceptionally well.

Your Invitation to Reflect

Here's our challenge to you: do your own year in review before you jump into 2026 planning.

We call it the Red, Yellow, Green meeting, and it's simple:

Red = Stop. What's not working in your business? What's draining resources without delivering results? What needs to be cut entirely?

Yellow = Needs Work. What's showing promise but needs tweaking? What could be better with some attention and optimization?

Green = Keep Going. What's working well? What should you double down on? What deserves more resources and focus?

Grab a notebook (or open a doc, we're not precious about format) and be honest. Really honest. Not "I should be doing this" honest. Actually honest.

Then ask yourself: What's your word for 2026?

Ours is optimization. What's yours? Growth? Simplicity? Focus? Visibility? Revenue? Rest?

Pick one word that will guide your decisions, and let everything else filter through that lens.

Because here's what we know after years of helping service professionals scale: the businesses that win aren't the ones doing the most. They're the ones doing the right things, consistently, with clear intention.

So what worked for you this year? What didn't? And more importantly... what are you doing about it?

Let us know your word for 2026 in the comments. We'd love to hear it.