Ep. 68 Q1 2026 Recap: Wins, Struggles, Lessons & Looking Ahead to Q2

Mar 31

You do not have to look very far to find highlight reel content about building an online business. What you see a lot less of is what it actually looks like to rebuild momentum after a slow season, navigate the edge of burnout, and keep pushing forward while you are still in the middle of figuring it out.

That is what this post is.

I started 2026 feeling discouraged, a little defeated, and genuinely wondering why things were not gaining traction despite feeling like I was doing everything right. Three months later, the picture looks pretty different. Not perfect, and not where I ultimately want to be, but genuinely moving in the right direction in ways that feel really good.

This is my full Q1 recap: the wins, the struggles, the lessons, and what I am focused on heading into Q2. I am sharing it because if you are in a similar season, I want you to see what three months of consistent, intentional action can actually do.

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The Threads Post I Almost Deleted on January 1st

I want to start by sharing something I posted on Threads on New Year's Day, because I think it sets the stage for everything that followed.

The post read: Very, very, very vulnerable post that I will almost certainly delete later... Every time I see a "booked my first new brand website project for 2026" post, I'm over here dying a little inside. Like okay, clearly something with my marketing has gotta change. So if you're in a "where are all the clients" season, just know that you're not alone and it won't last forever. (Also, this is not a request for help or permission to pitch me, thanks.)

That post got 5,800 views, 217 likes, and 88 comments on an account with fewer than a thousand followers, posted on a holiday when most business owners are not exactly doom scrolling. Every single comment was some version of "same," "thank you for saying this out loud," or "I was in that boat last year, it gets better."

It was a good reminder that when things feel hard, we are almost never the only one. Being willing to say it out loud made me feel less alone, and hearing from the people on the other side of that season gave me genuine reassurance that it was going to be okay. And it was.

The Wins from Q1

Q1 was a huge season of turning the ship around and starting to see real traction from changes I had been making to my business for the previous six to eight months. Here is what actually happened.

Five Standout Brand Strategy Sessions booked, three completed. This is a newer standalone offer for me. I have been doing brand strategy as part of full branding projects for a long time, but offering it as its own service is more recent. Seeing it gain traction and hearing clients say things like "that was the best 90 minutes I've ever spent working on my business" has been incredibly reassuring proof of concept.
The official launch of the Standout Brand Partner Referral Program. About 50% of my business has historically come from referrals, and I finally formalized that into something structured. I now have 10 official Standout Brand Partners, all of whom I hand-selected because their work genuinely complements mine: copywriters, SEO consultants, OBMs, VAs, web designers, social media managers, and ads strategists. When they refer a client to me, they get a kickback. Their client gets a discount. And I get to build a real, reciprocal relationship with people whose work makes mine more effective, and vice versa.
Two VIP Days and one VIP Week completed. This is a format I got away from after having kids because scheduling was just too complicated. Now that my kids are a little older and I have more childcare support, I have been dipping back in and I have genuinely loved it. The VIP Week client was launching a new course, and we knocked out the entire sales page and marketing collateral in one week. Focused, efficient, and really satisfying work for both of us.
Five podcast guest appearances. Coming back from a slower season for visibility, getting back out into other people's audiences has been a real priority. My favorite of the bunch was a live training I gave inside one of my favorite networking communities for mothers, all about elevating your client experience through strategic branding. About 40 women joined live, it was interactive and energizing, and it was honestly the highlight of my Q1.
The Brand Bites Newsletter launch. I have had this idea for a while: one quick, actionable tip per week to help you improve your brand. The name finally came to me while listening to a podcast episode from Sarah at Between the Lines Copy about naming your things to make them stickier, and two days later I had the signup page built. We are now on week 10. Every Monday, subscribers get a 10-minute tip that makes a real difference. The link to subscribe is always in the show notes.
25 podcast episodes published. More on this in the struggles section, but I did a twice-weekly publishing experiment in Q1 that generated a lot of good content and some great conversations. The three most-listened-to episodes of the quarter were episode 44 on why I am breaking up with business coaching in 2026, episode 45 featuring sales coach Nikki Rausch on using neuro-linguistic programming for better sales, and episode 48 on building a brand ecosystem that supports growth. If you have not listened to those yet, go back.
95 new email subscribers, a 25% increase. I keep my list small and very clean, so adding 95 genuinely interested people in three months was a big deal. That came from a combination of new opt-ins, bundle participation, and a lot of relationship building through networking.
346 new social media followers across Instagram and Threads.
Two peer masterminds launched, one of which is thriving. More on the one that ended in the struggles section, but the group that is still going is genuinely one of my favorite things happening in my business right now. A small group of women at a similar stage of business and life, where I can vent about a kid throwing a tantrum, celebrate a new booking, or get a gut check on a sales page. If you have been craving that kind of community, I would highly encourage you to create it yourself rather than paying for it.

The Struggles and Lessons

Those wins do not come without the other stuff, so here is the honest version.

Revenue is on an upward trajectory, but not where I want it to be. Looking back at my Q1 profit and loss statements and seeing roughly 50 to 60% of what I would like to be earning regularly was a humbling reality check, especially when Q1 felt so full and busy. The lesson I keep having to relearn is that being busy does not equal generating revenue. In Q2, I am going to be a lot more intentional about where my time and energy go and whether the things I am spending time on are actually driving income.
The silver lining is that the momentum is real. Going from that January 1st Threads post to ending the quarter having booked five strategy sessions, two VIP days, a VIP week, five podcast appearances, and a fully flushed-out referral program in three months is proof that something is working. The revenue will follow. It is just taking a little longer than I want.
I flirted with burnout in Q1. I started the year feeling pretty good energetically, and by the end of March I was feeling the edge of it. That is a signal I have learned not to ignore. I know what full burnout looks like and I do not want to go back there. Looking back, I was trying to do too much and not building enough margin in for myself or for my life outside of work. In Q2, I am going to be more intentional about where my energy is going and how I am supporting myself outside of business.
Twice-weekly podcasting is not sustainable for me. I tried it because I was frustrated with some stagnation in downloads and thought more content might help. It did: downloads increased about 20% and the episodes themselves were good. But I felt like a full-time podcaster. For a show I am not currently monetizing that does not directly drive most of my leads, that tradeoff does not make sense for me right now. In Q2, I am going back to once weekly.
One of the peer masterminds ended, and that is okay. I started two groups earlier in the year. One of them fizzled after three months: scheduling was hard, not everyone could show up consistently, and for a couple of people it was creating more stress than support. We agreed to fold it and the members who wanted to keep going joined the other group I was running. No drama, no hard feelings, just a thing that did not work out. I am glad I tried it. I met five women I still talk to and refer clients to regularly, and I got a good reminder that calling something when it is not working is a skill worth practicing.

What I Am Focused On in Q2

Supporting two clients through the Ultimate Brand Experience. This is Spectrum Co.'s most comprehensive offer, covering everything from brand strategy through design, website design, SEO, copy, and marketing. In Q2, clients who book an Ultimate Brand Experience also get a photo shoot included with the WorkPlay Branding team, which is a significant added value. If you are looking for a truly end-to-end branding experience, the link is in the show notes.
Shifting my primary social platform from Instagram to LinkedIn. This is a big one. Instagram and Threads have been my top two for years, but I am just not seeing the ROI on Instagram that I once was, and the time investment to create quality content there is significant. I know my ideal clients are on LinkedIn. I have gotten a few from there without even really trying. So in Q2, I am treating LinkedIn as my primary platform as an experiment, the same way I experimented with twice-weekly podcasting in Q1. I will report back in my Q2 recap.
More visibility through speaking and guesting. I am particularly excited about speaking at the Ordinary Business Summit in Q2 on how I use client feedback to make my business better. This was my favorite online business event in 2025, and being invited to speak at the 2026 edition feels really good. If you or someone you know is looking for a speaker on brand strategy, design, client experience, or using feedback in your business, I would love an introduction.
Protecting my energy and building in more margin. Dropping the twice-weekly podcast schedule, leaning on my team more, and being strategic about where I am putting my time are all part of this. I am not fully burnt out, but I know what the early signs look like and I am taking them seriously.

If You Are in a Slow Season Right Now

I started Q1 feeling behind, defeated, and like nothing was gaining traction. I ended it with real momentum, real proof points, and genuine optimism about what is ahead. Not because everything suddenly got easy, but because I kept going and kept taking action toward what I knew would move the needle.

It might take longer than you want. It has taken longer than I want, honestly. But if you are doing the right things, they do compound. And at the very least, I hope this post made you feel a little less alone.

Shoot me a DM on Instagram or Threads and tell me your biggest Q1 win. I would love to hear it and share it with my community.