As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to take you behind the scenes and share some agency reflections from the year. The real lessons, the growing pains, and the wins that shaped this year at J. Alexandria Creative.

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Here are a few leadership lessons that shaped me this year:

• Growing a business is challenging, and you need community around you. If you are leading a team, you may have select team members who can bear the weight of leadership with you, but ultimately, you need to be the lighthouse and the pillar of strength no matter what is going on. Which means you need a safe community of other leaders who can speak life into you, encourage you and give you feedback. That’s exactly what my Rally Varsity Mastermind has been for me this year. They see the good AND the ugly crying sometimes lol Highly recommend finding a room that can help you grow and that can also support you through all stages of business. 
• Be willing to set your ego aside when you see something isn’t working. We decided to pause The Brand Vault in our business. It felt hard for me, but also it was the right decision for our business. Be willing to push a new idea forward AND be willing to have the courage and humility to dial it back when it’s not working or aligned anymore.
• It takes courage to be a leader, and even if you feel like things aren’t going your way, there’s something to be said for showing up every single day. Even when it’s hard. Consistency is what wins the game. 
• You are the leader, AND you also have leaders on your team, and they share such valuable insight and wisdom. Give space for your team to share feedback and constructive criticism with you and make it comfortable for them to do so because they will have great insight and recommendations for you. Collaboration can create even better results. 

Here are a few of the wins I’m celebrating from 2025:

• I won the Rainmaker award in January of 2025 at my mastermind conference with my coach Ashley Brock for the result we created for our business and for my parent’s business, Angler’s Pointe
• We sponsored the Power of Paid Ads Conference and it was our first sponsorship
• We wrote an Amazon Best-Selling Book, The On Brand Blueprint. 
• We completed our brand refresh and website and stepped into our next era of JAC
• We hosted our first ever team retreat for us to come together in-person. We even had our copywriter Kathryn fly in all the way from Hawaii! 
• We relaunched The Brand Files podcast and have completed a full new season as of this episode! 
• Celebrated in person with one of our clients at her One Year Anniversary Party in DC–Congrats to Marily at CREAM Skin Studio! 
• We brought on two new team members this year: Victoria our admin assistant and Alexis as a social media manager for one of our monthly clients. 
• Celebrated 7 years in business! 
• Launch brands and websites for multiple clients and helped business owners step into more confident and aligned versions of themselves and their businesses. 

These accomplishments weren’t just milestones — they were reflections of how aligned our clients, our team, and our mission have become.

Here are a few of the challenges that shaped me this year:

• With growth comes more expenses and investments that need to be made, and this can feel challenging as a business owner and it can be easy to fall into a comparison trap when you’re looking around at everyone’s “success stories” and comparing your journey to their’s. Especially when there’s the pressure of supporting other people. 
• This year has felt “different” when it comes to client bookings. Things felt slightly slower toward the end of the year compared to what we’ve seen in the past and so it’s taking a step back and determining is this an US thing or is this an economic thing. After talking to peers, it seems like this was something other people were seeing and so it felt like another way to learn how to adapt and an opportunity to refine.   
• Pausing The Brand Vault, felt like a difficult decision, but it gave me so much relief and peace to take a step back and evaluate and put the energy towards offers that really feel like the right next step for us. 
• After 7 years in business, this truly felt like the year that has challenged me and pushed me the most maybe aside from Covid/Quarantine. They say new levels, new devils and I TRULY felt that so much this year.
  
• There were moments where growth felt heavy — and those moments reminded me that sustainable success matters just as much as rapid scaling. They pushed me to redefine the kind of CEO I’m becoming: creative, present, intentional, consistent and ultimately, someone who doesn’t give up and always knows that everything is figureoutable.

Here are some of the shifts coming in 2026:

• Just like we talked about in our last episode, we’re really evaluating messaging and determining WHAT do we need to say to speak to our dream clients
• We’re refining our lead generation process and creating repeatable processes for booking clients every single month and refining our funnels
• We’re going to be offering some exciting ways to work with our team on an on-going basis, if that’s something you’re looking for support with…stay tuned 😉 

2026 we are going to be leaning into what we do best, continuing with an attitude of optimization we’ve had in the second half of 2025, and ultimately stay really focused on the types of offers that align with our team and our vision for the business long term AND that deliver the best results for our clients.

Here are a few of the personal lessons or shifts I’m taking with me:

• Comparison is the thief of joy, and we cannot believe everything we see on the internet. Stay in your lane, and as Ed Mylett says, live in a state of blissful dissatisfaction in the sense that I am thankful for what I have, I experience bliss and peace and happiness in my life AND also I know I am meant for more and am continuing to strive for the things I’m working towards with a heart of thankfulness. 
• Say yes to the unexpected and do things that are hard or challenge you because you learn from them. I climbed a mountain in Yellowstone this year. NEVER would have thought I’d be saying that, and also it taught me a lot about myself and gave me ideas for content that I never knew I’d have. I also went to be in the audience on an episode of The Bachelor this year because a friend of mine said, hey we should go to this. And we made it happen. Those “do it for the plot” moments are truly where the memories lie. 
• Don’t minimize your accomplishments. I wrote a book this year, it was a bestseller on Amazon, and yet I felt this odd feeling of downplaying it? Own your accomplishments and be proud of the things you are doing. 
• Make goals from a place of “I want to achieve” vs. “should”–lack. Those goals are never aligned or a goal that feels empowering. 
• “Uncommon Advice: if you don’t know what to pursue in life right now, pursue yourself. Pursue becoming the healthiest, happiest, most healed, most present, most confident version of yourself. Then the right path will reveal itself. “
• Have faith and stop trying to white knuckle your way through life. 
• Life will change in an instant. Be thankful for the ones in your life, be present, and don’t be too busy making a living that you forget to make a life. 

I journaled about what does the “million dollar version of Jade” look like, and really it’s not about revenue.
It’s about alignment, ease, creativity, peace and living in integrity with the life I’m building. So going into 2026, that’s the energy I’m bringing with me. 

I want to invite you into this reflection.

What did 2025 teach you?
What shifted for you creatively, energetically, or professionally?

What are all the good things that happened? Write down everything you can think of even the small wins or moments of joy? 

What are you taking into 2026, and what are you intentionally leaving behind? Take a moment this week to write it down, voice note it, or reflect on it during a walk.

Your next chapter starts with clarity.

I’m so grateful you’re here. whether you’ve been part of the JAC community since the early days or you found us this year. Truly, thank you for being part of this journey.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode! Here’s to a beautiful, aligned, luxe 2026. Until next time,