Hey Reader,

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this idea of finishing the year strong.

You’ve probably seen the same posts I have - the ones urging you to push harder, squeeze out more content, launch something new, make one more big sales push before December ends.

But here’s the truth I’ve been sitting with:

Most small business owners don’t need to finish the year strong.

They need to finish the year RESTED - so they can make smart decisions next year.

Especially because 2025 was a year that really tested small business owners.

Many of my clients who’d been thriving suddenly hit unexpected turbulence:

• DEI consultants navigating rapid policy shifts
• Nonprofit service providers losing or delaying contracts
• Programs that always sold easily suddenly slowing down
• People taking way longer to make buying decisions
• Automated or transactional launches underperforming
• Creative and emotional exhaustion everywhere

And layered beneath all of that?

This constant hum of world events, political tension, and heaviness that made so many of the brilliant, socially conscious women in my community whisper:

"How am I supposed to market my business when the world feels like this?"

The emotional and mental fatigue is real.
The uncertainty and stuckness is real.
The questioning - Is what I do even relevant right now? - was real.

And when your visibility drops because you’re exhausted…
And then your leads slow down because visibility dropped…

It's easy to feel like what you SHOULD do is power through so you can FINISH THE YEAR STRONG.

But that hustle harder mindset? It's not helping right now.

In fact, it may be exactly what's holding you back from the clarity you really need to make smarter CEO decisions and build the sustainable systems that don't require you to just power through for the millionth time.

Finishing the year rested, though?

It sounds counter-intuitive to so many of us high-achieving, goal-getting, visionary CEOs.

We aren't used to prioritizing REST.

But I can tell you from my own personal experience in 2025, intentionally prioritizing REST is key to having the mental and emotional capacity you need to navigate challenging times.

And part of prioritizing rest? Building systems that actually support you - the CEO - so your business doesn't depend 100% on you to move things forward.

Life kicked my ass this year.

After spending the last 5-6 years of both my parent's health declining and struggling to piece together at-home caregivers, enough was enough. I had to step in and make hard decisions for both of their long term care.

I couldn't continue dropping everything to drive 3+ hours round-trip and cover when a caregiver didn't show up.

And after spending over $25K a month to keep both of my parents at home with caregivers (which totaled over $1,000,000 since 2020), I also knew that we were blowing through their retirement faster than anticipated.

It was only to get MORE expensive if we continued this way.

I had to plan for the worst case scenario - how do I make sure BOTH my parents don't outlive their money?

Not to mention, how do I make sure I don't burnout as the primary caregiver managing my parents health, finances, and daily life decisions?

So we moved both my parents to senior living this summer - just 15 minutes away from me. Literally, I can drop off my kids at school and it's just 2 miles to pop over and have coffee with mom.

The last few months, I've been recalibrating as I figure out what this next stage of life and parenting and caregiving and business is going to look like.

And honestly, for the majority of this year, I haven't had the bandwidth prioritize my business.

I dropped my working hours to only the most essential tasks - including my weekly calls with The CEO Collective.

I repurposed tons of content instead of attempting to create anything new.

I didn't do any big launches or focus on bringing in lots of new clients.

And yet… my business continued to generate revenue and pay me my CEO salary.

It wasn't because I pushed harder or sacrificed my weekends or stayed up late to 'catch up' on work.

But because my Client Growth Engine did what it was designed to do:

• Grew my email list over 500 new subscribers a month
• Nurtured those new subscribers with our automated sequences sharing some of our BEST content
• Invited people to learn more about our signature 90 Day CEO Operating System inside The CEO Retreat and The CEO Collective programs
• Effortlessly onboarded those new clients and set them up for success with 1x1 support from my team
• Retained my long-term clients who have worked with me for years
• Renewed clients who saw amazing results and wanted to continue their momentum with support of our team

I didn’t to sacrifice myself to keep my business going during a challenging life season - I have a sustainable system that keeps my business moving forward even when I need to take a step back.

And that system has allowed me to prioritize REST so I can be present and grounded - whether I'm making a decision about my mom's care or making a decision about my business.

That intentional rest wasn't just the basics of getting enough sleep and remembering to touch grass once in awhile.

For me, intentional rest has meant truly resourcing myself:

• Planning weekends away so I could unplug from the day-to-day stress of life and caregiving and just have fun.
• Saying YES to girls sailing trips, dinners, and day retreats with my best friends.
• Signing up for creative classes like perfume making and flower arranging and painting.
• Booking all my personal appointments so that every month, I have acupuncture and massage and therapy on the calendar.
• Declaring at least one weekend a month 'do nothing weekend' so the entire family knows that we are lounging in pajamas and relaxing vs. a million activities.

Putting myself first in my calendar has been the biggest reason I'm not a basket-case after this year.

And it's why I'm able to go into December with the mental and emotional clarity to make big decisions about what's next in 2026.

Here’s what I want to gently offer you as we enter the final weeks of the year:

Maybe you don’t need to push harder right now.

Maybe what you really need is space to rest so you can reflect with clarity - not panic.

Most entrepreneurs try to solve their problems while still in motion.

They’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and trying to think their way into a new plan without ever pausing long enough to see the real issues.

But clarity doesn’t come from hustle.

Clarity comes from breathing room.

When you slow down just enough to look honestly at your business, you start to see what’s actually going on:

• Where did your best clients really come from?
• What actually drove revenue vs what drove new sales?
• Where are the gaps in your marketing and client journey?
• Where could your client experience improve to generate more referrals, renewals, and repeat business?
• Where were things inconsistent vs intentional?
• What is ACTUALLY working, for you?

You can’t really see these things when you’re powering through and finishing strong.

You can only see them when you rest long enough to reflect.

Here's what I want you to think about as you go into 2026!

Sustainability doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from having a system you can depend on.

A system that supports you in the busy seasons.

A system that stabilizes you in the hard seasons.

A system that keeps the business moving even when you need to pause.

The entrepreneurs who will thrive in 2026 aren’t the ones who finish 2025 strong.

They’re the ones who finish 2025 rested, clear, and ready to rebuild intentionally.

And next month, I’m going to help you do exactly that.

For now?

Give yourself permission to exhale.

You don’t need to white-knuckle finishing strong in 2025.

You need the clarity that comes from allowing yourself to REST.

I’m right here with you,
Racheal

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