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Every quarter, I write a deep-dive business update for you, my most valued readers.
Three reasons for this ritual:
You get a "no BS" view of what's working, not working, and big bets I'm taking — so you can make smarter decisions for your business and career.
I connect marketing decisions to business impact. This is the most valuable skill I've learned, and I want you to have it too.
It forces me to think deeply and write critically. Life is moving faster than ever as a business owner, husband, and dad of two little girls. This has become one of my best “pause and reflect” habits.
18 months into running this business full-time, and I'm thinking more clearly than ever. Now I'm excited to share it with you. You ready? Let's ride 🌊
2025: The Year in One Line
We ended the year ahead of plan, with clearer offers, better systems, and more confidence in how this business compounds. A quick timeline
2024: Will the Reeder survive? Can it sustain my family's needs? Do I really want to do this? 2025: The business is validated. How do I grow it withou— oops I burned out. 2026: I have a vision, I'm building systems, and taking big bets on my marketing.
Numbers: Q4 + Full-Year Results
2025 Bookings:120% to goal
This was the first year I set a real annual target. And we cleared it with room to spare.I Most importantly, I didn’t sprint at the end. I resisted the temptation to grind out every dollar possible. Not easy after my 12+ years in SaaS hypergrowth. 8 months into the year, I realized I was operating on my old hustle culture mentality. I was still chasing numbers even after targets had been hit, and I didn't need to do that anymore. Re-wiring my brain took time, but I got there. And I'm damn glad I did. Q4 Bookings:103% to quarterly target
Pipeline was healthy, deals were right-fit, and I said no more than I said yes.
That’s the real growth. I constantly remind myself: I'm building a highly profitable business that gives me financial and time freedom. It's not about maxing out. Inner peace costs much more than the potential income.
Customer Satisfaction:100%
Every client either renewed, expanded, or left with strong outcomes and agreed to a testimonial.
If that breaks, the ship goes down shortly after. This must be avoided at all costs.
I Did Things In Q4 I've Never Done But Always Wanted.
By the time Q4 started, the yearly bookings goal was essentially locked in. We were already past our annual goal, so that gave me a rare opportunity most marketers want—but never actually get. I could slow the sales engine down and invest in the business itself. So instead of squeezing out incremental revenue, I focused on one thing: Building a healthier, more predictable system for 2026. Q4 was spent addressing two areas I’d knowingly underinvested in because when things are working, it’s easy to postpone the hard fixes.
1) Infrastructure
This business had officially outgrown the founder's intuition. I couldn't "shoot from the hip" anymore.
That’s a good realization. But deadly if left alone.
I'm not one for complacency or accepting ceilings. So I fixed it.
A) I realized I was basically invisible in AI search. Not because my content was bad. Simply because my site wasn’t “machine readable.” So I hired Becky to help tighten the connect-the-dots layer: schema, structure, and a more repeatable publishing setup so the internet can correctly tie together my website, newsletter, LinkedIn, podcast, and YouTube.
Early signal is exactly what we wanted: search impressions are climbing (even as clicks trend down, which I'm promised are normal). That’s the new reality, and we’re building for it.
B) Brand & strategy decks were outdated
Our materials didn’t reflect the new branding nor quality of the work anymore. I rebuilt them so clients get a premium deliverable that's pretty and clearer. Standardizing these decks and templates also made it easier to reuse, remix, and scale without losing quality.
I never thought infrastructure is sexy. Maybe it still isn't.
But it makes me feel and sleep a whole lot better knowing I'm not building a house of cards.
2) Marketing (for real this time)
For most of the business, marketing was whatever time allowed. That stopped in Q4. Here’s what changed:
Core offer refresh. Everything now ladders into the 95–5 system: content, sales calls, website. No exceptions. Speaking of website...
Kicked off a website refresh. Same branding and style, but the website doesn't reflect my new positioning or 95-5 POV. So I hired Emily to update my homepage and new offer pages. Expect a funky fresh web update in Feb-March.
YouTube & production: I brought in Colin and partnered with Share Your Genius to launch my media team. We're focused on shareable, repeatable formats that scale beyond me.
The realization was simple:
Great thinking without distribution is pointless.
And invisible businesses don’t compound.
Tough Decisions (and Why They Matter)
This is the part people always ask about. The hard shit.
So here it is—unfiltered.
1) I decided to pause Reed Between The Lines.
I love it. My audience loves it. And there are some killer episodes. But it was expensive, and candidly, my brand didn’t need it right now.
2) Travel cap: 1 trip per month
Unchecked ambition turns into regrets. I love traveling and speaking on stage. But I love my family time and healthy routine more.
3) I consolidated my total offers from 8 → 6. As Nick Bennett taught me (someone else worth hiring btw), you need to make the main thing your main thing. So I decided to postpone cohorts and custom workshops so I can focus on the 95-5 system and marketing engine behind it. Tough in the moment to say goodbye to dollar signs, but I'm glad I did. 4) I accepted I can't do it alone.
There are two types of hires:
Hire someone to build your system, or Hire someone to run your system. Or ignore systems and just keep doing random acts of marketing.
I already hired people to help me build systems. Now I am looking for someone to help me run them.
This will be a creative mind who likes content ops — aka getting shit done at a high level. This person will help me repurpose content, write, and create carousels and other visuals. (If you are interested in joining the Reeder as a contract contributor, hit reply.)
My 2026 Operating principle in 12 words:
Build the system.
Then run the system.
No random acts of marketing
How I Feel Closing 2025
This is the calmest I’ve felt since launching.
Not because things are slower. Because they’re clearer.
Clear mission: help marketers and founders win with content
