Will Your Brand Help You Hit Your 2026 Goals? How To Know For Sure
You've set your goals for 2026, but is your brand poised to help you achieve them? In this episode, I'm walking you through the often-overlooked 5-question audit that determines whether your current brand and website can actually carry you to where you want to go - or if it's quietly holding you back.
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Welcome to 2026! Happy new year. Whether you’re easing into the new year or hitting the ground running you’re tuning in to a good episode because we are talking all about how to hit your goals when it comes to your brand.
So You've probably spent the last few weeks setting goals, mapping out launches, maybe even planning your content calendar for Q1 or maybe you’re doing that in the weeks to come,. But here's the question almost no one is asking: Is your brand actually ready to support your goals?"
So many times in the beginning of a new year, it’s planning season. Everyone is focussed on WHAT they want to achieve and maybe a little of how they’ll get there, but have you stopped to think, is your brand READY to hit those types of goals, do you have the systems, processes, and very importantly positioning in place for those goals to become reality.
Because the truth is, if you have a revenue goal or you want to fill up your 1:1 coaching calendar or group program but your brand and website are dated and not doing you any favors, you’re going to undermine your efforts.
In today’s episode I’m going over:
5 Questions to ask to know for sure if your brand is helping you or hindering you
What to do if you realize there's a gap
Why addressing this NOW sets you up for the entire year
Firstly we’re going to talk about why this matters
Most people set goals like:
"I want to hit $200K this year"
"I want to sell out my group program"
"I want to land 10 new 1:1 clients"
But they don't think about whether their brand actually supports these goals.
The truth is:
Your brand is working for you or against you every single day - it’s either helping you or hindering you
If your website doesn't convert, no amount of visibility will fix that -
I recently spoke with someone who said visibility and audience size wasn’t the issue, she said her conversion rate was abysmal. Which means her site is NOT working for her, it’s actually working against her because once people land on your site and if they’re turned off or bored, or they can’t find what they need they are unlikely to come back.You can't out-market a weak foundation - a strong foundation is everything.
A client success story:
I had a client in the past who I worked with on her website, and after we launched her site she booked 5 new clients, and she said the main thing that was the switch for her was updating her website cause she said she was marketing for 2.5 years and once her new website went live, those people who she had connected with decided to make the investment with her because she looked credible and they trusted her. This is the power of a site that’s working FOR you.
So it comes down to: Your goals aren't just about YOUR actions - they're also about whether your brand can do the heavy lifting when someone lands on your site.
So let’s get into the THE BRAND AUDIT.
I have 5 questions I’m going to walk through and you’ll answer in a green, yellow, red format. Green is systems go everything is working. Yellow is caution, things may be shaky, and red is this is really not working and needs attention
Question 1: Does your brand reflect where you are NOW - not where you were in 2025 or 2 years ago?
Here are some questions to see if your brand has evolved:
Have you pivoted your offers?
Has your messaging evolved?
Are you attracting a different caliber of client?
Does your website still represent your current expertise?
Here are some sure signs it's a yellow or red flag
You hesitate to share your website
You find yourself over-explaining what you do
You rely on Instagram to show off your services or sell in the DMs rather than send people to your site
Your brand feels "off" or misaligned
Question 2: Does your website convert visitors into leads?
Look at the data: = this is where tracking your metrics really comes in handy. This was something I shared in my end of year review I talked about a win was that I started tracking my analytics and tracking your website analytics is super helpful in this category because you can see
How long are people staying on your site?
Is your bounce rate high?
A bounce rate is the percentage of website visitors who leave after viewing only one page, without clicking on any other links or interacting further with the site, essentially "bouncing" away
For example: If 100 people visit your site and 40 leave after just one page, your bounce rate is 40%. Basically what this means is your site is boring, doesn’t have a good user experience, slow loading speed, or they can’t find what they’re looking for like on a blog
Are they opting in to your email list?
Are they booking discovery calls?
What's your inquiry-to-client conversion rate?
Red flags:
High traffic, low engagement
People tell you they "checked out your site" but don't book
You're relying on DMs instead of your website to close deals
Question 3: Does your brand position you as THE authority - or just another option?
Honest assessment:
Does your brand communicate premium, polished, professional?
Or does it blend in with everyone else in your industry?
Would someone land on your site and immediately trust you?
Does it reflect the caliber of transformation you provide?
The gap: If you're charging premium prices but your brand looks DIY OR it looks outdated, there's a disconnect that's costing you clients.
Question 4: Is your brand designed for longevity - or are you already itching to change it?
Think about:
Did you follow design trends that are already feeling dated?
Is your brand flexible enough to grow with you?
Can it support new offers, pivots, and expansions?
Or are you already planning "just a few tweaks" that will turn into a full overhaul?
The cost: Constant rebrands are expensive - in time, money, and brand equity. Your brand should be built to last YEARS, not months.
Question 5: Does your website work FOR you - or do you have to work around it?
Practical check:
Can you easily update it yourself (or does it require a developer)?
Does it load fast, mobile-friendly, and user-friendly?
Does it clearly guide visitors toward taking action?
Or are you making excuses for it? ("It's not great, but...")
The truth: If you're embarrassed by your site or avoiding sending people there, it's actively hurting your business.
Ok so let’s talk about your answers:
First though, I want to be honest and say I had a lot of yellow and red flags coming out of those questions which is why I’m taking myself through the rebrand process I take my clients through. It’s necessary for even brand designers to go through this important checklist to make sure things are working and if they’re not, making the changes so you can see different results.
If most of your answers were green
Your brand is ready to support your growth
Focus on leveraging it - drive traffic, create content, show it off
Minor tweaks might be all you need - and if you need or want another set of eyes, I would love to invite you to a Site Success Audit, for the month of January I’m giving away free Site Success Audits, and I would love to offer you one if you’re looking for help
If you had yellows:
You might be able to get by with a refresh or targeted fixes
But pay attention - small misalignments compound over time
Consider whether a strategic update would accelerate your goals and if you want to talk this through I would love to invite you to a free discovery call where we could talk about what trouble spots you have on your site and if you need a rebrand now or you can wait.
If you had red flags for 3 or more
Your brand is likely holding you back even more than you realize
Trying to hit big goals with a weak foundation is like running a race with a sprained ankle
Addressing this NOW means the rest of your year is supported
Because there IS a cost of waiting:
Every day your site isn't converting, you're losing potential clients
Every time you hesitate to share your website, you're limiting opportunities
Visibility without conversion is just noise
Here are some options for what to do if you have yellow or red flags:
Option 1: DIY fixes but only if the issues are minor:
Update copy to reflect your current messaging
Refresh photos
Simplify navigation
Add clearer CTAs
Option 2: Targeted refresh If you need specific improvements but not a full overhaul:
Work with a designer on specific pages
Update visual identity to feel more current - maybe not starting from scratch but updating parts or sections of your site that are not performing
Work with a copywriter to nail down your current messaging
Optimize your site for conversion - strong headlines, body copy, and calls-to-action and design
Option 3: A rebrand If your brand can't support where you're headed:
This is the foundation for everything else you're trying to build, your brand and how you feel about it affects how you carry yourself, your confidence, your excitement, and energy, how you show up which translates to how you interact with your potential customers, how they interact with you. Do they immediately feel at ease like you’re the expert they’ve been looking for? Do they trust you? Connect with you?
Investing here in your brand means every other effort (content, visibility, launches) works better
The ROI is exponential when you get the foundation right
So a question you might be thinking is "Do I need to do this now? Or should I wait until later in the year?"
My answer is do not wait. Here's why:
Q1 is when people are making decisions
If your brand isn't ready, you're missing opportunities right out of the gate
Waiting means spending months with a brand that's not serving you and potentially losing out on significant growth
So Ask yourself:
If I achieve my 2026 goals, will it be DESPITE my brand or BECAUSE of it?
Am I willing to work twice as hard to compensate for a weak foundation?
What would be possible if my brand was actually working FOR me 24/7?
You don't have to figure this out alone. If you're realizing there's a gap and you're not sure what to do about it, that's exactly what a discovery call is for.
Your 2026 goals are only as strong as the foundation supporting them. Your brand and website aren't just nice-to-haves - they're the infrastructure for everything else you're building and working towards.
My Action steps for you:
Go through the audit questions honestly
Identify where the gaps are
Decide what action you need to take - do you need to sign up for a Site success audit? Do you want to book a free discovery call? You have options here but it’s about deciding what is right for you and taking the action.
If you went through the audit and realize your brand is full of yellow and red flags and it may not be helping you reach your 2026 goals and you want to talk through what that could look like to fix, fill out an inquiry form, OR you can schedule a discovery call and we can hop on a free call and figure out exactly what you need - whether that's a refresh, a rebrand, or just some strategic direction. This is not a pressure sales call, just clarity on your next best step for your business so you can reach your biggest goals in 2026.
Here's to a year where your brand works AS hard as you do!
