EPISODE 46 OF WHAT WOULD THEY DO? THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PODCAST FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
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I’m kicking off 2026 with a shift that’s quietly changing the way we do business. In this bite-sized solo episode, I reflect on my Word of the Year: Community. And what it means for the online space, the rise (and fall) of self-paced resources, and why real human connection is back in the spotlight.
Tune in to hear how I’m reshaping my offers and showing up differently this year, from evolving my 1:1 services to infusing more connection into my signature membership, Retention Lab. Whether you’re feeling the pull towards more meaningful conversations or are just tired of figuring things out alone, this episode will meet you where you’re at.
What we cover:
The shift away from DIY, self-paced resources in 2025
How AI is accelerating the demand for human-first experiences
My Word of the Year and what it means for my business
What’s changing in Retention Lab (especially at the Starter level)
An invitation to build, brainstorm, and grow together in 2026
Soundbites:
“It really feels that the human touch all of a sudden has become more important than ever. And it’s almost like we are resetting and reminding ourselves how beautiful, genuine human connections from one human to another can be to actually feel understood, to have a same wavelength that you’re on and to really not have to figure everything out yourself. Like you can actually talk something through with a human person. There’s two different perspectives that not always totally agree on everything, but it’s that interesting and refreshing conversation with a human that I’ve been craving and that I feel the online space has been craving. So that’s why I am rethinking how I show up in 2026.”
“More and more people in my world, in my surroundings, in my community, in the online business space have been saying, no thanks to DIY resources, to self-guided learning and implementing. Instead, what seems to be resonating is guidance, accountability, connections, conversations, everything that really falls under the umbrella of community. And to be honest, I’ve been feeling the same.”
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Episode Transcript:
Nadine Nethery (00:00)
Hello, hello and welcome to 2026. If you’re tuning in live as this episode drops, I hope you had a fabulous time over Christmas. I hope you enjoyed a nice day with friends and family for the new year. Whether you partied or you went to bed early, either way, here we are another year, another opportunity to
grow our business, to build connections and to have an impact. So today’s episode is a super quick one and a reflection as I step into the year on my Word of the Year that I revealed in the last episode. So maybe, maybe not, it might be yours too. The word of the year is community.
Over the past year, I and possibly you have seen a subtle but powerful shift. More and more people in my world, in my surroundings, in my community, in the online business space have been saying, no thanks to DIY resources, to self-guided learning and implementing.
And that’s where DIY courses, toolkits, self-paced programs really have taken a hit. I can definitely see a decline in my business when it comes to selling my self-paced toolkits and they’re simply not landing the same way they used to. So instead, what seems to be resonating is support.
guidance, accountability, connections, conversations, everything that really falls under the umbrella of community where like-minded people are working together on a similar problem, towards the same goal. And to be honest, I’ve been feeling the same, which is why I rejoined the Mixer Mind for those connections for the community sense for the support of like-minded business people.
I have been reflecting over 2025, ⁓ lot around, you know, that shift in the online space, the lack of trust that people have in online brands, the increasing, ⁓ prevalence of AI in everything we do. It just seems to be taking over everything in the online business space. So now that machines.
artificial intelligence seems to be doing the heavy lifting. It really feels that the human touch all of a sudden has become more important than ever. And it’s almost like we are resetting and reminding ourselves how beautiful, genuine human connections from one human to another can be to actually feel understood, to have a same wavelength that you’re on and
to really not have to figure everything out yourself. Like you can actually talk something through with a human person. There’s two different perspectives that not always totally agree on everything, but it’s that interesting and refreshing conversation with a human that I’ve been craving and that I feel the online space has been craving. So that’s why I am rethinking how I show up in 2026. Obviously the podcast is a centerpiece of my content.
calendar, my content plan for next year. I love ⁓ long form content. If you’ve been in my world, you’d know social media isn’t really my thing. So I’m heavily leaning into the podcast, into my email list. So really supporting my email list, my subscribers on their journey. I’m also reviewing my one-on-one services to see how I can potentially turn them from a done for you thing where I
get the brief and I walk off and I do it myself to a done with you type service where even if I do the work, we’re still collaborating and there is that connection point along the way. I’m not quite sure what that’s going to look like yet, but it’s coming. And I’m also building more genuine connection points into Retention Lab, particularly at the starter level, because incubators already have one-on-one access to me. They get one-on-one calls, Voxer access.
as they need. But the starter level, while they have the discord community to ask questions, I feel like I want to bring them together more and also have co-creation sessions where we can brainstorm together where it’s not just my perspective and you know, my take on things where everyone is showing up to the table and collaborating and turning potential into something that is just bigger and human focused.
If you’re resonating with this, you want to have more community in your life. You want to come on this journey with me and you are trying to lean more into your customers and create your own community, but also look for a community that supports you. I would love you to join me inside Retention Lab and…
join me on this journey. You can witness yourself how the Lab is evolving and you are going to benefit from it as well because let’s face it with more community, more touch points, the price point of the Lab potentially might be going up in 2026 as well. And Retention Lab isn’t just where, you know, we talk about customer experience and I give you strategies and you take them and implement.
It’s where we build together, we brainstorm together, as I said, either via Voxer, if you’re an incubator or in the Discord community. And if building something bigger, having more impact in 2026 is on your radar, why don’t you join me on this journey? We can do it together and you can witness how I go about it as well. I personally love behind the scenes insights into other people’s businesses and processes.
I share what I’m working on, what’s coming in the lab as a behind the scenes insight. So if you are into that, absolutely, I would love to have you and have you join me there. So that’s it for today. As I said, Bite-sized, we’re all busy, right? It’s holiday season. So here’s to a year of more community, more conversations and definitely more real connection. Have a good one and I will see you next week.
