Stepping Boldly Into 2026 🎉

Collette Portis
Dec 31, 2025
3 min read

A Love Letter to Business Owners & Business Leaders (and the People Who Love Them)

Let’s be honest—loving someone who owns or runs a business is a whole experience.

We’re not talking about someone who just “has a side hustle.” We’re talking full-on, “I’ve-committed-my-life-to-this-vision,” payroll-meets-panic, build-a-legacy-from-scratch entrepreneurship.

If you’ve ever tried to text your favorite founder and they ghosted you for 3 days but then showed up to dinner talking about QuickBooks and quarterly goals… this one’s for you.

So before we step boldly into the champagne and goal-setting energy of 2026, let’s unpack a few truths that every business owner or business leader (and every person who loves one) needs to remember:

💭 They’re not obsessed with work…

Their brain is just balancing payroll, profit margins, client contracts, legal compliance, vendor invoices, and whether they remembered to renew the dang domain name.

Oh, and that’s before breakfast.

🤐 When they’re quiet or distant…

No, they’re not mad at you.

They’re mentally solving 73 problems in the background—while simultaneously trying to figure out if they can automate customer onboarding, raise capital, and also find time to pick up their dry cleaning.

😅 Their stress isn’t dramatic…

It’s the kind of stress that comes from knowing other people’s paychecks depend on their decisions.

That pressure? It’s real, and it doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m.

🔄 If they replay conversations or decisions…

They’re not insecure. They’re a leader.

And leaders carry the weight of knowing one wrong decision could cost thousands of dollars—or worse, someone’s trust.

🧠 If they struggle to be fully present…

It’s not a lack of love. It’s mental overload.

They’ve already made 100 decisions before most people have chosen an outfit for the day. Their bandwidth is a bit… backed up.

🔥 If plans change last minute…

It’s not inconsiderate—it’s because a business fire just erupted. (Not a metaphorical one. An actual one. With invoices.)

🧠 They’re not controlling…

They’ve just been burned enough by unpredictability to start seeing problems before they happen. It’s not paranoia—it’s strategic nervous system conditioning. 💥

🎢 They’re not “too intense”…

When wins feel personal and losses hit like a truck… intensity becomes part of the package.

They’re not dramatic. They’re deeply invested.

🎉 Now… cue the confetti, because we’re officially stepping into 2026!

Whether you’re the business owner or the one loving them through it—we see you.

And here at RED Development Group, we don’t take this journey lightly.

We know what it costs to lead. To build. To carry weight most people don’t even recognize. That’s why we take time at the end of every year to pause and ask: