Frequently Asked Questions
A few reflections and answers inspired by this episode.
This episode of The Branded Impact Podcast looks back at the year. It is for women in business who feel a gap between their current situation and their goals. It explores growth, identity shifts, and why feeling “behind” is often a sign of becoming aligned with your next level.
This episode is for women entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders. If you have grown but feel you’ve outgrown parts of your business, brand, or identity, this is for you. It’s especially relevant if you’re navigating change, realignment, or entering a new season of leadership.
While the episode touches on business and branding, it’s primarily reflective and mindset-focused. Instead of giving step-by-step strategies, it offers perspective, clarity, and permission to embrace the growth process.
Feeling behind often happens during periods of expansion or transition. As your vision evolves faster than your systems or brand, it can create tension. This episode explains why that feeling isn’t failure, it’s a signal that you’re entering a new level of alignment.
Personal branding reflects who you are becoming, not just who you were when you started. This episode explores how internal growth often precedes the need for elevated visuals, clearer messaging, and aligned systems that support your next phase.
The Branded Impact Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. New episodes are released weekly and focus on brand alignment, leadership, visibility, and sustainable growth for women-led businesses.
Listeners are encouraged to let go of old timelines. They should recognize their growth and start the new year with purpose, not stress. The episode supports reflection before action, clarity before strategy.
Year-End Reflection for the Woman You’re Becoming
As the year comes to a close, it is natural to reflect on what worked, what did not, and what quietly shifted along the way. But what if the year that did not go as planned was not a failure, but an invitation?
In this solo episode of The Branded Impact Podcast, Jo Espejo, founder of Branding by Jo, shares a deeply personal reflection on pivots, pauses, and the subtle nudges that guide us back into alignment. Rather than teaching strategy or frameworks, this episode creates space for clarity, honesty, and perspective.
If you are closing out the year feeling reflective, uncertain, or ready for what is next, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.
🎧 Listen to Episode 28:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
When the Year Does Not Go as Planned
Not every season of growth is loud.
Some years stretch us quietly through unmet goals, evolving identities, and moments where success no longer feels aligned. In this episode, Jo reflects on navigating a season of pivots and learning to release parts of her business she had outgrown.
This was not about starting over.
It was about becoming more honest.
Busy Versus Aligned: The Difference That Changes Everything
One of the core themes in this episode is the difference between being busy and being aligned.
Many women entrepreneurs reach a stage where the business is working, momentum exists, and credibility has been built, yet something still feels off.
Alignment is not about doing more. It is about ensuring your brand, messaging, visuals, and systems are moving in the same direction. Sometimes, the most strategic move is slowing down long enough to listen to the nudge instead of pushing past it.
Why Pivots Are a Sign of Growth, Not Failure
Pivots can feel scary, especially after you have already built success.
However, pivots are not a step backward. They are a response to growth.
They signal awareness.
They reflect leadership.
They create space for sustainability.
As Jo shares in this episode, clarity often comes through experience, not hustle. Growth does not always require more effort. Sometimes, it requires more alignment.
Rest as a Sustainable Growth Strategy
Another powerful takeaway from this reflection is the reminder that rest is not quitting.
Rest allows space for integration, perspective, and clear decision making.
As The Branded Impact Podcast heads into a short holiday pause, this episode models what intentional leadership looks like by choosing rest so you can return with clarity and confidence.
You’re Not Behind. You’re Becoming.
If this year did not unfold the way you expected, you are not alone.
And you are not behind.
You are becoming more aware of what fits.
You are becoming more discerning about what you carry forward.
You are becoming more aligned with the brand and business you are meant to lead next.
This season is not a setback. It is preparation.
What Is Next for Branding by Jo and The Branded Impact Podcast
As we head into the holidays, Branding by Jo and The Branded Impact Podcast will be taking a short pause. We will be back in January with fresh conversations and intentional support designed to help women entrepreneurs show up boldly and sustainably in the year ahead.
In the meantime, revisit your favorite episodes, share them with a friend, and give yourself permission to celebrate how far you have come.
For the Woman Looking Ahead to 2026
This work is especially for the woman who:
- Has built something solid, but feels a disconnect
- Knows her brand needs to evolve with the next level she is stepping into
- Wants alignment between her vision, visuals, messaging, and systems
- Is ready to stop doing it alone
In 2026, Jo will be opening the Brand Amplifier Partnership, a high touch brand and growth partnership for women ready for aligned, sustainable expansion.
There is nothing to do right now except notice what resonates.
🎙️ Full Episode Transcript
Note: Below is the full transcript from Episode 28 of The Branded Impact Podcast.
Jo Espejo (00:18)
I haven’t done a solo episode in a while, and honestly, it’s not because I didn’t want to. It’s because this year brought an overwhelming amount of interest in being a guest on The podcast and I’m incredibly grateful for that. The conversations, the stories, the voices that have been shared here, they’ve mattered. But today, as we wrap up this year, it felt important to pause and reflect because there’s something that’s been sitting with me for a while. Have you ever felt a nudge, not loud, not dramatic, but persistent?
The kind you can ignore, but not forever. That is what this season has been for me. And today I’m not here to teach, interview, or outline a framework. I’m here to reflect, to name what’s true, and to close out this year with honesty and intention. If I’m being completely transparent, this year didn’t turn out the way that I had planned. Not in a dramatic way, not in an everything fell apart way, but in the quieter, more uncomfortable way.
the kind that forces you to look at things differently. There were goals I set that I didn’t hit the way that I expected, ideas that looked great on paper but didn’t feel aligned once I was inside them, and moments where I realized I had outgrown parts of my business and parts of my identity. And here’s what I want you to hear clearly.
That doesn’t make this a bad year. It makes it an informational year. A year that gave me clarity I couldn’t have accessed any other way.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been fighting a pivot. Not because I didn’t see it coming, but because pivots require letting go. Letting go of what worked before, letting go of how people know you, letting go of the version of yourself that felt familiar and safe. And when you’ve built credibility, momentum, and success in one lane, changing direction can feel risky. But here’s what this year taught me. The nudge doesn’t show up to disrupt your life. It shows up to realign it.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been fighting a pivot, not because I didn’t see it coming, but because pivots require letting go. Letting go of what worked before, letting go of how people know you, letting go of the version of yourself that felt familiar and safe. when you’ve built
credibility, momentum, and success in one lane, changing direction can feel risky.
But here’s what this year has taught me. The nudge doesn’t show up to disrupt your life. It shows up to realign it. And ignoring it costs more than listening ever will. This year slowed me down enough to ask harder questions. What do I actually want my business to support? Where am I operating from habit instead of intention? What am I ready to stop doing even if I’m good at it?
Those aren’t easy questions, but they are powerful ones. I’ve started calling this my now I know season. Thank you, Emily. Because there are things I know now that I simply couldn’t have known before. I know what no longer fits. I know where my energy is best spent. And I know the difference between being busy and being aligned. I know that success without sustainability isn’t success at all. And if you’re listening and thinking,
I feel like I should be further along by now. Hear your sister, I want you to hear this. You are not behind. You are becoming. This podcast has been a mirror for me. Every conversation, every guest, every story about growth, identity, money, leadership and visibility, they all pointed back to the same truth.
Your brand isn’t just what you show. It’s how you choose to evolve. I’m deeply grateful for the women who trusted the space with their stories, for the listeners who reached out, for the moments when someone said, wow, I needed that. That is impact. And that’s why this space matters.
As we move into the holidays, I’m choosing to do something intentionally. I’m taking a break, not because I’m burnout. Okay, well, maybe a little. Not because I’m stuck, but because rest is part of the strategy. And I really need to lean into this right now. This pause is about integration, letting the lessons land, creating space before building what’s next. The Branded Impact podcast will be back the second week of January with fresh conversations.
deeper clarity and a stronger vision. I’m heading into 2026 differently, not with pressure, not with hustle, but with clarity. I’m taking everything I’ve learned, every pivot, every misstep, every confirmation, every now I know moment and using it to make 2026 my best year yet. Not because it has to be perfect, but because it will be aligned.
And that’s the energy I’m bringing forward. Thank you for being here. Thank you for walking this season with me. In your own moment of reflection, if you’re feeling the nudge, if this year didn’t look the way you expected, just know you are not alone and you’re exactly where you need to be. Rest well, reflect deeply, and I’ll see you in the new year. This is Jo Espejo and as always,
please continue to go out there and make your branded impact.
About the Host
Jo Espejo is the founder of Branding by Jo, a brand strategy and visual storytelling agency helping women led businesses align their visuals, messaging, and systems so they can show up confidently, sell with ease, and scale sustainably. Through her work and The Branded Impact Podcast, Jo supports women entrepreneurs in building brands that reflect who they are and where they are going.
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Jocelyn “Jo” Espejo is the founder and CEO of Branding by Jo, a boutique brand and operations studio helping women entrepreneurs build brands that reflect their next level. With a signature blend of creative strategy and hands-on implementation, Jo partners with coaches, consultants, service providers, and founders who are already successful but ready for a brand and business that match their impact.
Through brand photography, videography, messaging, content strategy, and fractional COO support, she helps her clients create brands that don’t just look good — they connect, convert, and scale.
Jo is known for making branding feel personal, strategic, and doable. Her philosophy is simple: a powerful brand isn’t just seen, it’s amplified.
When she’s not behind the camera, in a client strategy session, or leading a rebrand, Jo is in Central Florida with her husband and their two children. She’s the queen of carline calls, cheering from the sidelines, and building a business without sacrificing family. Her mission? To help more women do the same, with brands that maximize their impact!
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