Starting Fresh in 2026

Reflections on growth, overwhelm, and how financial advisors can help clients stay grounded this tax season

I frequently roll my eyes at LinkedIn posts that twist any life moment into a sales pitch. You know the type: “This is a photo of my broken dishwasher. Here’s why you need life insurance.”

Welp, if you can’t beat ’em...

Starting Fresh in 2026

I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting over the past couple of months. Not necessarily because of the new year, but because - if I’m being honest - a little seasonal depression crept in. Too much gray. Not enough light. You get it. So I’m obviously going to connect those reflections to how financial advisors can better support their clients this tax season.

If this feels too touchy-feely for you, no hard feelings. Go here instead 👉 Here’s a link to a post with key 2025 tax year deadlines. Just +1 to any year referenced and you’ll be good to go.

If you're still with me, here’s what I’ve been thinking about:

Clients Don’t Need More Noise - They Need You

I had fun posting Instagram videos for Vivify last year. But I noticed that the more I posted on our business account, the more time I ended up spending on my personal one. And that wasn’t serving me. It became a comparison loop. A time suck. And while it’s labeled “engagement,” it wasn’t true connection that filled my cup.

That same dynamic shows up for your clients. They’re surrounded by noise. Advice from influencers. Opinions from family members. Financial tips that may or may not apply to their actual life. But what they need is someone to see them clearly. To be their human filter. You don’t need to be everywhere or their everything - you just need to be someone they trust and feel comfortable having a real conversation with.

Feelings Are Loud. Facts Are Better.

Growing Vivify has been exciting, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some imposter syndrome in 2025. That feeling of “Am I actually doing this right?” creeps in fast when things move quickly. But when I stand back and look at the facts - our systems, our people, our client outcomes - I’m reminded that Claire and I are exactly the right people to be building this. And we’re doing it really well.

Clients go through the same cycle. They feel behind. They feel like they “should know more by now,” or grow impatient with the plan you’ve created. They listen to the latest headline or cocktail party banter and then make decisions based on feelings instead of facts. (Like your worst nightmare - they sell when the market is down without consulting you because they’re scared.)

As an advisor, your job is to help them step back and see what’s actually true. You can’t separate money from emotion. But you can help clients move forward without letting emotion drive the bus.

Clients Are Tired of Information. They Want Clarity.

2025 felt like a constant stream of “unprecedented events” and news cycles updating faster than we could keep up. Not to mention that we now have to question the legitimacy of the information we’re receiving (we love technology at Vivify, but it’s a double-edged sword). New laws. Confusing headlines. Wild predictions. It was - and is - exhausting trying to stay on top of it all. Your clients feel this too. They’re overwhelmed. And when people are overwhelmed, they’re vulnerable to bad information.

This is where you become essential. Not as a know-it-all, but as someone who knows what matters. Financial and tax law changes like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act aren’t just headlines - they impact real people’s plans. You don’t have to explain everything. But being the person who knows which parts are important - and being the person they can vulnerably ask questions to? That builds trust and alleviates their stress of feeling like they need to filter it all themselves.

Tax Season Is the Perfect Reset - For You and for Them

Our long-term vision and goals for Vivify go well beyond the 400-household capacity we have for 2025 tax prep. Claire and I do a really good job of breaking down those goals into bite-size steps. But I still appreciate that during tax season, our longer-term projects pause and we focus on what’s right in front of us.

There’s something refreshing about narrowing the focus. Just doing the work. It feels like a reset.

For clients, January can feel like pressure to reinvent themselves. But as their financial advisor, you can use January as a moment to remind them of the plan they already have with you. It doesn’t need to be reinvented - just remembered. The goal is simple in tax season because the long-term planning has already happened. Now it’s about execution. With you by their side, tax season can be a time to reset and refocus.

Starting Fresh

If you’re helping clients understand their financial picture and connect it to broader life and family decisions, you’re doing meaningful work. And if you’re exhausted or need a reset yourself, you’re not alone.

We’re in it with you. And we’re rooting for the kind of advisors who want to be more than a quarterly statement.

Cheers to starting fresh in 2026!