Financially, 2025 was a good year. But bloody hell, I’m knackered.
That’s the thing about running your own consultancy – you can have your best year on paper and still feel like you’re doing everything and not doing enough. Another year in business, which I’m grateful for, genuinely. But it’s been one of those years where the professional wins sit alongside some properly hard personal stuff.
Seven weeks in a plaster cast, pretending I didn’t fracture and dislocate my wrist, trying to keep everything moving. I lost one of my longest-serving friends at the same time, which added to the pain. Grief doesn’t care about your business plan or your Q3 targets, and I’m still navigating those feelings, even as I plan for next year.
However, here’s what I’ve figured out this year, and why I’m oddly optimistic about 2026, despite construction being in a bit of a pickle.
Treating Myself Like a Client (Finally)
This was the year I finally started treating myself and my business like a client, rather than something I fit in around everyone else. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But if you run a consultancy, you’ll know how easy it is to give your best strategic thinking to paying clients whilst completely winging it with your own business.
The difference? Surrounding myself with great people again. Relying on my team more instead of rewriting everything to death because I’m a control freak. Working with friends on actual projects, like with Anna Whiting for MMC Ireland at the Offsite Expo, not just talking about it. The best work I’ve done this year has been collaborative, not me alone at my laptop.
I’ve also built more structure and boundaries, which, it turns out, is as good for clients as it is for me. Clear processes, defined scopes, and proper planning sessions. Not because I’m being difficult, but because that’s when the good strategic stuff happens.
People are important
Biggest revelation? I’m better with people than I thought. The networking, the industry conversations, the collaborative problem-solving – that’s where I’m at my best, not alone building perfect strategy decks. My best work happens with people, not just for them. All those years, I thought strategic work meant quiet, solitary thinking time, when actually I do my best work in conversation. This year, I’ve spent more time in client offices than I have in a long tim,e and that’s where the magic has happened.
UKREIIF this year was cool for exactly this reason. I met way more marketers working in construction than I had before. It was genuinely refreshing to realise there’s a whole community of us trying to do this properly, trying to elevate what marketing can do in this sector.
Still a trustee for my mental health charity, still volunteering for the PTA. Keeps me grounded when I disappear too far up the construction industry bubble.
What Clients Actually Needed
Things are tough in construction right now. Properly tough. Businesses are having to be agile in ways they haven’t needed to before. But what’s encouraging me is that marketing is being taken more seriously – at least with the firms I’m working with. They’re finally getting that it’s strategic, not just “can you do our LinkedIn?”
What I wasn’t expecting is how much goodwill there is out there. Despite the challenges, despite everyone competing for the same work, there’s a genuine willingness to share knowledge and support each other. That’s what I love about this sector.
Regulation continues to be a proper headache for clients, though. Trying to navigate compliance whilst building awareness, staying ahead of changing standards, whilst managing current projects. It’s complex, and it’s exactly why marketing can’t be an afterthought.
I am also more reflective of what clients need in the movement, like changing the way I develop strategy so has some urgency about it. And as much as I loved working with the Sano team and we did great work together, they needed an in-house marketer, so it was the right time to move on.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Here’s what I’m excited about, even though I’m also a bit nervous about it. The activity I am going to bring into my business and life this year:
Working more strategically with clients – proper strategic partnerships, not just tactical delivery. The structure I’ve built this year is creating space for that deeper work. I have been creating and running strategic campaigns for 25 years, and that’s the gold dust for client growth.
More joint ventures with friends in the sector. Some of my best work has happened in collaboration this year, and I want to deliberately pursue more of that rather than just letting it happen naturally. I have two great projects on the horizon in this space already, so I know it will happen.
More speaking and chairing. I chaired another panel this year and didn’t feel like I wanted to vomit in a corner beforehand. In previous events, I’ve been sweating and shaking, but this time I’m actually enjoying chairing the panel rather than just surviving it. So I want to do more.
2026 is the year of events and networking. UKREIIF 2026 is already in the diar,y and I am committing to more opportunities to meet more people in the New Year. I’m ready for more of those conversations.
But here’s what I really want to prove in 2026: that marketing is a driving force for change in construction, not just an output generator. Too often we’re brought in after decisions are made, asked to promote what’s already decided rather than helping shape those decisions. I want marketing at the table, not just in the comms plan. That’s where we can actually make a difference.
Finally, I am also hoping to secure some construction partners for the counselling charity I serve as a trustee of. Feels like the right way to use what I know for something bigger.
What Construction Firms Need to Hear
If there’s one thing I’d say to construction firms based on this year, it’s this: take your marketing team more seriously, and invest in them and what they need.
The Barbour ABI report backs this up with some stark findings. Only 55% of construction businesses see marketing as an investment rather than a cost. A shocking 31% spend less than 10% of their marketing budget on brand building, despite brand size being the number one factor in campaign success.
Here’s the kicker: not a single marketer surveyed thought construction is doing a great job at marketing. Not one. Two-thirds think we’re actively worse than other industries.
Marketing isn’t just producing content or managing your website. It’s strategic thinking about positioning, understanding what influences decisions during planning phases, and building relationships that fill pipelines 18-24 months from now.
The firms doing well are strategically visible to the right people at the right time. That doesn’t happen by accident, and it definitely doesn’t happen when you’re treating marketing as a cost centre.
So, 2026 Then
Knackered but optimistic. Which is probably my default state at this point.
I’m excited about the joint ventures, speaking engagements, and strategic work. I’m nervous about the market and whether I’ve got the energy for everything I want to do. Both things can be true.
However, I’m mostly excited to prove that marketing can drive real change in the construction industry. Not just support it, drive it.
If you’re considering your 2026 plans and would like to discuss them, please let me know. I’d genuinely love to hear what other construction marketers are thinking about next year.
Want to make 2026 more strategic?
Let’s talk in January about how we can work together – whether that’s getting your marketing properly set up, thinking strategically about positioning, or just figuring out where to start.
Here’s to a year of actually proving what we’re worth.
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