My Biggest Lessons as a Digital Marketing Entrepreneur in 2025 (Psst…Not All Was Good)

As 2025 comes to a close, I can’t help but feel reflective on this crazy year. A lot was going on — personally and professionally — but as a digital marketer and entrepreneur, I faced some unexpected challenges and surprises I hadn’t planned for.

Riding the Waves of 2025

2025 has been a crazy year. Not because every time you turn on the news, there’s something straight out of a CW show (I mean, yes, but it was insane in other ways, too).

We had a lot of change coming to our family and home. Personally, I just finished a DIY kitchen remodel that took a full year to complete (my husband did most of the work, I designed and operated as the PM). I dealt with health issues. Decided to start exercising again. I became oddly obsessed with table setups. My family also dealt with the first time when we could not vacation for most of the year. That was months of rise-and-grind.

Needless to say, this year has tested me in different ways. I learned that waiting nine months for a vacation is how I put my mental health in the toilet. I realized that I needed to treat my body better if I wanted to continue working. I discovered that I could probably do interior design professionally if I really wanted to. Maybe table setting as well. I also learned that I cannot caulk to save my life (I’ll let my husband handle that from now on).

Dealing with Loss and Mental Health

It happened. I mean, AI happened. As a writer, I noticed that many clients were turning to AI for quick, easy pieces. And that meant my client list shrank — by a lot. Now, it’s not to say that they preferred the AI work over mine. At the end of the day, business is business, which meant they had to do what was best for their bottom line, and the AI writing appeared to be just good enough.

Oh, gosh. It feels really strange being this transparent on here. But I think there is value in honesty. Especially when some of my followers might be entrepreneurs themselves or operate a business structure similar to mine.

Anyway, I saw what I had been working on come practically to a halt. I did everything, and I mean everything: cold email and call, networking, reaching out to past clients, social media, blogging, going back to UpWork and Fiverr (yes, that desperate). I realized I was grasping air. There was too much competition and not enough demand for my type of services.

Hence, Sadness Ensued

In realizing that all I had worked years on (branding, marketing, relationship development, etc.) I saw it all quickly fall apart. Diana Alexia Creations was at a standstill, with operating costs still rolling in and little income to offset them.

Now, some of you might say that I’m being dramatic here, and sure, probably. But my emotions were valid. Other personal crises were happening literally at the same time. I was treading water.

I exhausted my resources. I did whatever I could, and it felt like I was fighting the inevitable. Amidst a series of depressive episodes and one-off waves of motivation, I had to take a step back and decide what to do. I couldn’t stand the idea that DAC had become nothing, because it’s also an important part of me. But it also didn’t make sense to keep on trying the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome. DAC is one of the things I am most proud of, and I recognize that it took a lot of work to get here. Letting it go is just not an option.

So, I wasn’t going to sit there and watch everything I have worked for wither away. Here is what I came up with.

Diana Alexia Creations Has Entered Her Recalibration Era

I realized that DAC is not dead. As an entrepreneur, the beauty of it is that it is meant to evolve and seek new direction every so often. This was just one of those (and probably many) moments! So, yes, I had to “pull myself by my bootstraps” (gosh, I really hate this phrase), and started to think about where I see DAC going from here.

I guess what I mean to say is that DAC is under construction. I will still take content writing orders and work with clients, but my goal is to deliver something they will value long term. I take pride in my work and like to see my customers take note of that, too.

If you are looking for content writing services, take a look at our services page. These services are still available but will be limited.