Creator Science Episode #290: Behind The Scenes: My End of Year Retro

Host: Jay Clouse
Date: January 20, 2026

Overview

In this candid solo episode, Jay Clouse offers an in-depth retrospective of his business, content, and personal life as he wraps up 2025 and looks ahead to 2026. True to the show’s ethos, Jay reflects openly on his wins, failures, struggles, and mindset shifts, providing listeners with a transparent look at the creator journey, the challenges of balancing growth and satisfaction, and actionable lessons learned from systematic review.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Value of Regular Retrospectives

• Jay has held monthly business retros since February 2022, applying a product management tradition to his creator journey.
  • "Every month inside the Lab, I do what I call a monthly retro...The idea is that on a regular basis you look back at what you have just done so that you can learn from it, course correct and move forward." [00:14]
• Reflection includes: achievements, goal progress, concerns, and changes for the next month.

2. 2025 In Review: Revenue, Growth, and Shifting Metrics of Success

• Initial Mindset: Jay entered 2025 feeling it was a “step back” after a strong 2024.
  • "I spent a lot of the year telling myself that 2025 was a step back, even a failure... because 2024 was such a strong year financially." [03:12]
• Stress about revenue plateau/decline: internal monologue was stuck on money as the key metric.
• After reviewing the full data and taking a break, his perspective shifted.
  • "So much of my internal monologue was that the success of this business is measured by revenue, and if revenue is declining, then the business is declining." [03:59]

2025 Financial Overview

• Revenue: $767,000, down 8% from 2024
• Expenses: Up 5%—mainly due to an eight-month YouTube experiment (not successful)
• Key Trends:
  • Affiliate and membership revenue up
  • Sponsorship revenue down (by choice)
  • Digital products revenue down

Year-End December Highlight

• December was the highest revenue month of the year
  • "December ended up being our highest month of revenue all year, which is great." [06:28]
• Membership in “the Lab” grew by 30 new members, especially in the Basic tier

3. Product & Community Experiments

• Black Friday Strategy: Shifted from a simple discount to launching a live cohort "signature product Bootcamp," which successfully funneled participants into ongoing memberships.
  • "Does a live cohort introduce folks to what a community experience is like and will they want to continue in the lab? That proved to be successful." [10:20]
• Cleaned up and streamlined the Lab’s online spaces for better member experience.

4. Personal Wellbeing & Balance

• Took almost three weeks off at the end of the year. Positive effects included improved mental and physical health.
  • "When you give yourself some space and you exercise, you feel better physically, you feel better mentally, and I feel so good entering this year." [04:52]
• Restarted strength workouts using AI (Claude as a virtual trainer), and recommends the Herman Miller Embody chair for anyone with back pain.
  • "Claude has been giving me a fitness program week by week, which is really great..." [14:17]
  • "I love this chair, this Herman Miller embody office chair. I've had back pain all year and it just doesn't exist [anymore]." [20:39]
• Stress manifests for Jay as skin conditions—taking time off improved both physical symptoms and mood.

5. Personal Life Changes

• Hired a part-time nanny for childcare, opening up 15 hours/week for focused work and more couple/family time.
  • "We found someone who's a perfect fit...she's going to be here five hours a day, three days a week in the morning." [26:54]
• Noted positive experiences during the holidays, improvements as a gift-giver, and joy in creating family traditions.

6. Goal Achievement & Misses

2025 Goals — What Worked

• Hit revenue goals for December and Bootcamp participation
• Read 12 books
• Updated personal brand
• Increased average daily steps to 8,078

2025 Goals — Misses & Lessons

• “Annual goals this year were way off...not great all things considered.” [33:10]
  • Underperformed on YouTube video production (15 posted vs. goal of 30)
  • Did not fully execute cross-promotion strategies
  • Did not cook 24 meals, plan 12 date nights, or start 1,000 conversations as planned

Honest Self-Reflection:

• Questions the meaningfulness of some goals (e.g., making more friends, measuring success by revenue)
• "It's clear to me from last year's experience that revenue is not a good enough, rich enough, full enough metric to define success for me." [41:14]

7. Podcast, Content, and Platform Strategy

• Podcast: Admits to “slacking” on the audio podcast in favor of video episodes.
  • "I did not treat the audio podcast as well as I should last year and I can see that in the numbers and I think that was a sacrifice that I regret making and should not make this year." [40:22]
• Video podcasts on Spotify get inflated view counts due to autoplays, but retention is low.
  • "A ton of these views are dropping off after 60 seconds...a lot of this is autoplaying, this is a new audience, but they're not sticky, so that's not great." [38:21]
• Plans to refocus on audio-only content for the core podcast audience, particularly Apple Podcasts.

Website and Technology

• Technical woes due to website hosting migration (Ghost to MagicPages), affecting reliability and email confidence.

8. Personal Reflection and Future Focus

• Wrestles with wholistic definitions of success beyond money; wants to deepen friendships and relationships, noting that “relationships compound” just like financial savings.
• "If I don't do it on some level, it's because I don't want to do it, right? And why is that? I should figure that out. Because I think relationships are one of the most important aspects of life." [43:27]
• Humorously notes his dog is now overweight (as is he), suggesting mutual walks as a solution.

9. Process & Workflow Adjustments for 2026

• Blocking off the second week of each month for deep work and no calls.
  • "I blocked off the second week of the month all year for no calls all week...being proactive in doing that, I feel really good about it." [50:18]
• Removed social apps from phone to reduce mindless consumption and comparison, while still posting professionally.
  • "When I'm on my computer, I'm making things. When I'm on my phone, I'm consuming things and I'm comparing myself to people." [51:10]
• Renewed focus on podcast quality and consistency, treating it as the critical asset for community growth.
  • "I'm renewing my vows to the podcast. We have an episode coming out tomorrow that's an audio only episode that is well done and I'm excited about..." [51:59]
• Reconsidering hiring/delegation; more open to team-building after drawing parallels to parenting.

10. Content Philosophy Evolution

• Less focus on what has worked for others, more on what feels meaningful and interesting to him.
  • "I want to lead with the stuff I want to do...I want to be useful. I want to make content that's based in being a creator and then sharing my success and not just creating content." [56:25]
• Plans for “super long-form” YouTube videos/courses, focusing on higher-leverage, evergreen assets.
  • "There are a few pieces of content that far outperform everything else...I want to put more effort and care into a couple super long-form videos." [53:41]
• Open about the natural ebb and flow of creativity and output as responsibilities expand.

11. January 2026 Goals

• Maintain $60k revenue
• Get feedback and revise book proposal
• Implement new “Right Message” website strategy based on Brenan’s feedback (from November workshop)
• Finalize new Lab sales page
• Organize projects and finish Lab calendar
• Prepare for the January 23rd town hall
• Stick to fitness program

12. Closing and Community Updates

• Teases upcoming Creator Science merch store (soft launch with sample hoodie)
• Encourages listeners to share their own retrospectives for mutual learning

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The success of this business is measured by revenue, and if revenue is declining, then the business is declining...My perspective has changed a lot.” – Jay Clouse [03:59]
• “I learned this last year, unfortunately because I got sick before Justin sponsor games...Suddenly I had a whole week in front of me with nothing on the calendar. I got so much done.” [50:06]
• "Savings compound...but relationships compound too...and if I don't do it on some level, it's because I don't want to do it, right? And why is that?" [43:27]
• "I'm going to be less beholden to specific dates that I'm going to publish in the pursuit of publishing things that are more worthwhile and more rooted in what I'm doing." [59:38]
• "I want to be a better cheerleader this year for folks like you that I see on social media...I want to do a better job of being supportive in the comments." [1:01:30]

Segment Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 00:14 – Introduction to monthly retros and their structure
• 03:12 – 05:59 – Jay’s year in review, mindset on revenue and business growth
• 06:28 – 12:35 – December breakdown: Revenue, Lab membership growth, product strategy
• 14:17 – 20:39 – Health, using AI as a fitness coach, workplace upgrades
• 26:54 – Personal life: Holidays, family, childcare hiring
• 33:10 – 41:14 – 2025 goals: wins, failures, deeper reflections
• 38:21 – 40:22 – Podcast strategy: Video inflating stats, refocus on audio audience
• 41:14 – 46:20 – Website woes, measurement of success, relationships
• 50:06 – 51:59 – Workflow changes: deep work weeks, removing social apps
• 53:41 – 56:25 – Content strategy: Super long-form content, leading with personal curiosity
• 59:38 – End – January goals, plans for community, closing words

Tone & Language

Jay’s delivery is sincere, reflective, and honest, mixing both analytical breakdowns of business metrics with warm, approachable personal anecdotes. He is candid about his struggles and less successful experiments, which builds trust and relatability for fellow creators.

Summary

This episode is a transparent, detailed look at the highs, lows, and lessons learned over a full year in the life of a full-time creator and business owner. Jay’s self-examination, tactical adjustments, and commitment to ongoing improvement offer an evidence-based roadmap for other creators striving for both growth and fulfillment in a rapidly changing digital landscape. His honest appraisal of both business and personal development paints a compelling, highly relatable portrait of 21st-century creator life.