December 23, 2025 • 14 mins
As we close out 2025 and step toward a new year, I’m sharing something personal, prayer-led, and foundational for how I’m approaching business in 2026: my word of the year—UNCOMMON.
In this episode of How to Grow My Small Business, I walk you through how God gave me this word early, what it means biblically and practically, and how it’s shaping the way I’m thinking about business growth, relationships, income, community, and obedience in the year ahead.
If you’re a Christian entrepreneur, faith-led business owner, or small business leader who wants results that don’t come from hustle culture, burnout, or copying what everyone else is doing—this episode is for you.
We talk about what it really looks like to be set apart in business, how to build uncommon relationships instead of chasing visibility, and why faith + profit belong together when stewardship is done well.
In this episode, you’ll learn:-
Why “uncommon” is my word for 2026 and how God revealed it
-
What uncommon means biblically (set apart, distinct, not conforming to the world)
-
How to pursue uncommon business results without doing more or being everywhere
-
What uncommon looks like in:
-
business relationships and community building
-
serving clients with excellence and discernment
-
income, stewardship, and money mindset
-
-
Why uncommon businesses are built on relationships—not algorithms
-
The difference between chasing money and stewarding revenue
-
What I’m intentionally leaving behind in 2025
-
How obedience (not pressure) will define my strategy in 2026
-
Reflection questions to help you discern your word for the year
-
Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world
-
Colossians 3:23–24 – Working with excellence as unto the Lord
-
Screen-Free Challenge (21 Days) 👉 https://screenfreechallenge.biz A faith-based reset to remove social media from your phone and replace scrolling with sales and marketing actions that actually grow your business.
-
Christian entrepreneurs and faith-led women in business
-
Small business owners planning for 2026
-
Business leaders tired of hustle culture
-
Entrepreneurs who want sustainable, God-centered growth
-
Women who value depth, relationships, and obedience over noise
Listen to Episode 99 and step into 2026 with intention, obedience, and uncommon faith.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hello and welcome back to how to grow
my small business and if you're seeing this
on video inside of the SheBuilds school community.
I'm so glad that you're back for another
episode and if you are new to the
show, I'm Lindsay Fletcher and I'm your business
growth and relationship strategist that helps you build
great business relationships with referral partners, your customers,
(00:25):
and your community so that you have happy
clients who come back for more.
My mission is simple, to equip female entrepreneurs
with faith-centered systems and strategies for business
growth that impacts our communities.
I'm so happy that you've joined me for
the 99th episode of how to grow my
small business and this episode is a little
(00:47):
bit of a precursor to what God's pointing
me towards in 2026 so buckle up friends.
Do you do a word of the year?
I know lots of people have lots of
polarizing opinions on this but God started giving
me a word of the year a few
years ago so I'm going with it.
He actually gave me my word earlier than
(01:09):
normal, usually it's in late December kind of
as we're going into the new year and
I would be in prayer and I would
start hearing the same word over and over
but this year it was in November.
So whether you do a word of the
year or not I want to share mine
with you and I hope to inspire you
to come along this journey with me in
(01:31):
2026.
So a few years ago the word was
momentum, last year the word was focused and
let me just tell you that word is
a whole nother podcast episode and video in
the making.
I'm going to be sharing some personal stories
with you sometime in 2026 because focus is
what I did not have for most of
(01:53):
the year.
In fact I kept thinking God how is
this my word?
I literally can't focus to save my life
but again that is a whole nother episode,
a whole nother video for another time.
Okay so anyway I was praying and talking
to God about my business sometime back in
November and I heard him so gently whisper
(02:16):
to me, Lindsay if you want uncommon results
you have to be uncommon, you have to
do uncommon things and then I just kept
hearing uncommon over and over and over and
so that's how I know it's my word
for 2026, uncommon.
(02:37):
What does uncommon mean?
Well Webster defines uncommon as out of the
ordinary, unusual, remarkable.
Okay so you know back when I worked
as an audiologist in the clinic settings we
would use the word unremarkable in our documentation
and that meant that there was nothing notable
(02:57):
either in their test results or our visual
observations of our patients.
Unremarkable meant nothing noteworthy.
Okay did not stand out, it was not
out of the ordinary, there was everything was
usual status quo.
Okay I don't know about you but I
(03:19):
don't want to be uncommon in 2026.
I don't want to be unremarkable rather.
I don't want to be unremarkable in 2026.
I want to be uncommon.
I don't want there to be nothing noteworthy
about me, about my business, or about how
I've impacted my community.
Now biblically speaking uncommon could mean set apart,
(03:42):
standing out, distinct, or having values that align
with God rather than the world, right?
I want to be that that kind of
uncommon too.
So in 2026 I hear God calling me
to be uncommon in several areas.
Uncommon in my marriage and how I show
up for my husband.
(04:03):
Uncommon in my business and how I show
up for my clients.
Uncommon in building community and relationships and how
I serve the people inside of those communities.
Uncommon in how I dress and uncommon in
how I speak.
Uncommon in how I prepare.
The list goes on and on and on
(04:24):
right but I want you to hear me
say that being uncommon doesn't mean doing more
or showing up on every platform or serving
the masses because we're not called to serve
the masses.
Most of us are not, right?
It's about serving those that I'm called to
serve.
It's about being intentional and obedient and focused.
(04:49):
There's that word again focused.
That's again another podcast episode, another video for
another day, okay?
It's about staying in my lane when all
I want to do is veer into another
lane and do this thing over here, okay?
Uncommon means not following hustle culture.
It means not copying what everyone else is
doing just for the sake of doing what
(05:12):
they're doing.
It's not chasing visibility at the expense of
depth, okay?
Or at the expense of your mental health
or the expense of your family and relationships.
Uncommon means not building a business that looks
good but feels empty, okay?
(05:32):
Romans 12 2 says, do not conform to
the pattern of this world but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
God is not calling us to blend in.
He is calling us to be set apart.
So what does uncommon look like in building
community and relationships?
It means focusing on building real relationships over
(05:56):
trying to have massive reach.
So that means for me smaller rooms with
deeper conversations and maybe that looks like fewer
connections to you but that looks like stronger
trust and connection to me.
It means growing my network with intention.
It means being in paid rooms where people
are actually invested, okay?
(06:19):
It means a community rooted in service, prayer,
and accountability.
And I'm going to remind myself that if
God calls me into a space, into a
meeting, or into a group, or into a
room, I'm going to walk in like the
Lord sent me because he did.
Uncommon businesses aren't built on algorithms.
(06:39):
They're built on relationships.
So how can we be uncommon or how
can I be uncommon in serving my clients?
Well that is a shift from transactions and
transactional work to stewardship.
And what this might look for for us
(06:59):
in 2026 is serving people well, not serving
them fast, okay?
Maybe it takes us a little longer to
get the job done but we're doing it
with excellence.
Maybe it means saying no when it's not
the right fit and trusting God that he
will provide the next right client for you.
(07:20):
For me it looks like building long-term
relationships instead of having one-off wins.
Colossians 3 23 through 24 says, whatever you
do work heartily as for the Lord and
not for men, knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
(07:44):
Working with excellence is a form of worship.
Did you know that?
And I'm going to serve the people in
my sphere with excellence.
Uncommon service creates uncommon loyalty.
I'm also going to be uncommon in how
I make an income or how I make
an income.
(08:06):
This is where we are going to normalize
faith and profit.
If God has called you into business, he
is expecting you to multiply your resources and
that includes your income.
That includes the money that flows through your
business so that you can pay your bills
and make an impact in your community so
(08:27):
that your giving can be generous, it can
be larger and it can reach more people.
So I'm doing more work on my money
mindset and I'm continuing to examine the idols
in my life because money can certainly turn
into one.
And I'm going to look at how I
can use this as a tool to bless
others.
(08:48):
Making more income isn't selfish.
It's going to allow me and it's going
to allow you to increase your impact.
Income allows for generosity, margin, rest and sustainability.
Chasing money is idol.
Stewarding revenue is a very different thing.
(09:10):
So let me reframe it this way.
More income means more ability to serve, give,
hire and invest.
Less burnout equals more longevity in your business.
So I'm not chasing money in 2026.
I'm stewarding it.
(09:31):
Now being uncommon also means leaving some things
behind, leaving them right where they need to
be back in 2025.
And I'm not taking them into 2026.
So here's some of the things that I'm
not doing that I'm going to be uncommon
in in 2026.
I'm leaving behind over committing myself, having too
(09:54):
many offers.
I'm going to do.
I'm not going to do things out of
obligation or because the gurus say that I
have to be here, there and everywhere.
I am not going to say yes to
stay visible.
And I'm not hustling instead of listening to
what God is calling me to do.
I'm going to stop negotiating with God.
(10:15):
That is a big one for me.
That might be a really hard one because
the good sales girl in me thinks that
everything is negotiable.
But I know, I absolutely know that God's
plan is better for my life than mine,
than my own plan.
Okay.
Goodness gracious.
This is going to be a hard one
for me, but I'm going to try to
(10:37):
stop negotiating with God.
And I'm just going to try to be
obedient the first time.
So let me ask you this, what feels
common or rather maybe what's something that everyone
else in your, everyone else is doing that
God is calling you to release in your
business and leave in 2025.
(10:59):
This is a friendly reminder that God whispers.
He never, ever yells.
Even though I wish he would, I wish
there would be like a flashing neon sign,
right?
Or he would be like, Hey, Lindsay, go
this way, right?
It's those gentle nudges where you feel like
you're supposed to go another direction, but the
world is telling you to do it their
way.
(11:19):
Maybe it's removing social media from your phone.
Like he asked me to do back in
December of 2024, by the way, I still
have not put it back on my phone.
Oh my gosh.
If that's the case, if removing social media
from your phone is the case, um, I
have a resource for you go to screenfreechallenge
.biz. And I have a 21 day challenge
(11:40):
for you where you remove social media from
your phone and you do sales and marketing
activities instead of scrolling.
I hadn't planned on talking about that.
Um, but I just remembered that I created
that for you.
So screenfree challenge.biz, B I Z enter
your email address and I'll send you 21
days of encouragement, a little bit of brain
science and actionable steps to take in your
(12:02):
business to move things forward.
So anyway, what is God calling you to
do that looks uncommon in 2026 in your
business?
What is he asking you to release and,
and asking you to keep in 2025 and
not take with you into 2026.
(12:22):
So what I'm stepping into in 2026 is
focused offers and focus strategy.
I am, I am building business with fewer
priorities that I can execute.
Well, I am focusing on obedience over putting
pressure on myself.
(12:43):
And I am focused on impact and income
uncommon doesn't mean extreme.
It means being intentional.
So I'd love to hear from you.
If you do a word of the year,
what is your word of the year?
If not, and you want to borrow mine,
I'm happy to share it with you.
I want you to ask yourself and ask
(13:04):
God, what word do you want to define
2026?
Where are you blending in instead of standing
out?
What would be an uncommon decision in your
business for 2026?
And as I move forward with being uncommon,
I want to be sure that my uncommon
year includes gratitude and acknowledgement of what God's
(13:28):
done and, and who he has placed in
my life and in my sphere.
So I'd like to thank you for walking
through this year with me and being here
on this podcast.
I absolutely love sharing business growth strategy, sales
and marketing tips, weaving in faith into our
business and helping you build businesses that you
love.
So I'd like to thank you for walking
(13:49):
through this year with me and being here
for this podcast.
Thank you for tuning in, sharing episodes, implementing
tips and tricks, and letting me, letting me
know what's working for you.
I'm going to leave you with this.
Uncommon obedience leads to uncommon fruit.
I can't wait to see what God does
in 2026 for both of us.
(14:11):
As always, I'm praying for you and I'm
praying for your business.
Let's be uncommon together.
I'll talk to you next week.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hello and welcome back to how to grow
my small business and if you're seeing this
on video inside of the SheBuilds school community.
I'm so glad that you're back for another
episode and if you are new to the
show, I'm Lindsay Fletcher and I'm your business
growth and relationship strategist that helps you build
great business relationships with referral partners, your customers,
(00:25):
and your community so that you have happy
clients who come back for more.
My mission is simple, to equip female entrepreneurs
with faith-centered systems and strategies for business
growth that impacts our communities.
I'm so happy that you've joined me for
the 99th episode of how to grow my
small business and this episode is a little
(00:47):
bit of a precursor to what God's pointing
me towards in 2026 so buckle up friends.
Do you do a word of the year?
I know lots of people have lots of
polarizing opinions on this but God started giving
me a word of the year a few
years ago so I'm going with it.
He actually gave me my word earlier than
(01:09):
normal, usually it's in late December kind of
as we're going into the new year and
I would be in prayer and I would
start hearing the same word over and over
but this year it was in November.
So whether you do a word of the
year or not I want to share mine
with you and I hope to inspire you
to come along this journey with me in
(01:31):
2026.
So a few years ago the word was
momentum, last year the word was focused and
let me just tell you that word is
a whole nother podcast episode and video in
the making.
I'm going to be sharing some personal stories
with you sometime in 2026 because focus is
what I did not have for most of
(01:53):
the year.
In fact I kept thinking God how is
this my word?
I literally can't focus to save my life
but again that is a whole nother episode,
a whole nother video for another time.
Okay so anyway I was praying and talking
to God about my business sometime back in
November and I heard him so gently whisper
(02:16):
to me, Lindsay if you want uncommon results
you have to be uncommon, you have to
do uncommon things and then I just kept
hearing uncommon over and over and over and
so that's how I know it's my word
for 2026, uncommon.
(02:37):
What does uncommon mean?
Well Webster defines uncommon as out of the
ordinary, unusual, remarkable.
Okay so you know back when I worked
as an audiologist in the clinic settings we
would use the word unremarkable in our documentation
and that meant that there was nothing notable
(02:57):
either in their test results or our visual
observations of our patients.
Unremarkable meant nothing noteworthy.
Okay did not stand out, it was not
out of the ordinary, there was everything was
usual status quo.
Okay I don't know about you but I
(03:19):
don't want to be uncommon in 2026.
I don't want to be unremarkable rather.
I don't want to be unremarkable in 2026.
I want to be uncommon.
I don't want there to be nothing noteworthy
about me, about my business, or about how
I've impacted my community.
Now biblically speaking uncommon could mean set apart,
(03:42):
standing out, distinct, or having values that align
with God rather than the world, right?
I want to be that that kind of
uncommon too.
So in 2026 I hear God calling me
to be uncommon in several areas.
Uncommon in my marriage and how I show
up for my husband.
(04:03):
Uncommon in my business and how I show
up for my clients.
Uncommon in building community and relationships and how
I serve the people inside of those communities.
Uncommon in how I dress and uncommon in
how I speak.
Uncommon in how I prepare.
The list goes on and on and on
(04:24):
right but I want you to hear me
say that being uncommon doesn't mean doing more
or showing up on every platform or serving
the masses because we're not called to serve
the masses.
Most of us are not, right?
It's about serving those that I'm called to
serve.
It's about being intentional and obedient and focused.
(04:49):
There's that word again focused.
That's again another podcast episode, another video for
another day, okay?
It's about staying in my lane when all
I want to do is veer into another
lane and do this thing over here, okay?
Uncommon means not following hustle culture.
It means not copying what everyone else is
doing just for the sake of doing what
(05:12):
they're doing.
It's not chasing visibility at the expense of
depth, okay?
Or at the expense of your mental health
or the expense of your family and relationships.
Uncommon means not building a business that looks
good but feels empty, okay?
(05:32):
Romans 12 2 says, do not conform to
the pattern of this world but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
God is not calling us to blend in.
He is calling us to be set apart.
So what does uncommon look like in building
community and relationships?
It means focusing on building real relationships over
(05:56):
trying to have massive reach.
So that means for me smaller rooms with
deeper conversations and maybe that looks like fewer
connections to you but that looks like stronger
trust and connection to me.
It means growing my network with intention.
It means being in paid rooms where people
are actually invested, okay?
(06:19):
It means a community rooted in service, prayer,
and accountability.
And I'm going to remind myself that if
God calls me into a space, into a
meeting, or into a group, or into a
room, I'm going to walk in like the
Lord sent me because he did.
Uncommon businesses aren't built on algorithms.
(06:39):
They're built on relationships.
So how can we be uncommon or how
can I be uncommon in serving my clients?
Well that is a shift from transactions and
transactional work to stewardship.
And what this might look for for us
(06:59):
in 2026 is serving people well, not serving
them fast, okay?
Maybe it takes us a little longer to
get the job done but we're doing it
with excellence.
Maybe it means saying no when it's not
the right fit and trusting God that he
will provide the next right client for you.
(07:20):
For me it looks like building long-term
relationships instead of having one-off wins.
Colossians 3 23 through 24 says, whatever you
do work heartily as for the Lord and
not for men, knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
(07:44):
Working with excellence is a form of worship.
Did you know that?
And I'm going to serve the people in
my sphere with excellence.
Uncommon service creates uncommon loyalty.
I'm also going to be uncommon in how
I make an income or how I make
an income.
(08:06):
This is where we are going to normalize
faith and profit.
If God has called you into business, he
is expecting you to multiply your resources and
that includes your income.
That includes the money that flows through your
business so that you can pay your bills
and make an impact in your community so
(08:27):
that your giving can be generous, it can
be larger and it can reach more people.
So I'm doing more work on my money
mindset and I'm continuing to examine the idols
in my life because money can certainly turn
into one.
And I'm going to look at how I
can use this as a tool to bless
others.
(08:48):
Making more income isn't selfish.
It's going to allow me and it's going
to allow you to increase your impact.
Income allows for generosity, margin, rest and sustainability.
Chasing money is idol.
Stewarding revenue is a very different thing.
(09:10):
So let me reframe it this way.
More income means more ability to serve, give,
hire and invest.
Less burnout equals more longevity in your business.
So I'm not chasing money in 2026.
I'm stewarding it.
(09:31):
Now being uncommon also means leaving some things
behind, leaving them right where they need to
be back in 2025.
And I'm not taking them into 2026.
So here's some of the things that I'm
not doing that I'm going to be uncommon
in in 2026.
I'm leaving behind over committing myself, having too
(09:54):
many offers.
I'm going to do.
I'm not going to do things out of
obligation or because the gurus say that I
have to be here, there and everywhere.
I am not going to say yes to
stay visible.
And I'm not hustling instead of listening to
what God is calling me to do.
I'm going to stop negotiating with God.
(10:15):
That is a big one for me.
That might be a really hard one because
the good sales girl in me thinks that
everything is negotiable.
But I know, I absolutely know that God's
plan is better for my life than mine,
than my own plan.
Okay.
Goodness gracious.
This is going to be a hard one
for me, but I'm going to try to
(10:37):
stop negotiating with God.
And I'm just going to try to be
obedient the first time.
So let me ask you this, what feels
common or rather maybe what's something that everyone
else in your, everyone else is doing that
God is calling you to release in your
business and leave in 2025.
(10:59):
This is a friendly reminder that God whispers.
He never, ever yells.
Even though I wish he would, I wish
there would be like a flashing neon sign,
right?
Or he would be like, Hey, Lindsay, go
this way, right?
It's those gentle nudges where you feel like
you're supposed to go another direction, but the
world is telling you to do it their
way.
(11:19):
Maybe it's removing social media from your phone.
Like he asked me to do back in
December of 2024, by the way, I still
have not put it back on my phone.
Oh my gosh.
If that's the case, if removing social media
from your phone is the case, um, I
have a resource for you go to screenfreechallenge
.biz. And I have a 21 day challenge
(11:40):
for you where you remove social media from
your phone and you do sales and marketing
activities instead of scrolling.
I hadn't planned on talking about that.
Um, but I just remembered that I created
that for you.
So screenfree challenge.biz, B I Z enter
your email address and I'll send you 21
days of encouragement, a little bit of brain
science and actionable steps to take in your
(12:02):
business to move things forward.
So anyway, what is God calling you to
do that looks uncommon in 2026 in your
business?
What is he asking you to release and,
and asking you to keep in 2025 and
not take with you into 2026.
(12:22):
So what I'm stepping into in 2026 is
focused offers and focus strategy.
I am, I am building business with fewer
priorities that I can execute.
Well, I am focusing on obedience over putting
pressure on myself.
(12:43):
And I am focused on impact and income
uncommon doesn't mean extreme.
It means being intentional.
So I'd love to hear from you.
If you do a word of the year,
what is your word of the year?
If not, and you want to borrow mine,
I'm happy to share it with you.
I want you to ask yourself and ask
(13:04):
God, what word do you want to define
2026?
Where are you blending in instead of standing
out?
What would be an uncommon decision in your
business for 2026?
And as I move forward with being uncommon,
I want to be sure that my uncommon
year includes gratitude and acknowledgement of what God's
(13:28):
done and, and who he has placed in
my life and in my sphere.
So I'd like to thank you for walking
through this year with me and being here
on this podcast.
I absolutely love sharing business growth strategy, sales
and marketing tips, weaving in faith into our
business and helping you build businesses that you
love.
So I'd like to thank you for walking
(13:49):
through this year with me and being here
for this podcast.
Thank you for tuning in, sharing episodes, implementing
tips and tricks, and letting me, letting me
know what's working for you.
I'm going to leave you with this.
Uncommon obedience leads to uncommon fruit.
I can't wait to see what God does
in 2026 for both of us.
(14:11):
As always, I'm praying for you and I'm
praying for your business.
Let's be uncommon together.
I'll talk to you next week.
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