Identity upgrade - Your business glow up in 2026

This episode is about a big shift I am making and the version of me I am stepping into for 2026.

I am sharing what a real business glow up looks like beyond strategy and why identity is the thing that changes everything. If you can feel that you are ready for more but know you cannot keep being the same woman, this episode is for you.

In this episode you will learn:

• How I am consciously stepping into a new identity and what that actually looks like in real life.
• Why your habits and environment shape your business results more than strategy.
• A simple way to start your own business glow up today.

Transcript

0:05

Welcome to the Empowered Edupreneur Podcast. My name is Michelle Smit, and I'm a business growth mentor and subconscious transformation coach. I work with established women in business who are ready to scale beyond what they ever thought was possible, helping them grow thriving businesses that feel as good as they look. If you're ready to elevate your identity, unlock your subconscious power and combine it with aligned strategy to create limitless results with more ease, freedom, and impact, then you're in the right place. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of mindset upgrades and business expansion that will unlock your next level and help you thrive on your terms. We're going to have so much fun together. So thank you for pressing play today. Now let's dive in. Hi, my friend. I'm back. Okay, so you have missed me for a while. I have been taking a break from the podcast from my entire business, actually. It was a very necessary break. If you read any of my newsletters, you would've known what sort of has been going on. It's been quite a time in my life, in my personal life, and so I. Consciously chose to take a bit of a break from my business and I'm very grateful for that time. I could have spent, I spent much needed time with my family, connecting, being present navigating quite a lot of grief and challenges and just life lifeing as always. And I was very grateful to be in a position where I could have some space for my business. I set it up in ways in which I was able to have that time. So it was about two months off. So it was the first time in three years that I took a break from this podcast, which is I think a very significant, and I'm proud of myself for taking that time off. And I must say it has helped with building some more creativity. So when you don't create for a while, you get these urges to create. It was so interesting. I was just having these urges and these ideas coming through that I wanted to share and create which is so nice. It's such a nice feeling to have creativity and ideas come back. It just is such a sign that that break is exactly what you needed. But anyways. This episode today is not about that. What I'm going to be diving into is identity upgrades and your business glow up in 2026. As you know, I have been going through a business breakdown. 2025 was the breakdown. It was the shedding, it was the snake in the Chinese, Zodiac. It was the year of the nine numerology wise. So it was a year of endings and it was whole experience. Almost everyone I was connecting with in business, clients, personal life. There were so many endings in 2025. Major relationship breakdowns that I never even thought would be possible. Actual deaths literally. Business breakdowns, business deaths, closing of businesses, complete redirection of businesses. Everyone I knew basically was going through some sort of breakdown. So that was the energy of 2025 and damn, did it come out of nowhere? I didn't really anticipate it, but it just happened. And as you know, have chosen to discontinue Digiteachers Biz Academy, my flagship program. And I'm basically completely pivoting my business in a little bit of a different direction. Not a big direction, but just upgrading, let's say. I'm upgrading my business. So I'm cutting out what's no longer aligned and I am very consciously and intentionally rebuilding in a way that feels like me again. And that's my business glow up. And seriously, I'm in the middle of this glow up. Last year was the shedding, and now this year we are in the year. It's 2026 numerology year one. Chinese Zodiac, the fire horse. Okay. If I'm speaking to woo woo right now, just stay with me. Basically what this means, this is the year of new beginnings. This is the year to start things, to reinvent, to recalibrate, to rebrand, to do all the things. It is the beginning. It's new relationships, new businesses, new countries. I'm in a new country, literally. My entire life is recalibrating. It's like I've stepped through a portal and everything is different. That is literally how it feels. It has been massive for me. In every way, shape, or form am different to who I was a year ago and to where I was and who I was being a year ago. So it's been super significant and this year it's all about the glow up. That is the energy of 2026. It doesn't mean it's going to not come with challenges, of course, it's going to come with challenges. And that's going to be interesting. But what I'm saying is fire horse energy, it's all about momentum, forward movement really progressing, catapulting yourself forward into this new direction, whatever it may be. So this is a very good year for you if you want to uplevel your business. If you are wanting to upgrade, if you're wanting to reinvent, so to say it's a good year for that and that's where I'm at, strangely enough. I don't know how it fell in the stars that I could be doing this all at the same time. But that's where I'm at. So I am choosing to really recalibrate my life and my business. I'm choosing a full glow up for myself this year. And honestly, astrology aside, I can really feel this momentum. I can feel the energy changing. It's weird, but it is making sense to me now. This is very much like forward motion, energy, reinvention, energy. New beginnings, energy, and it's exciting. It's bold. It feels like a very decisive time. Making a lot of decisions. Challenging but inspiring and it's really about movement and moving yourself forward. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I've been taking very much a break. And I have been sick now, so I've been a little bit slow on the movement, let's be honest. But as I'm getting better and stepping into things again, I can feel it bubbling, right? That creative energy is bubbling. And I wonder if it's the same for you, but this is what the globe is all about and i'm not just talking business glow, I'm talking about a life glow. So I'm changing my wardrobe. I'm literally throwing out clothes that I don't align with and I'm rebuilding my whole wardrobe. I'm going to do it over time, but I'm building a whole new wardrobe and a look for myself. I'm getting a whole bunch of new skincare stuff, makeup stuff. I've moved to a new country. I have a new house. We have an entire new aesthetic within our house. Friends. I am super, super conscious and intentional about the friends that I'm making. Inspiring business, spiritual creatives, ambitious. People who are like ahead of me that I can aspire to. That's the vision right now for friends. People who are just amazing human beings that make me a better person. That's what I'm looking for in terms of my friends. So basically I am doing everything that's on my vision board from years ago. I'm like living it now, and it's insane because everything on my vision board is coming true. I've got all the things. It's the craziest manifestation experience of my life. So the person I wanted to become, I am becoming that person now. I'm not waiting. I am literally recalibrating and I'm doing it. Through the habits that I'm taking daily through the clothes that I'm wearing. Through the way that I'm thinking through closing down things that are misaligned to being courageous shifting Digiteach, closing down DBA, moving countries. All of these things are very courageous, bold, big life-changing decisions, but that's part of the recalibration. You have to have the courage to say, this is no longer working for me and I want to change. And I'm going to go for it, and I'm going to take action to go for it. When you do that, the universe rewards you. I'm telling you, the safety nets appear, the opportunities open up. Magic is created in these spaces when you can do that. But it's important for you to let go. And then step into this club very intentionally and literally become the person you want to become. So. I've done a range of things I've trained in mind shifting, which I mean, I've been talking about it a lot of my podcast. But basically it's deep identity work. Shifting beliefs right at the core, shifting identities right at the core to change your life. And since I've been doing all of this, my life is just rapidly changing basically. So isn't that magical, to know that when you do this in a work, when you really recalibrate internally and you start showing up as the person you vision to be. Your reality rearranges itself for you and you literally quantum leap into a new timeline. That's what it feels like. I have quantum leaped into a new timeline. It's absolutely insane and that's why I'm so inspired about pulling the mind shifting into my coaching containers and working with women in business who are plateaued, hitting walls, wanting to really reach their next level. It's all part of this like identity upgrade and what comes when you shift, who you are, how you view yourself, and how everything else just like shifts when you do that. So there's that. And then obviously I'm going to be rebranding my whole business. Still haven't taken full action towards that. I've got a little bit of blockages, obstacles in my way. Not major things, just I haven't found the right person who I've aligned with to help me with the rebrand. I want to do a new rebrand photo shoot. It's winter, it's raining 24 7. I'm not having a photo shoot in the rain. I have a vision and the vision is not rain. Okay. That's not my vibe. So. Things on hold, but it's all in the works. And the rebrand of my business is the rebrand of who I am. It's me, it's my personal brand. my next business is going to be my personal brand. It's me essentially that's, and it's the person I'm becoming. It's the person who I am. And it's deepening the work that I do. And it's so exciting, I'm so excited to be in this space. For so many weeks. If you've listened to my podcast, you know, I've been in such a death season. Oh my gosh. It's like an empty void of nothingness. And now I'm finally crossing the threshold into this new space of just creativity and flow and ideas and excitement and I'm just so grateful to be on the other side. Because wow, that liminal space of nothingness sucks. So yeah, now I'm calling in a whole different kind of dream clients and person that I'm working with. Women, course creators, females who already have online businesses who share my values, who are committed to doing the inner work and building their business that aligns with their energy and their lifestyle. Who are wanting to scale and scale in a way that doesn't sabotage them. Or where they don't have to sacrifice themselves and create success in whatever that looks like for them. That's really what's inspiring me at the moment. And then, of course, what with this entire glow up, it's all about new offers. So, for the first time ever, I'm only going to be focusing on one-on-one offers. I've never done this before. You know I've been preaching courses and group programs for as long as ever, and I still absolutely love courses and group programs. Still think it's the best business model personally, but I'm craving depth and I'm craving high touch tailored experiences, and so I will be leaning into one-on-one. That's going to be the main thing that I'm going to be focusing on pretty much most of this year. If not all of this year, is one-on-one deep transformational containers. And that's another whole thing that's completely different. And the other thing is lifestyle upgrades. So I'm very consciously choosing to be more in nature. I'm playing paddle, I'm going on hikes, I'm going for walks on the beaches. I want my day to look like my dream day, which always involved a beach walk and a sunset. On my vision board, I always wanted a beach walk and I wanted a sunset. And that is it. I'm living in Portugal now. I can create my dream day every day when it's not raining. Because it's been raining for weeks now. But that's something, right? And so the most important thing here is the glue up. Really. It's an intentional process. And it's all about new habits because your habits form your identity. What you do every day compounds and just becomes who you are. So every morning I get dressed properly. Back in the day, I would just literally wear pajamas and not even do makeup and just work. Now I want to wake up. I get dressed in my new clothes, I feel good. I put makeup on. I do my hair. I feel premium because that's the energy I am pulling in. That's where I want to live. I want to live in that luxe, abundance, beautiful space. I want to feel good. I want to feel good in my body, and it's amazing. Your environment and all of that stuff makes such an impact on who you are, your nervous system, your identity, how you view yourself. The clothes you wear, all of this. It formulates this version of you and that version of you then recreates more of what it is. So if you want to have more of that premium experience, you've got to lead, you've got to walk the talk, right? So you can't create your new reality with your old reality, and your business will only grow to the level of who you are, of how you're holding it. And your income will only grow to the level of your identity and your self image and your capacity. So this is why glow ups are a full blown transformation. It's an inside job, first and foremost, and then it ripples into your reality. From the inside you create you are external. And that's what I'm doing now. I'm in it. I'm walking the talk. I'm living and breathing this right now. I am literally sharing it with you as it's happening. And it's a very live experience for me because I'm so in it. I've been in the death and I've been taking you with me. If you're listening to my podcast in this death, and now I'm in this recalibration and I know so many people, so many of you are dealing with the same thing. A lot of, you're dealing with this in business as well and also just in life. It's a full glow up. So I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to write them down, answer these questions. Think about these questions because this is how it's going to impact your glow up. Okay, so firstly, imagine your million dollar version of yourself. How does she dress? What are her habits? Who does she spend her time with? What are her values? What does she do daily in her business? What gives her so much energy? What drains her? What do her prices reflect? What are her boundaries? What does she love to do in her free time? I want you to answer those questions. I want you to map out the million dollar version of yourself, and this doesn't necessarily mean monetary. This is just the highest version of yourself, the most abundant. Free, happy, successful version of yourself. Okay? I want you to write down in detail, what are your habits? What are your values? What are you eating? What does your day look like? Who are you spending time with? What are the conversations you're having? What are your non-negotiable? What are you absolutely not available for? What are you obsessed with? What does your dream day look like? What do the clothes look like? What's the aesthetic? What's the vibe? So start just writing that out. Okay? Then once you brainstorm down everything out that comes through. Then I'm going to challenge you to start acting on these things today. So I want you to start making changes today. If you're telling me the future version of you wears beautiful linen dresses, then I want you to go and go buy a beautiful linen dress. And if you can't buy multiple, just buy one. Or the version of you who eats organic fruit and vegetables. And I want you to go and buy some organic fruit and vegetables. When you go and buy groceries. Or you charge high prices that reflect your value, then I want you to go and raise your prices or set up a game plan to raise your prices in the next three months. I want you to start acting on those things, those small habits, those ways of being. I want you to do them today. Just start, slowly. I am slowly rebuilding my wardrobe. It's not something I can just go and throw out everything and rebuild. That's quite a costly endeavor. I'm slowly rebuilding the wardrobe. It's about incremental upgrades. But you need to start today. You have to start today. These are the habits that form who you are. And when you shift on an identity level, that will then shift on a reality level. And that is what I want for you. Your glow up exists. 2026 is about the glow up. Whatever that looks like. Doesn't mean it's going to be the easiest thing ever. There will be a lot of challenges to this year. We're going through a bit of a crazy year astrologically. Yes, it might be a bit woowoo for you, but there's a lot of crazy things happening astrologically this year. So with this fire horse energy, with this year one energy, it's new beginnings, it's fresh cycles. It's being courageous and making these incremental upgrades and habits. So you become that version of yourself today, not later. That is going to be big for this year for you to grow your business to where you want it to be. So it's really about stepping into your higher self now. Now is the time. So we've had the shedding year, we've started closing down things, we, things have happened, things have ended. It's been hard. But it was necessary. And now we are building again. So this is your invitation. As I go through this. Glow up. Glow up, I'm inviting you into your business. Glow up. What is your business glow up? What next level are you stepping into? Who are you becoming? Who is that version of yourself that you know is the person you want to be? Who is that? And you don't have to rush. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you now. But we all aspire to being better in some way. So what does that look like for you? And then I want you to ask those questions, write it down, and then start living it today, consciously today. If that million dollar version of yourself doesn't hang out with draining people. Stop hanging out with draining people. If your million dollar version of you goes to networking events and connects with awesome female brunches and things like that, go do that. Whatever it is, go do it today. This is the time to be laying the foundations for your glow up and those who are courageous and those who do this work are going to win. So that's my inspiration for today. That's all I've got. I hope you found it helpful. I'm excited to hear from you. Share in an email. Just email me, message me. I'm not really on Instagram at the moment, but I still can read my messages, so if you do message me there, I'll see it. But email me, let me know what is it you want to create for yourself and your business this year? I would love to hear from you, and I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. If you are an established woman in business who's ready to scale their business to the next level of success, and you don't just want strategy, you actually want deep, subconscious, reprogramming and powerful identity shifts. Then email me mind shift, and let's see if you are a fit for my Millionaire Mind Shift one-on-one container where I help you rewire your subconscious so you can become the woman who can create and hold incredible success, visibility, and wealth with ease. I appreciate you so much, and I cannot wait to connect with you in the next episode. In the meantime, go create a business and life you love.