As we prepare to close out the year, it’s a perennial opportunity to reflect on what’s come in this most recent trip around the sun and what could unfold in the next one.

This year has brought its share of challenges in an economy and auto industry whipped by winds of almost constant change. From the automaker to the consumer to your dealer clients, trade policy, the stock market and every financial category in between has felt like an endless tennis match whose outcome is far from certain. We’re still waiting to see how it all plays out.

I’ve lately started writing a reflection of each week, a short page that reviews the challenges and wins and how I feel about both. The exercise has helped me realize hidden strengths and growth I might have otherwise glossed over, while also noticing areas for improvement. I now see it as a must-do task that helps me become my best self.

I recommend adopting such an exercise, if not weekly, then annually, so you’re able to see your agency and yourself from a remove in order to assess what’s working and what needs adjusting.

When I hear agents talk about how to succeed in the sector, an oft-repeated truth is that making an agency unique attracts business. Auto dealers, they say, will be more likely to sign on with an agency if it allows them to tap something other agencies can’t, or at least not as well.

I hope you take the time before or maybe during the holidays to step away from your desk and think about your agency’s year – what went well, what didn’t, and what you might do differently in 2026 that sets you apart from competitors. Maybe a class or some networking might help grease the wheels of your mind for the exercise.

Whatever your approach, may you start next year as a standout.

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Hannah Mitchell is executive editor of Agent Entrepreneur. A former daily newspaper journalist, she honed her craft covering politics, business and more for publications that included the Charlotte Observer and the Orange County (Calif.) Business Journal. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and her first car was a hand-me-down Chevrolet Nova.