2025: The Year That Stretched Me, Grew Me, Grounded Me, and Broke My Heart

This year was… a lot. Full, fast, big, beautiful, messy, overwhelming, and unforgettable.

The kind of year that forces you to grow and then sit your butt down and feel.

Here’s the real talk version:

 

We moved across the country for a new job. January kicked off with a 2,000-mile road trip from Maine to San Antonio — me, Sunil, Shay, and Jax packed into a car stuffed with snacks and ten-hour drive days. My husband got a new opportunity at a new hospital in a new state. Timing wasn’t ideal but sometimes you have to go when the offer arrives!

We bought a new house. Unpacked hundreds of boxes. Enrolled Shay mid-sophomore year (10/10 do NOT recommend but luckily our boy was a trooper!). Adjusted to living in an actual city where highways are skyways and feel like rollercoasters touching the clouds.

And somewhere between the power-washing, landscaping, 20 mile school commute, Target runs, and wrong turns, Texas started to feel more like home.

 

I rebuilt my community from scratch. New city, new circles. I joined Babes Supporting Babes and NAWBO San Antonio, two local women’s groups. When NAWBO asked me to join the board as Director of Marketing, I said yes — even though it was a LOT and I knew zero people locally. I said yes because I truly believe in women leading women — and when there’s a chance to support that, I jump in.

I also deepened my virtual communities with Entreprenista and Women’s Business League. Lots of networking — in person and in Zoom rooms — intentionally planting seeds and expanding my brand in new spaces.

 

With all the noise around AI, I made a big decision: go ALL IN. And it paid off.

This was the year I trusted my gut and innovated.

LUMI, my first AI tool, launched in February and sold like crazy. Women everywhere finally articulated their value clearly — without confusion or overthinking.

That early success sparked something bigger:

The Brand Force™ — my full suite of AI-powered brand-building bots mirroring my full 1-1 mentorship process. It launched this fall and changed everything, finally giving me a product to sell that didn’t involve me (hello ticket to scaling!). 

I’m deeply proud of this work. Proud that I built something that didn’t exist. Proud that it makes brand clarity more accessible and easier for experts to own and communicate what they do.

 

My 1-1 mentorship stayed the heart of it all.

This is where the deepest transformation happens and where I help women move from invisible to unavoidable. I worked with 20 women privately this year where I treated their business like my own and we built their brands to be the go-to expert.

From “I think I know what I do…” to “I own the room now.”

From chaotic, reactive marketing to focused, confident brand leadership.

My clients grew. I grew. And the intense 1-1 work lit me up every single day.

 

I spoke — a lot.

More stages. More women. More conversations that actually matter. I shared my expertise on brand strategy, messaging, scaling with AI, differentiation and positioning.

• BIG
• CEI Maine
• Freelance University
• Babes Supporting Babes
• Women’s Business League
• Virtual Service Providers Hub

And, of course — podcast after podcast, preaching my favorite topic: niching. Because clarity is my religion.

 

I lived life, too.

A magical Mexico City escape with Sunil and Shay.
A summer trip to Hawaii.

A DC visit and Indian wedding with my parents.

A long mother-son road trip with Kishan back to Northwestern in September.

Trips back home to NY/NJ.

Friends and family visiting us in Texas — filling our home with familiarity and love.

Life was full. Comforting. Busy in the best ways.

 

And then everything changed.

In September, my mom got very sick. Pulmonary fibrosis. Chronic pain. Hard to breathe.

She and my dad had to cancel their trip to Texas — but a month later, she recovered enough to visit. And those 10 days? A gift I didn’t know I’d need.

Morning coffee chats.

Daily excursions.

New restaurants.

Cooking together at home.

Watching sports, Dancing with the Stars, and Bollywood movies.

Sunshine, joy, energy.

Her being more herself again.

But two weeks later, things spiraled. More pain. More trouble breathing. More setbacks. More hospitalizations. Scary conversations. A transfer to NYU for more advanced care.

A fight she was exhausted from fighting.

 

My mom passed on November 15 — one day after my 53rd birthday.

My anchor. My comfort. My daily phone call. Gone.

The grief has been heavy and disorienting. Some days I manage. Some days I can only do the bare minimum. I’m back in Texas now, worried about my dad, missing my Mom’s voice, missing her.

This is the hardest chapter of my life. And to be 100% honest, living in Texas away from family and all things familiar, make this even tougher. My grief is painfully lonely.

 

 

So here’s what December looks like:

Slow. Intentional. Sacred.

 I’m stepping back from social media and marketing.

 I’m serving only my current clients.

 I’m giving myself room to grieve, rest, cry, remember, and just be.

My family will travel to the Philippines over Christmas to bury her ashes with her mother — her final wish. It will feel good to be in her happy place with the people who loved her.

This month isn’t about momentum.

 It’s about healing.

 It’s about honoring her.

 It’s about choosing softness over speed.

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to?” ~Dave Hollis

What I’m taking into 2026

Clarity.

Courage.

Less noise.

More depth.

More intention.

More boundaries.

More space and grace.

2025 stretched me in ways I didn’t expect. It expanded my business, my leadership, my capacity… and then it broke me open in a way that forces me to build a new version of myself.

I’m still in it. I’m still healing.

But I’m here. And I’m grateful.

If you’re reading this — thank you for being part of my world.

Thank you for holding space for both my wins and my heartbreak.

Thank you for being in community with me — the thing I value most.

 

With love,

Mallika