Was 2025 the Worst Year Ever for Online Businesses?

A lot of online business owners felt like 2025 was a rough year. Leads were harder to get, sales felt slower, and many people started questioning whether something was wrong with their business. In this episode of The Profit Pillars Show, Parker Stevenson, CEO of Evolved Finance and author of Profit Pillars, looks at whether 2025 was actually a bad year for online businesses or if it just felt that way. Parker breaks down what he means by an online business and shares what he's seeing across the hundreds of businesses Evolved Finance works with. He explains why smaller businesses were hit the hardest, why mid-sized businesses held up better, and why many seven-figure businesses finally stabilized in 2025 after tough years in 2023 and 2024. The episode also covers why lead generation has gotten harder since the pandemic, why ads cost more, and what business owners may need to rethink heading into 2026. If you've been wondering whether your business is struggling because of something you're doing or because the market has changed, this episode will help put things into perspective. 0:00 Was 2025 the worst year for online businesses? 1:35 What counts as an online business 3:35 Why Evolved Finance created the industry report 4:46 Data vs how business owners feel 6:37 Why lead generation got harder 9:03 Why businesses under $500K struggled most 9:32 Why $500K–$1M businesses held up better 10:47 Why revenue drops hurt small businesses more 17:26 The biggest problem online businesses faced in 2025 21:36 The two paths businesses face in 2026 23:47 Why profitability may matter more than growth 25:25 Why more businesses are moving upstream 33:29 How AI could impact software costs —-----------------------

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Was 2025 the Worst Year Ever for Online Businesses? is an episode from The Bottom Line by Evolved Finance by Evolved Finance.

This episode is 36:53 long.

This episode was published on Jan 7, 2026.

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