What’s in Your Annual Plan?
Well, hello there. And happy freaking new year (she says with a thud, haha).
I don’t know what your personal feeling is about this new year… this “fresh start” that so many are after. I’ve been a little perturbed by the number of people with their “buh bye, 2020!” After all, we still are continuing – and frankly, will be in much of the same way for a bit.
I realize that I sound like a total grinch, which I pretty much was this holiday season. I wasn’t feeling Christmas in the least and truthfully, spent the holiday break randomly bursting into tears, set off by ridiculous things like, “They don’t have the French fries I wanted!” As embarrassing, stupid, and first-world ridiculous as that is to admit, of course it wasn’t about the French fries. It was about fatigue.
So I turned from crying to doing.
I know, I know. It’s the opposite of all the self-care messaging and not quite honoring my “yoga brain.” I share this not as a humble brag, but as a coping mechanism. I don’t know about you, but there’s a critical mass to just being. Eventually, the tipping point becomes a dark spiral. It’s no longer self-care but self-pity. For me at least, that’s the precise time at which I must do, as it’s actually more healing.
Remember Buy Low, Vibe High? Having a strategy and a plan is a way to take back control of your tiny corner of destiny. We happen to do our company annual plan with the calendar, as our business birthday is January 1st. So last week, I did a little Airbnb staycation to dive into ours – examining our 2020 outcomes and designing new ones for 2021.
I share this to say: although January is nice for an annual plan… a new beginning… a “we’re going to do new stuff now…” an annual plan can and should happen at any time. When the will is ready and the feet are light. When the pain is too great to bear any longer: when one reaches a point where they say “no more.” Or more often in our clients’ case: “I deserve more.“
The power of a (good) annual plan is simplicity, clarity, timing, and as I often like to joke: its unsexiness. Our clients who have tremendous success, embrace the fundamentals and stay the course. While other people’s outsides (hello, social media!) look rich and beautiful, the insides of our clients’ businesses are rich and beautiful.
Take our beloved Dinner Belle‘s 2020 outcomes, for example:
Now that… is money & meaning.
Which just so happens to be the Ellevated Outcomes 2021 anthem.
Next week, we’re releasing Designing Your Annual Plan, where you can join us to develop your own customized Annual Plan. The course goes live on Monday, and it’s self-paced, yet guided in a customized way with video content, worksheets, and interactive exercises. When you register in the month of January, you get a 1-1 review and feedback of your plan.
If you’re a small business owner, solopreneur, or side-hustler who is saying, “No more. This year will not be like last year. I deserve more. And not because it’s January. Because right now is my time…” we’d love to have you.
