What We are Thinking About for 2020 and How to Prep for Your Next Planning Session
Episode 380: Show Notes
We cannot believe we are about to enter into a new decade! It's crazy but it's true, so get ready! This is a bit of an unplanned episode, which is what makes it special. We want to take this chance to share our planning around the new year with all of you, and exactly what we are thinking about accomplishing for our business in 2020.
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This chat will be the build-up to our end of year meetings around wrapping up and looking ahead. Just think of it as an unofficial look inside our minds as we close out another year at Boss Project and The Strategy Hour! So many businesses do not make it past the fifth year and we do not aim to add to this statistic! So feel free to drop in and eavesdrop on a typical meeting between us as we voice our thoughts and ideas going into the last part of 2019!
Improving Our Team, Everyone's Role in It and Our Free Content
We both want to relook at our organization and assess the shift we made at the beginning of the year after we read Traction. In retrospect, we probably hired a little fast at that point and have had to make small adjustments to roles and fill in the gaps where necessary. Another important aspect of this is community management. As we continue to grow and our audience grows too, it will be more and more difficult to be there for everyone all the time. The larger, stronger and more involved that our community is, the better for everyone. We are also asking ourselves what the next fun and free thing we do will be. We currently have our podcast and webinars but should we do some more summits or challenges? We want some exciting offers that get people to take action and provide quicks wins. We also feel that we have so much great content already, with a little attention and love it can be brought back to life in a big way.
Working with Partners on Content and Beyond
Sustainability is key! Offering free stuff is great but has to be backed up with profitable foundations. That means we can continue to give great value adds that have at least some income components. Alongside that, is the issue of affiliates and sponsorships. For quite a while this was only a small portion of our biz, but this year it made up about a quarter of our revenue! Another big focus of ours is saying yes to things that are exciting and fun. This does not mean we are afraid of hard work but being flexible and fluid is a top priority for us for the new year. This goes back to the team and particular roles, if we can manage them properly we can build a perfect setup! Team management is a big job and it is a good thing we already have someone on board to help us with it. We are already thinking about which masterminds and programs might be useful to participate in but we have to choose soon as these close registration very shortly! Linking up and connecting with peers is almost always beneficial and we do not want to sleep on that!
A Big and Somewhat Frustrating Decision for 2020
This is the first time that we have been faced with the decision of whether we want to intentionally avoid growing the business. We can keep things how they are and just refine what we do instead of trying to increase everything. We like challenges and competitions but we also have a lot going on in our lives and the business is quite comfortable at present. We do want to grow profits however and so this might mean streamlining things so that our revenue can stay largely the same. Other points we want to brush up on include customer retention, reductions and refunds and our issues with failed payments and how to capture those and bring them back. We think these topics are a great focus for Q1, as everything typically starts quite slowly.
Reflecting on 2019 and The Lessons we Learned
We have collected so much data from launches over the years but this year a lot of the assumptions we had were disproved. It was a learning year! It reminded us that you cannot rely on previous experiences as gospel even if it would be nice if you could! We want to do less next year but more strategically. We absolutely do not want to waste time on things that do not increase the money we bring in. Some of the things we did this year were not as profitable as we had hoped and in that sense, we have to go back to the drawing board with a few of these. Although this can eat up time, energy and resources it just has to be done! We encourage you to spend your time and brain power wisely, it is not unlimited!
What We Are Bringing to Our Planning Meeting
For our actual meeting, we will definitely be going somewhere with coffee and food! It is very important for us to be outside of our usual work environments and to have everything we need. There will be a lot of brain dumping into a big document at first which we will take and transfer to a digital platform. The process is to take high-level goals and break them down into annual and quarterly strategies and then further into specific tasks and projects. It is almost certain that we will not get through all the planning in one sitting and will host different meetings with team members as follow-ups. We are excited because we always leave these meetings with clarity, energy and excitement! The end of the year is obviously also an opportunity to wind down on the year and reflect on its figures and statistics. Don't worry we will keep you in the loop on our profit reports when they come in! We would love to hear about your goals and what you are looking forward to in the new year, so hit us up on Instagram, we want to support you and cheer you on!
Quote This
Whatever we say yes to in 2020, we want it to be fun and easy.
Highlights
Improving Our Team, Everyone's Role in It and Our Free Content. [0:02:45.5]
Working with Partners on Content and Beyond. [0:06:38.4]
A Big and Somewhat Frustrating Decision for 2020. [0:12:01.8]
Reflecting on 2019 and The Lessons we Learned. [0:19:40.2]
What We Are Bringing to Our Planning Meeting. [0:24:01.7]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Team, Content, Affiliate Marketing, Growth, Revenue and Profit, Implementation
