728: How We’re Approaching 2024 Strategically and With EASE

0:01Okay, I have been on this ruthless pursuit to purge any clothes that I'm not actually wearing. Like if I haven't reached for it in months, it's got to go. I am trying to be really intentional about what I bring into my closet right now, which means I am only buying pieces that I know I will actually wear and use. Revolve just gets it though. I'm literally wearing my brown Autry sneakers from there right now and my new suede purse. It fits my laptop in it. So it's basically a fancy shoulder bag that works for everything. I love finding pieces like that. Things that look good, but also work hard for my actual life.

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1:15So happy shopping. Honor whatever season you're in. If you're in the season where you're like, I can only think one month in advance. I can only think one quarter in advance. Honor that. But if you are in a place where you can really kind of lay out here is the rhythm that I want for this year, I highly encourage you to do that. Hey, my name is Jenna Kutcher and I am obsessed with all things business, marketing numbers, and helping you to navigate both the messy and the magical seasons of this thing called life. I'm a small town mama who took a$300 camera, grew a successful photo biz, and now I work from home and run a seven figure online business.

1:50I teach you the tried and true secrets to building a career you adore. Shy away from the real talk? No way. Money, hardship, growth, loss, and marketing are all topics we discuss here. Think of this as your one-stop shop for happy hour with a gal pal mixed with business school. Pull up a seat, make sure you're cozy, and get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. Are you somebody who finds himself in the constant pursuit of the next big thing? I mean, often as entrepreneurs, we're tempted to dream up more, more, more, never feeling like what we're doing is enough or what we have is enough, especially when setting goals for the new year.

2:29And speaking of the new year, does anyone else find it extremely satisfying that January 1st is also a Monday? Or is that just me? I mean, it is perfect for the fresh start we've all been craving, but sometimes the most effective strategy to set yourself up for success is to embrace what's already working. And that's exactly how me and my team are approaching 2024. As we head into the new year, we're taking this deep dive into all of the goals that we have and really looking at how we can go deeper and not wider. So today I'm going to walk you through exactly what our plan is for this new year.

3:06And hopefully you can walk away with some strategies that you can apply as you start to dream up what 2024 is going to hold and what it is going to look like for you, but even beyond that, what it is going to feel like. Let's dive on in. 2023 was the year of AI. It's all anyone has been talking about. Every business pro with a newsfeed has heard it's time-saving and game-changing, but how can it actually help you brainstorm ideas, create lead-driving content, and tackle your to-do list? Meet HubSpot's new AI-powered Campaign Assistant, a totally free AI tool tailor-made for marketers and business builders who spend hours each day on content creation.

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4:29That's hubspot.com slash campaign-assistant. So the two main focuses that I'm walking into 2024 craving are ease and alignment. I feel like I've learned so much about myself this last year. Like it's kind of been an awakening of sorts. I describe it as feeling cracked wide open in so many different ways and in so many different areas of my life, business, motherhood, marriage, all the things. Like I have been on this massive adventure this year of getting really introspective, getting quiet, learning more about who I am and why I am the way I am. And also how to move forward in the most aligned way.

5:12I want to approach this coming year with the same peaceful pace. I was just talking to my best friend the other day and she asked me like, this has been a really big year in business for you. How has it felt? and the beauty of my plans for next year is that they're not all that different from this year. This year felt really peaceful. It felt like this really intentional pursuit and I want to carry that same energy into the new year. What's really interesting is as we think about ease and alignment, the third word that comes to mind is optimization. Instead of flooding the market with a bunch of new offers or creating a ton of new things, we've made this very conscious and intentional choice to instead focus all of our energy efforts, time and talents on optimizing what is already working, what's already demonstrated its value.

6:03This is not only streamlining all of our efforts as a team, but it also gives us time to really get into the details, like read the data, look at what the results are. We're really focusing on some of those things that nobody is going to see. They're not really share worthy, but we're going to feel them. We're going to experience them. And so will you. We're really trying to focus on what's been proven to work and aim for strategic and focused growth as we enter into 2024. So that's what I want to walk you through today, because I don't really hear a lot of entrepreneurs speaking this way. Instead, it's always focused on more and more and more and better.

6:45And I love all of those things, But what if we went deeper and not wider? Now you might notice this has been kind of a theme as we've recorded for this last month. I feel like in my heart, it is telling me to remind you that this pursuit is meant to be fun and enjoyed and that there can be a place of ease in entrepreneurship. And so if you have not yet, please go back and listen to two recent episodes. The first one is unpopular opinion. You don't need more offers. And the second one is if you want bigger results, you have to do this. These are both so much in alignment with what we're going to talk about today.

7:23And they're going to go deeper on some of the themes that you're going to feel within this episode. So if you haven't listened to those yet, go on back and listen to them. They're linked in the show notes and show description. So you can refer back to them after you hear today's planning episode. So let me walk you through the five main initiatives that I'm focusing on as a CEO and a leader. And my team is focusing on in this collected effort to help you understand how you can apply these same ideas and strategies to your own business plans and goals for the upcoming year. So first, we are planning for ease upfront.

7:57And I kind of wanted to write, we're planning for rest, but in reality, I want to move forward. I often think of that quote, like forward is forward, no matter how slow or unmeasured your steps are. And I want us to continually be moving forward, but I want to plan for ease up front. Now, I recently heard this quote and I might kind of mess it up as I say it, but they were saying like, instead of asking yourself, did I work hard enough to earn my rest? Ask yourself, did I rest well enough to do my best work? And I feel like that quote has really resonated with me and just the tendencies that so many of us have to continue to work harder and do more and reach for more and expand and, and pull ourselves in a million directions.

8:44And so I'm not necessarily planning for rest. The rest is a huge piece of the equation, but I want to move forward with plans that leave room and space for ease that kind of eliminate urgency. I was recently talking with a mentor and she was kind of looking at some of my human design. And she was like, you are not someone who works well under pressure. Like you are someone that needs time to make decisions. And it kind of made me laugh because I'm like, I have been in this peaceful pursuit for so long, telling my team, like, I don't want to work out of a place of urgency. I don't like last minute energy.

9:18Like I, that is not my cup of tea. And so as we're starting to work forward into the new year, I'm really taking the time to kind of plan out how this is going to look. And not only how is it going to look, but how do I want it to feel? One thing that I'm so proud of with my company and something that I feel like I've done a good job as a leader in doing is instilling really, really strong work boundaries. We create time and space for my team to step away from work. And if you are on vacation or you're offline or you're with your family, you will not be bothered. We don't use our cell phones to communicate.

9:54So you will never get a text or a call unless it is truly urgent. And we really respect those boundaries that everyone has a life outside of work. I want that for myself. So I also want that for my team. And so I feel like we have this beautiful work culture that doesn't need to massively shift to really help us work towards this place of ease. In fact, I think this last year, we've done a really great job of that. And so next year is really an extension of that. So back in October of 2023, I announced two different vacations that we will all be taking as a team. So this is in addition to regular PTO or personal time off my team technically has unlimited vacation.

10:32And as long as we have good communication around that, it's totally honored and valued. And so what I was really looking at is like upcoming next year, what are times and windows of time where I don't want to be contacted. And I also don't want to feel guilty for resting. And so next year, what we're doing is we're doing some blackout dates for my team. So we're saying in advance, if you want to plan a vacation, if you want to do anything, everyone's going to be off these two weeks of the year. And then on top of that, you can plan your own PTO. One of those is when Drew and I are actually going overseas to Greece.

11:05And I'm so excited. It's going to be our first big trip away from the girls. And so I wanted my team to take that time off too, so that I can really be resting. I'm not getting Slack messages while I'm out on a boat with my friends. Like I really want to be present. And so I'm excited about kind of announcing that in advance. That's something we haven't really historically done beyond regular holidays. Another funny thing happened recently. So I have someone who's on my measurement team and we do a monthly call where we're kind of working through plans and looking at projections and things like that.

11:35And it was so funny because he's like, send me your plan for next year. So I kind of sent him a month by month and June, July, and August all said life. And he was like, oh, what is this life launch happening in the summer? And I was like, no, I'm not talking about a launch. I'm talking about, we're just going to be living life in summer. Now this last year I did a launch in June. And while it was very successful, I really recognized like, I want to protect my summer months. It kind of made me feel like my summer was delayed and I didn't fully get into summer mode until that launch ended. And so this upcoming year, we're not launching anything June, July, or August.

12:09We're really blacking that time out and protecting that time. And, you know, as a mom, even more so than before I was a mom, I really recognize like summer is busy and your kids are probably home and you want to be more present if you're able to. And your schedule looks a little bit different and there's a lot of activities and there's so much going on. It's not necessarily time that you really want to like dig in and try new initiatives. And so we are just like blacking out summer for life, which also means that we're making space for other things that we can work on that are just at a more ease filled rate.

12:41So for us, that's affiliate. So it doesn't mean like you're not going to be generating revenue in the summer months. There's no way that we could go 90 days and not generate revenue, but we're just shifting our focus to more of an affiliate strategy, which allows us to do things at a more restful pace. And with affiliates, again, you're really responsible for the selling and the marketing. The affiliate is responsible for fulfilling support, all the follow through. And so it's a really light lift on our part. I feel really, really good about that. We've also decided to keep the four-day workweek going into 2024.

13:11So I have recorded an episode back in August about how my team is doing a four-day workweek. It's linked in today's show notes. If you missed that episode, it's a really great one. And we started it out as a 90-day experiment. So I was like, let's just give it a try. Let's see what we think. Let's see if it feels good. Well, spoiler alert, it felt great. And so we are sticking to the four-day workweek moving forward. I think that's just going to be the new normal. And so I'm really excited to like kick that off and experience a full year with that because we've experienced it since summer, but we've never gotten to go through all the different seasons with a four day work week.

13:45So I'm really excited. I am loving my Fridays. It's just been really soul filling and like a great day for myself outside of work. And so that's been really great and just more family time. So we are keeping that. And what I love about that is that everyone on the team is also honoring that four day work week. Seldom are we actually working on Fridays. And so it's also just been a really great initiative for my team. And it's been super fun as a boss to see how my team is spending that extra time away from work. So that is how we're kind of planning out for ease intentionally. So planning out vacation times and blackout dates in advance, planning no launching in the summer and four day work week already kind of intention set to really invite more ease in.

14:29So the second initiative that we're doing is we are doing just one launch per quarter. So four quarters of the year, four big launches. This is something that I've been doing for years and years and years. We're refining it slightly. So one thing that's really interesting is there was this very weird period of this last year where I started to get really antsy. Like I felt like that pressure, like I'm not doing enough or I need to do something new or I need to do more. I'm sure if you're an entrepreneur, you felt that feeling at times. And when I really got quiet with myself, I had this very eyeopening realization that I'd finally arrived to a place I'd worked very hard to get to, which meant that I wasn't super busy and I wasn't needed every single day.

15:14And I wasn't frantic. And it was so funny how my initial first thought and tendency was like, I need to do something more. I need to like create more chaos in my life because it's too calm right now is freaking me out. And there were two instances this last year where I really had to have a come to Jesus moment of like, no, this is what you worked so hard to get to. One of them was when I was with Thea, which if you've read my book, you know how amazing Thea is. She inspired my book. And I sat down with her on this porch in the tiny town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. And she asked me, why are you here?

15:48What do you want to talk about today? And I was like, you know, my business is very much at this like rinse and repeat stage. And I'm having a hard time envisioning three years from now, or even planning out like, what does the future look like? And I was kind of talking about the rinse and repeat of the business in a negative way. And as she started to speak, she said, the rinse and the repeat is the gift. You have worked so hard to get your business to a place like this, where you are not constantly creating, constantly needing, constantly putting out content that it can work and it can work for you and it can work while you're resting.

16:20The rinse and the repeat is not the problem. It's the gift. Looking for a new podcast to add to your business building lineup? I have the perfect recommendation for you. Marketing Made Simple hosted by Dr. JJ Peterson brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. Marketing Made Simple brings you practical tips to make your marketing easy and more importantly, make it work. From what you should actually be saying in your nurture emails to how AI can save you time and money to practical tips for turning your website into a sales machine, Dr. JJ Peterson does exactly what he promises each week. He makes marketing simple.

16:59Listen to Marketing Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts today. It's time for Cyber Monday, Dell Technologies' biggest sale of the year. You'll find the lowest prices of the year on select Dell PCs like the Dell 16 Plus with Intel Core Ultra processors. And with built-in advanced AI features, it's the PC that helps you do more faster. From smarter multitasking to extended battery life, these PCs handle the busy work so you can focus on what actually matters to you. Plus, earn Dell rewards and enjoy perks like free shipping, expert support, price match guarantee and flexible financing options.

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18:07When we were young, we dreamed of castles and fairy tales. And as we grow up, those dreams might shift into building something real, like starting a business. You need a website, payment systems, a logo, and a way to reach customers. It can all be overwhelming and confusing, but thankfully, that's where today's sponsor, Shopify, comes in. Shopify powers millions of businesses around the world and 10 % of all U.S. e-commerce, from big brands to folks just getting started. They offer beautiful, ready-to-go website templates so you don't need design skills to look professional. Their AI tools help with product images, descriptions, discount codes, and more.

18:46Shopify also makes it simple to run email and social campaigns so people can find you. And if you ever feel stuck, their award-winning 24-7 support is always available. Turn those dreams into... and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger, shopify.com slash gold digger. And then the second scenario happened recently where I was talking with one of my best friends, we were talking about our businesses and we were talking about how, you know, it was just like, we're kind of in this place where it was just like, things are running, things are running, nothing is broken, everything's great.

19:28And she was feeling a little bit angsty, similar to how I was feeling. I said, maybe this is a reminder for us that we should pursue joy and excitement outside of work. Because oftentimes as entrepreneurs, when we start to get to that level of success, where we feel a little bit of that peace or that freedom that we've always been in pursuit for, when we kind of realize, okay, we're in this like beautiful place of enoughness. One of our tendencies is to create more chaos. There's studies that show that entrepreneurs create chaos, crave chaos, likely grew up in chaos. And so I told her, I said, maybe this is our sign to not try to find excitement and joy and value in the business alone, but maybe it's our sign to like find other things that give us joy outside of work.

20:15And I thought that was just like such a good reminder. So we are doing one launch per quarter. It's what we've done for years. It is slightly rinse and repeat, but there's so much refinement available in this process. and I love that. So if you're someone listening and you have sensed these themes or this rhythm that works for you, allow it to become more rinse and repeat. It's going to save you so much time, so much energy, and maybe you'll experience that calm in place of the chaos. So this has been the blessing for me. It's been really, really beautiful. And so as we start to look at next year, I have really been planning more so a year at a glance.

20:54There was a season of my life and business where I literally felt so overwhelmed at the thought of creating a yearly plan. I like couldn't do it. I didn't want to back myself into any corners. I didn't want to lay out any plans because I think too, when you're in those early stages of motherhood, you're like, I don't even know what to expect a week from now. I don't know what my kid is going to be doing a month from now. How am I going to plan a year from now? My life is going to look so different in a year. And now I'm at a place where I feel confident in planning a year at a glance. Now things can change, things can move, things can evolve, things can shift, but we have a loose idea of here is what this is going to look like.

21:29And so honor whatever season you're in. If you're in the season where you're like, I can only think one month in advance. I can only think one quarter in advance. Honor that. But if you are in a place where you can really kind of lay out here is the rhythm that I want for this year, I highly encourage you to do that. One thing that was super, super fun for me is that my team is entirely remote. I don't see my team. If I'm lucky, I see them once a year. I saw them for the first time in three years this year when we all got together. But I flew Marissa, my right hand gal out to my house. We were finishing out a launch and celebrating together was so much fun.

22:04We got to go get pasta together, work at a coffee shop together. It was like a dream. And before she left to head back home, we sat down and planned out the next year. So it's so fun to do it with somebody who knows my business just as well as I do. And to sit down and say, OK, what do we want this to feel like? What do we want this to look like? Like what is the right timing on all these things? And so we basically planned out the entire year and that plan ended up being one launch per quarter, which just gives us a lot of downtime. It means that we're really only launching for a couple weeks out of the year.

22:34It means that we can be really strategic in the times that we're not launching. And then again, we get to leverage that rinse and repeat that allows us to not have to work so hard, but still generate massive results. So where are areas that you can streamline, you can create systems, processes, so that you can save yourself time and energy as you move into this new year. The next thing that we are going to do to again, invite more ease into our business is to again, consistently prioritize affiliate marketing. So here's a really interesting tidbit, but I was recently on a mastermind call and it was with a bunch of CEOs and moms.

23:13And something that I thought was so fascinating is one of the girls went on for like a hot seat And she was like, does anyone else like want to build a business so that like five years from now, you don't even have to show your face online. And what was hilarious is like everybody's hands went up when she asked that question. There is this huge desire, especially for people who have been entrepreneurs for five, 10 years to build something that can run without you or without you having to show up consistently. One of the best ways we've been able to do that is through focusing on affiliate marketing.

23:50This year alone, we doubled our affiliate marketing revenue, and we want to continue partnering and growing up our affiliate relationships and align with some of their launches strategically. So we have kind of shifted a position on our team. So Marissa, like I said, is my right-hand gal. She was my integrator for many years. She's been on the podcast. We've talked about that position and we have just the most beautiful working relationship possible. And about a year ago, she had expressed to me, she had recently had a baby and she was like, you know, I envisioned myself going more part-time and really just being able to like focus on something from start to finish.

24:27And as an integrator, you are like the person that is moving all the parts, but you're never necessarily fully the owner of like one area of the business. She basically owned the entire business alongside of me. And so we made this transition to transition her into a brand new position on my team to be like the director of affiliates. Like we just see so much value in strong strategic affiliate partnerships that I was willing to move my A player into a new position that one honored her desire to work more part-time to be with her child, but also to really elevate what our affiliate marketing looks like.