The way you approach your annual planning can make or break your year. 

Yep, dramatic maybe. But true.

Because whether you like it or not, the effectiveness of your funnels, launches, and product suites will only be as strong as the way you plan them out.

And one thing about me, I’m a chronic planner. 

Do all of the plans we make get executed? 

HELL no.

But even if EVERY plan doesn’t get implemented, it’s still  essential you HAVE a plan for all the important things you’re doing.

As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to just fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best (been there done that), but the intention you put forth when setting and cementing your goals will be your best friend once you start asking yourself the right questions (We’ll cover those in a sec).

Life changes and plans adapt, but fumbling your way through with guesswork can leave you less effective than you would have been with a clear goal and steps towards it.

That’s why, no matter how hectic my days can look, one of my favorite things to do now is sit with my matcha in the quietest corner, notebook in hand, and let myself dream and scheme on my goals.

Using these notes, we then sit down in our annual planning sessions (Yep, every year) where we follow this exact sequence of prompts to help us get clear on our intentions and map out the year ahead.

I’m going to be sharing those prompts with you here, so find your corner and get introspective with us!

Prompt 1: Revisit Your Vision 

“Where do I want to be long term?” 

This is a question I often ask myself. But also with one more question layered on top:

“Is this different from where I wanted to be last year?”

By revisiting our goals from years past, we’re able to see how our desires have evolved, which may mean (and normally does) that our plans and action steps could still be aligned with old desires, not your revised new ones. I call this my ‘gut check’.

Here you can discover what has changed, what worked or didn’t work last year, and if anything is misaligned that you need to shift. 

Prompt 2: Identify Your Goals 

This could be revenue, team members to support/team growth, workload, product development, audience + email list. The list goes on and changes every year as you grow.

Once you have clarity on what those are, I want you to identify what you want to be known for.

This one’s important, because once you know the answer to that question, it should inform all of the behaviors and actions you take that year to achieve the goals you’ve set out. 

What is your niche? Your zone of genius? There may be a lot of little things you handle as a business owner, trust me I get it, but what do you want to be doing? And what do you want your ideal client to see you as the authority on? 

Prompt 3: What primary vehicles will help you reach outlined goals + brand awareness? 

Is it your marketing channels? Your Product development? Your team restructuring/hiring?

Knowing the areas you want to grow is a great first step, but do you know the tools you need to get there? This could look like:

• More focus on SEO and blog posts
• Improving your email sequence to nurture your email audience.
• Starting with a small (or increasing your) budget for paid ads on the platforms it matters most. 

Prompt 4: What do I want to leave behind from the previous year?

This doesn’t only apply to product procedures.

In your time of reflection I mentioned in the first prompt, you may realize that there are old dusty mindsets and patterns holding you back from the bigger goals you want to achieve.

Do a deep dive into what those are and how you can alter those mindsets that no longer serve you.   

Prompt 5: What do I want to take with me in the new year? 

This prompt is as important as it is rewarding, because here’s the thing…

If you can’t celebrate the small wins, you won’t be able to identify the big ones when they arrive. 

And besides, arent big wins just an accumulation of all the small ones along the way? 

Grab a glass of champagne and give yourself a hearty pat on the back for the things that went well, whether planned or not, and write them down. Highlight them in your quarterly planning because if they worked the first time, they just might work again 😉

It’s a fact:

Gratitude attracts.

Prompt 6: What kind of support do you need to hit your targets? 

What can you allocate? Is it back-end support, social media marketing, coaching, or design?

Take a realistic look at your revenue and projects to see if this is possible for you. Maybe it’s only a part time VA that you’re delegating 3 hours a week of work to. Regardless, even something as small as that can make a huge dent in what you’re able to accomplish for the month. 

When you’ve got support, look at the aspects of your work that bring you joy.

Within your zone of genius there is ease, because when you love to do something you do it efficiently. By simply offloading the things you don’t enjoy to someone who does, you’re using every hour to its fullest. And we all know how important every hour is.

Prompt 7: Map out your revenue goals by offer + product  

At the KC Studio, after we map out our revenue goals by offer and product, we assign them a launch date and look at the launch calendar to assess if it feels good. Identify what, if any, funnels we want to create.

How many units, what price point, who might we need to hire to do that. 

We’ve already changed things around on our Q1 calendar so. many. Times.

Because things have shifted and I want to make sure there isn’t too much on our plate as a team, and that we have the energy to do each thing right. That’s the great thing about planning with your team – 

You get to set the tone and move toward goals together, then you stop and adjust regularly based on what feels right and proves to be most effective.

It’s called pivoting, and we are big fans on the KC team 

Pro tip: Think about the offers and products you’re scheduling based on what your ideal client will be needing support with depending on the quarter, then plug those in accordingly.

Prompt 8: Identify quarterly focus areas + map out KPI’s

We always start by breaking things down by quarter, and then by month.

Once you’ve broken those down, make sure to include a section for mapping out what contractors you’ll need to hire for support. This is especially important for launches or funnels you’d like to create.

(Hiring copywriters and designers tends to be the most important to book out first because there’s a long lead time for projects, so keep this in mind when allocating those.) 

Pro tip: Think about the courses and products you are realistically placing in your focus areas and what your ideal client will be needing support with depending on the quarter, then plug those in and schedule accordingly.

Once you get all of this mapped out, you’ll have a much clearer big picture idea of what you want, where you’re headed, and the pieces you’ll need to get there. If hiring a copywriter is a necessary part of your plan to achieve your goals, we’re currently booking out for the next quarter at the KC Copy Studio and have the proven expertise to help you turn those plans into big realities.

You just need to choose to turn those goals into realities.