This time every year there’s a lot of talk about the best way to plan for the upcoming year. Set goals… don’t set goals… how to set goals… what kind of goals to set… set an intention… select a word-of-the year… let your superpower guide you, etc. The one thing everyone agrees on is, if you want to be successful you need to have a plan.
Since autumn always feels like new beginnings to me, I start my planning in October. The entire process takes about a week to complete.
First, I review where I am in my business and in my life… what’s working, what isn’t working, what needs to be tweaked, and what needs to be released to make room for new opportunities. For every part of my plan I ask myself two questions... Does this limit or liberate me? Does this raise or reduce my energy?
Then I move on to the numbers, starting with revenue. Once I’ve set a realistic revenue goal, I start mapping out my plan to achieve it. I use a mind-mapping tool, Mindmeister, to organize the information so I can see how the various parts of the plan fit together.
Once I have a plan that feels right for me, everything – program launch activities, editorial calendars, content development, speaking engagements, marketing activities, studio time, professional development activities, personal development and self-care activities, volunteer activities, and travel -- is laid out in detail in Asana. Large projects are broken down into milestones and each milestone is assigned a due date. This project management approach allows me to see any potential conflicts and keeps me on track throughout the year. And since Asana sends email reminders, due dates don’t suddenly sneak up on me.
This year, as I started my review process, I realized it was time for a drastic change in Gypsy Wolf Marketing. So, I retired all of my existing packages and programs. Yes, all of them. This opened the space for me to create new offerings – Art Business Spotlight, Art Business Accelerator, and Elite Artist – that are more aligned with my clients’ individual needs. When I launched my new websites for Gypsy Wolf Marketing and Dakini Dreams earlier this week, I also blank-slated my blogs, as well as my Facebook pages. It’s time for a fresh start.
Over the years I’ve found that balancing soul and strategy works best for me. So in addition to setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based) goals, I also set an intention which I include in my morning affirmations and I select a word-of-the-year.
I’m not going to list my SMART goals this year but I am going to share my word-of-the year, warrior. A warrior, in the Shambhala tradition, is someone who is aligned with their own power. It represents not being afraid of who I am; personal freedom and power through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge; mastering the challenges of my life; synchronizing mind and body; overcoming habitual behaviors; relaxing with discipline; facing the world with openness and fearlessness; and finding the sacred dimension of everyday life.
2015 is starting with an extremely powerful full moon, the Wolf Moon, in Cancer on January 4th/5th so get ready to take advantage of that energy to jumpstart your year.