2023 Annual Review: Nothing Went As Planned

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Table of Contents

Podcast Description

In 2023, nothing went as planned. It seems as if life had other plans for me (and that’s okay). This is why I preach flexible planning – because no matter how hard we try to stick to our plans, sometimes it doesn’t happen that way.

In this episode, I’m sharing what my plans were versus what actually happened, and what I’m planning for 2024.

Links Referenced in Episode:

▶ Episode 49: I’m Blowing Up My Business – Pt. 1

▶ Episode 51: I’m Blowing Up My Business – Pt. 2

▶ Join the Productive Entrepreneurs Club

▶ Get on the waitlist for Systems Savvy Society

Connect with me:

Website | Instagram

Watch on YouTube:

Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Intro

In 2023, nothing went as planned. It seems as if life had other plans for me, and that’s okay. That’s why I preach and love flexible planning, because no matter how hard we try to stick to our plans, sometimes it doesn’t happen that way.

In this episode, I’m sharing what my plans were for 2023 versus what actually happened and what I’m planning for 2024. It’s a behind the scenes type of episode so if you’re curious on what’s going on, then stay tuned, because we’re about to dive right in.

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Credits Advance podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on all the right things and kiss overwhelm goodbye. Here, you’re going to learn strategies that will boost your productivity so that you can scale your online biz and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine, so let’s get started.

Reminder to Plan Flexibly

Hey, welcome back to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast. I love having these annual reviews because since I have been doing them publicly on the podcast, it’s really nice and it serves as a reminder about flexible planning.

Because every time I start to prepare for these and I’m looking back at my old annual reviews and what I thought was going to happen and what plans I had for myself and then I evaluate what I actually did.

It’s not always going as planned, which is like exactly what happened in 2023 so it really serves as why I love preaching flexible, detailed planning because you may have the best intentions to have this plan and to follow through on the plan, but then sometimes life has other plans for you, and that’s okay.

So in episode 24, I shared my 2022 top achievements and lessons learned, along with some things that I was going to do differently in 2023. But did it happen? Not really.

But like I said, it’s okay. Like I am really happy with how 2023 played out. Yes, there’s bumps on the road as there always is. But in the end, my business still grew. I still got to achieve things that I didn’t think that I was even going to do, that they weren’t even part of the plan.

But I’m glad that I was able to be flexible and make space for these opportunities because they really did play a big part in my business in 2023.

2023 Had Other Plans for Me

In preparation for this episode, for my 2023 annual review episode, I did realize though that there was so much more than I expected that didn’t go as planned.

I had a whole bunch of other things and projects and tasks that I was going to do at the start of 2023. I really wanted to, I was like, this is what I’m doing this year. Versus now, like how it ended at the end of the year, and it’s okay, like, whatever is meant to happen will happen, like, that’s my take on everything.

If something doesn’t happen, then there’s a reason for it, and if something does happen, then there’s a reason for it, but that’s just how I see things, and I think it really does help, and why I appreciate flexible planning, kind of as this concept or type of planning really comes easy to me.

What Didn’t Go as Planned?

But if you are curious on what these are specifically for my business, I am going to share seven things that I had planned versus what actually happened and what my 2024 plans include.

Okay, so this is going to be more of a behind the scenes type of episode, but It could help you with seeing like, okay, like if you’ve been following me, especially, then you can see how I did a lot of these things and you can then think to yourself, like, well, like this actually wasn’t part of the plan.

I had no idea because you can do the same, even though something wasn’t part of your original plan. You can still then make it part of the plan and still get it done, okay? So, alright, let’s go through the seven things that didn’t go as planned in 2023.

Wasn’t in less bundles

So, the first thing, I planned on being in less bundles. But I was only in less summits. So, in 2022, it was my first year, like, really going all in into bundles and summits. And then I was like, you know what, I think I’m gonna scale it back a little bit. I’m gonna be in less bundles and less summits in 2023.

But there were so many more bundles in 2023. And I was very choosy. I was very picky with the bundles that I participated in, but there were just so many good ones that it was really hard for me to say no to a lot of them.

There were so many new collaborations with people that I hadn’t worked with before that I really wanted to connect with. And so it just made it really hard to be really choosy, even though I was really trying to be intentional with it.

But by the end of the year, I was like, yeah, like this completely did not happen. Like, I think I was in more bundles last year than I was in 2022.

So I did some digging. I looked at my stats. I looked at my numbers from 2022, 2023, the people coming in through the bundles, the ones who have converted, the ones who have stuck around and based on the data that I saw, personally, this is me personally, can’t really justify continuing to be in multiple bundles.

What I’m Changing for 2024

So I will definitely be more intentional about being in even less bundles in 2024. As much as it kind of hurts, as of right now, I’m only in one bundle and that’s because I joined that one before I had made this decision and before I had done this data. I had been on the waitlist for other bundles that I had planned on joining and then I ended up not contributing or and that I’m not participating in those.

So I am definitely going to be more intentional about not participating in bundles. I will be focused on more summits this year than bundles. Not to say I won’t be in any, but it’s going to be close to none. That’s going to be my plan. That’s the plan.

But because I know that I need a new lead gen strategy, if I don’t have a new lead gen strategy in place, I’m going to keep putting myself in bundles, which is what happened in 2023.

So, I will definitely be focusing on other lead gen strategies and actually will be experimenting with one idea that I had. I’ve been talking about it with my OBM and I am really excited for it.

I’m not ready to reveal it just yet because it’s still in the idea phase I’m still working out the process the workflows, but I got it a few weeks ago I think it could be a really really fun one a really good collaboration between me and someone else and not overwhelm our people with this bundle overload with all the resources.

So affiliates, if you’re listening, then stay tuned because you will be the first to know, because I will definitely be wanting to test out this experiment with my affiliates and people that I have collaborated with already in the past. So that is number one. That is the first thing that didn’t really go as planned.

Related Post: How To Be a Standout Bundle Contributor

Didn’t host my annual summit

So number two. I planned on hosting my second summit. I hosted a summit, the Cheers to Planning Summit in 2022, and I wanted to make that an annual thing, and it just didn’t happen in 2023.

I ended up hosting a bundle instead. I had every intention to host another summit this year, but I got the idea. I was like, oh, let me host a bundle instead, and then I’ll host a summit later in the year. But that didn’t happen.

I think there were too many things going on. And kind of like I mentioned in the last episodes that I’m blowing up my business, the part one and part two where I’m sharing something just not feeling right.

I think that played a big part in me not wanting to host the summit because if you kind of follow the process, then there’s usually a free event. That’s your launch event. That’s the summit. And then after it, you’re launching a product or service or something, and it just didn’t feel right for me.

So, because my other product didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel like I wanted to do this big summit where I would be essentially launching something that felt off. So I think that’s part of the reason why I decided to host a bundle instead.

And also because I’ve always wanted to host a bundle. And I was like, well, I’ve been in so many, let me just do my own. And so I did. And so that’s what I ended up doing.

What I’m Changing for 2024

But now going into 2024 and thinking about that plan, I am definitely hosting a summit in 2024.

I have the date on my calendar. I had an initially different dates, but because I made these changes, because I’m working up this new membership that I’m creating the System Savvy Society, which if this is your first time hearing about it, go back and listen to the last episode where I kind of tease it out to you and announce it, but that will be what I will be tying my summit into, so I’m really excited.

I already have like the first phase done of this, but I will be picking up the planning back in early 2024 and be ready for the summit in April. Because that is when it is coming. It’s on the calendar and it is set in stone.

I haven’t decided though if I will be launching another bundle this year. I’m kind of going to reassess that in the middle of the year and kind of see where I’m at with bundles, depending on how the year plays out, because we know things change all the time. So I’m leaving that one open for right now.

Started a Shopify Store (For a Difference Niche)

Alright, so number three. I wanted to open up a Shopify store for my mom blog so I got the idea that I was like, oh I could start a shop with all my printables for my mom blog. I never thought that I could do it for this business.

I was like, why wouldn’t I start a shop for this business and then I ended up opening one for this business instead. So I think I was just so into like, okay, well, the mom bloggers do have a lot of them like this shop model. And I have a DIY shop with Elementor and Thrivecart currently on my mom blog, which works okay.

But in my head, I was like, well, I can create a bunch of printables and add them all to the shop and it’ll be all good. But then I was like, wait a second, I could have my Trello templates in my shop and then like fireworks went up everywhere. Like, oh my gosh, like this would be amazing because I love creating Trello templates. Like that is my happy place.

So if I could create them, I create them for myself all of the time. So I have so many more that I haven’t even like repackaged in a way for me to create it for others to use. But I personally love doing that and I was like, if I could have an easy way to do this and deliver this, which is a shop model, I would be so happy. And that’s what happened.

And so that is kind of like where I went down that path of like, okay, well, i’m not gonna do it for my mom blog anymore, but i’m going to do it for this so I opened up the Cheerful Productivity Shop in May and I am so excited for it.

What I’m Changing for 2024

I am still not ready to open up a shop for my mom blog in 2024, instead, I’m just going to focus on improving my current DIY design and then I will reassess in about the middle 2024.

I’m also making some changes to my mom blog, which I’m not really going to talk about in this episode, but I am making some changes to that business as well. So I will reassess if I want to start a shop in the middle of 2024.

But my Cheerful Productivity Shop will definitely be a core focus, a core part of my strategy moving forward. So that’s number three.

Didn’t Bring Back Old Product

Number four that didn’t go well….so this is kind of like a “meh”, but I did mention it and so I wanted to bring it here.

So I wanted to un-retire some old products. I had products that I created back in 2020, 2021 before I completely pivoted to this productivity space that they’re still good. They’re still good. They still helped people, but I just wasn’t happy with the format anymore.

It wasn’t reviewed to see if it was updated. And so I really did want to bring it back though, and kind of redo them, but I only ended up bringing back one.

I also ended up retiring my big signature program, which I talked about in the last episode. So I have retired Level Up Your Business With Trello, which if you have been around me for any amount of time then you know that this has been a big part of my business for, I don’t know, two years probably.

And I have decided to retire that so instead of bringing back old products. I’m like adding more products to this retired list.

What I’m Changing for 2024

So what I’m gonna do instead is I am just not going to worry about those old products I’m just going to leave them as is like retired if at some point I have an idea to bring him back or have the capacity or the bandwidth to do so, then I will, but it’s not going to be something that I am worrying about.

Yes, it’s still going to be on my to do list, but it’s not going to be something that’s top of mind. It’s one of those, like, if I get to it, I’ll get to it. It’ll probably stay on my list for like two years, though. And I will definitely be focusing my energy into my new programs.

So like I said, the shop is going to be a very big part of my strategy as well as my two memberships and my VIP Day service.

So I have the Productive Entrepreneurs Club, which is a mini membership, $7 a month, and In January, I will be launching what will be my core signature program, which will be the System Savvy Society, which will be a membership all about helping you create and implement those strategic systems, not just in Trello, for other tools as well, but more details on that later.

But that’s where I will be focusing my energy along with my new VIP Day service where I can just do it for you. If you’re like, Lucy, “I have no time. I have no time, but I know I need them. I know I need to get organized.” Then my VIP day service will be for you. And those will be kind of what I will be focusing on in 2024.

Launched a mini membership

All right, so number five. I kind of already talked about this a little bit. So I wanted to launch a mini membership and I kind of did but I kind of went in like a full squiggly circle, like if you’re watching me on video, you can see like it’s like, you know, it’s not like a full smooth circle.

It was like I launched a tiered membership. So the Productive Entrepreneurs Club used to be a tiered membership where it was a mini and then the regular and then immediately after the launch, I was like, ugh.

The mini didn’t actually do as good as, like, people went VIP, it was a Lite tier and a VIP tier, and almost everybody went to VIP tier, which made the Lite tier kind of an extra thing that I had to do now.

And so for a long time, I was like, okay, well, what do I do? Because, like, I completely closed it down. I just went, ended up just having the VIP tier cause I was like, that’s what people want. And, and so it kind of went in this full squiggly line.

I definitely talk about it more on Episode 49, where I shared what I have done since then for the Productive Entrepreneurs Club, which is now a mini membership, but it was just this big old circle, like squiggly messed up circle to get to this point.

So yes, like I did do it but it didn’t go as planned because there were so many different paths and bumps on its way to even get to this point, which I only did this like a few weeks ago, so it was not until the end of this year.

But both of my memberships will be a core focus, like I mentioned, in 2024, so I will definitely be focusing on these two next year.

Not Consistent With Content Creation + Repurposing

I also wanted to repurpose and do better with my podcast. So funny enough, this is episode number 52, which if I had been consistent with my podcast plan of recording and publishing a weekly podcast, I would have reached episode 52 after having my podcast for a year. But that didn’t happen. This episode is going live in December of 2023.

And I had reached a year of podcasting back in June. It was like the end of June, early July. So I’m like six months late. So I can definitely say that this was definitely one that I ended up just not being consistent with. I kind of let it go.

I slacked off and it wasn’t much that I slacked off. It was just really hard to get back into a rhythm after there’s been so many illnesses in our household. The kids have been on completely different schedules. The summer, the breaks that there was so much going on that the podcast was kind of put on the back burner.

What I’m Changing for 2024

But these past few weeks and pushing through with my daughter being sick and finding a different routine to work on the podcast and get it published is also kind of showing me that’s like, I can still do it. I just need to make it a core focus.

So I am definitely going to be more intentional with releasing these weekly episodes, but also I am going to commit to repurposing the content better because if I have my mindset, that this is going to be what creates the content for everything else, then I think it will definitely be easier for me to stay consistent with it.

Versus before, all I was doing was recording a podcast episode and sharing like one reel about it on Instagram, which even Instagram, I started lacking like the past few months. I haven’t been posting as much.

And so it was like, well, yeah. What’s the point then? Like, what’s the point? Like, yeah, I get downloads every week, but it wasn’t enough for me to be like, “Oh, like I really need to do this.” But now I’m thinking about the bigger picture and seeing that this is my core content.

I am now recording it in a video format. I’m uploading it to YouTube. So I am now repurposing the full episode to YouTube while I am talking. I have noticed that doing that, I edit a lot faster because I typically don’t edit my episodes, like, my videos at all because, like, you can see me.

You can see what I’m doing. And so I, usually when I record trainings and everything, like, I don’t edit it. It’s like, you get what you get. Like, it’s super raw. And that’s kind of the approach that I’ve now taken since I’ve recorded the episodes.

It’s helped me get faster at it. Now repurposing it to YouTube. And I have created a system that’s going to allow me to repurpose this content onto my emails and Instagram.

I’m also starting a LinkedIn account. I don’t know if I’m going to do TikTok or the other accounts. But I have started this new system where it’s like, okay, I can do this. Like I can use this as my core focus and then repurpose this content everywhere else.

So I actually am reconsidering getting back onto Instagram and getting rid of my nine grid, which has been there for over a year, probably a year and a half or two years at this point. So I am considering going back to posting on it on a regular basis to help grow that account and, repurposing to LinkedIn, repurposing to YouTube.

So I do think that this is going to be helpful with me committing and sticking to this in 2024. That is the plan.

Launched My VIP Day Intensive

And then lastly, number seven. So I really wanted to launch my VIP Day service earlier in the year and technically I have now just started it. Like I haven’t officially done a full launch for it. I’ve started mentioning it here and there.

But it’s still, still super early, like it’s still very early in this, in the phases. So I’m still including this as not part of the plan because I definitely would have wanted to launch it and make it this big old thing.

But because of where we’re at, and how everything else is playing in my business. It’s kind of just been like a hey, this is this is what I’m doing if you want the help here it is and now I’m working on some of the other back end stuff to help me attract new a new audience that will be interested in my VIP day service, but that’s not gonna happen until 2024.

I don’t have a freebie for this service yet, I don’t have a way to attract the ideal audience for this service because what I’ve been realizing is because I started as a blogger, because I started with podcasting and course creation and memberships my audience is very much a DIY audience.

So my audience likes the help, they like to learn it, they want to do it themselves versus a VIP day service client who is going to be someone who has a little bit of time, they have more time than money. They have more money than time, and they just want someone to do it for them. Like, they know they need it, and they just want someone to do it for them so they can start using it.

What I’m Changing for 2024

And so, that’s a completely different audience that I will need to go out there and find and attract. And so, that’s going to happen in 2024. And so, My VIP day will become a core focus in 2024, like I said, doing Trello stuff, creating systems, organizing, that is my happy place.

And I have been working with some clients already, and the joy and satisfaction that it brings to know that I’m in my happy place doing this. I’m getting paid to do this, and I know that once I’m done, you’re just gonna have it.

Like you would not have had to do anything to get your system, to get it organized, and then you’re immediately going to start using it and immediately start seeing the results that come with having organized systems, and that is so gratifying.

It is so amazing to me, and so I would definitely be making that part of my focus in 2024.

What’s In Store for 2024

So now, because of the changes that I recently started doing towards the end of the year, I feel like I’m going into 2024 having a very clear structure of my business offerings, my business model.

So I have my free content, which is my podcast, which will repurpose to YouTube and social media.

I have my DIY, so I have my courses and my templates that are in my Cheerful Productivity Shop.

I will have two done with you-ish type of memberships. I have the Productive Entrepreneurs Club and I will have the System Savvy Society. And those two are kind of done with you because we have accountability, we have check-ins, I’m giving you something new to do every month, you can ask questions, and I can support you. So it’s almost like a done with you type of model, not fully, but ish.

And then I have the done for you, which is the VIP Day.

So, all of them have different audiences, and they all still work together to fulfill my mission of maximizing the reach and impact that I can make in this online business world.

And that actually kind of leads me into next week’s topic. So, I’m going to end this here. I’m going to end this here because next week, in next week’s episode, I’m actually going to share and reveal what my word for 2024 is.

So, this is something that I started doing in the past two years and I really enjoyed it. So, I will record an episode about it next week along with how you can come up with your own. So, that is where I’m going to end this episode.

Episode Wrap-Up

And those are the seven things that I had planned on doing and they didn’t go as planned, but as you see, like it all worked out for the better.

And so if I can leave you with any concluding thoughts, it would just be that to leave space and allow for flexibility in your planning. Like, yes, there’s certain things that you may want to set in stone, but also stay open to new opportunities because those new opportunities could be real big business impactors for you.

So keep an open mind when it comes to all of that. And whenever you are planning, just know that it could change and that’s okay.

All right, friend, if you have been enjoying this podcast, please follow and leave a rating or review. They will definitely help us reach new audiences. It will really help the podcast grow and fulfill my mission of reaching more people to learn about how you can get more time back in your days and be just more intentional with everything that you do because we have busy lives.

We’re business owners doing other things outside of business and you really want to enjoy those other things. You probably started a business to be able to get that time freedom, to be with your family, to enjoy more walks outside, to travel more, to do all these other things but it’s so easy to just get sucked in your to do list and constantly having to keep up with all the things that you have to do.

And my goal is really to help you not feel so overwhelmed all the time. So, please leave a rating and review if you haven’t yet. And in a few days, it’s Christmas, I will definitely be celebrating, and if you are celebrating too, then I want to wish you a very, very happy holiday season. And I will be back next week with my word of the year for 2024.

Thank you so much for listening to the cheerful productive chats podcast with me Lucy Reyes. To view the full transcript and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/52. And before you go, make sure you follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening. So you know once the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success.