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The Adaptable Roadmap: Why Rigid Planning Is Keeping You Stuck
Well, hello there and welcome back to Your Most Aligned Year. It's Episode 3, my friend. If you want to start with Episode 1 go here, or Episode 2 go here
Today we're gonna be talking about the next step in this process, which is all about your adaptable roadmap.
If you know anything about my teaching style, anything about my brand over the last decade, I love a good roadmap. It has been the name of a freebie, an entire program. I use "roadmap" all the time because for me, I love seeing what's ahead, seeing the big picture and the main focuses where I should really be directing my energy and attention.
I love having that guidance, and that's essentially what we're gonna be creating for you for this next year in life and business.
Listen to the full episode below:
The Key Word Is Adaptability
The key word here is adaptability.
Because most plans, especially business plans I have found, leave very little room for adaptability. Now, not that you can't change those things. What I find is that entrepreneurs will set a plan, and because they don't approach it in an adaptable way, they try to fit themselves into a box, a predetermined box that no longer actually serves them.
You are creating a year plan and you don't know who the hell you're gonna be in September. You don't know what's gonna be happening in October.
To set these very rigid goals and a very rigid roadmap is actually what I believe derails a lot of entrepreneurs.
What we're focused on right now is creating more of this adaptability rather than this rigid goal setting that so many of us, myself included for years, have been trained to do.
Because when you're trying to map out your entire year in January down to the very specific details, the problem becomes that you are not going to be the same person in Q4.
Think back to what we talked about in the beginning. The whole goal is that you are stepping into this new identity. That could happen very quickly in Q1, depending on you, where you're at, your life experiences, what's being demanded of you outside of your business. But it could also take you quite a bit of time. This might even be just the first iteration of that.
To create really rigid plans for a person that you aren't today? You need to give yourself flexibility. It's gonna be the very best thing that you do.
Because life happens. Illnesses, unexpected opportunities, shifts in your industry, shifts in what you love, personal changes. Your responsibilities could change. And so many of my listeners are caretakers, and I just cannot stress that enough.
Rigid goals make you feel more like a failure when you need to pivot. And that's the whole thing. Set yourself up for success because I want you to feel like you are in the driver's seat of shifting the roadmap or shifting that specific goal, rather than feeling like you have abandoned the plan.
You are not abandoning a plan. You are making decisions that serve you in this season of life, in this moment.
Enter: Monthly Themes
The shift that I have really taken over the last few years (and I teach my clients inside of the Academy and Brand New Plan) is to have monthly themes.
A monthly theme and focus that gives you direction, but it contains the built-in flexibility so that you do have a clear roadmap for the year, but it's not rigid.
It's like, "This is our focus. This is what we're seeing as possible."
If you want to write a book, and you want to release that book in July, you are gonna take the steps to make that happen. But should you need to shift it because something unexpected comes up, you're able to do that without feeling like you've abandoned something or you haven't hit the goal.
It has that adaptability.
Your business does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in your actual freaking life.
Yes, there are things we need to separate. We need to have set time to work on our business. We need to be able to shift the hats that we wear. But to think that it is its own siloed part and does not bleed into our life and vice versa? That's not reality.
What to Consider Before You Plan
Before you plan, you really want to consider a few things when you're making this adaptable roadmap.
1. Seasons
Everyone's seasons are different, but over time you will start to understand your particular seasons. In the beginning of planning or in the beginning of your business, really just look to the actual seasons. It's a fantastic way to look at how you might be able to show up.
Think of the winter solstice. Think of the equinoxes as the driving forces. Winter is hibernation time, self-care time. Maybe you aren't gonna be able to show up as much. We have the holidays, we have all these busy things. But then come spring, you might build your momentum.
Now again, these are just guidelines. Every person is different.
I'll use my business as an example. Summertime for me actually tends to be a bit of a hibernation as a business owner because as a homeschool mother, summer for me actually gives me more time. I'm not homeschooling during that entire time, and so I have a lot more flexibility to get things done in my business that I wouldn't normally be able to prioritize.
So the backend of my business, the admin work, fixing things that are broken. I often take this time off from creating new content as well. I'll take a break from YouTube, I'll take a break from my podcast. Because I need and have the capacity to work on these things. So I create a lot of space for that.
Every season is gonna be different. As you start to pay attention to these seasons in your life, you're going to be able to use them to better plan in your business.
Start thinking about:
Which seasons do you have more energy in?
Which seasons do you naturally slow down?
2. Holidays
Which types of holidays in your life require more energy from you personally? But then also think about holidays as it relates to your business or your industry.
Are you in a type of industry where the end of the year, beginning of the year, is actually some of your most profitable time? Maybe you're in the fitness industry, the health industry. These tend to do really well at this time of year.
Are you in the homeschool or teacher education space? August/September's gonna be a really big time for you, honestly mid-July.
Think about the holidays and seasons, the peak times for your business and life. This is very, very important in planning around.
3. Life Events
Please, for the love of all, do not plan your next year in business without prioritizing the life events.
I schedule these in first, always.
I already have three major trips scheduled in my calendar for 2026 (well, four actually) because I'm not gonna schedule anything else during that time. Those are very, very crucial to me and the success as a business owner and a human being.
Think about:
Family commitments
Vacations
School schedules
If your child is in an event and there's a very busy month
Put that in your calendar. Put that in your list before you start building out the actual plans for your business.
4. Your Patterns
When do you historically need breaks? When are those moments? We all have them.
I shared a little bit about my summer, how that's a little bit different for me than other business owners. Do you like to take breaks around your birthday? Are there certain times of the year where you notice that you just are not as outwardly expressive?
Creating content is actually a struggle during this particular time of year? Really take these things into consideration.
A bonus consideration: If you want to take this a step further, another thing you can start considering is really planning around your cycle.
We're gonna talk about this a little bit more in the final episode where we're talking about habits, but this really came up for me recently. We were talking about systems on our Academy strategy call, and one of the things we discussed was our cycle as women and paying attention to that on a monthly basis.
If you're planning that the first day of the month is always when you're gonna sit down and write all your social media content, but that first day of the month doesn't fall in your ovulation period of your cycle? It might be really hard to have that inspiration to create content, to have that creativity.
There's a lot of amazing resources on this. We actually have an episode here on the Authentic Brand Builders Podcast about cycle syncing. Definitely check that out.
Pay Attention This Year
The thing that I really want you to realize as we head into these monthly themes is that different months require different versions of you throughout the year.
If you even just make it a goal to pay attention to that this year, you will be set up for so much success next year.
If what I'm talking about isn't something you've previously taken into consideration or paid attention to, doing that this year will set you up for so much freaking success.
When I started paying attention to the seasons in my life and my business, it really made the execution of my goals and my energy flow so much better. It just made business feel much more intuitive and in tune than when I wasn't paying attention to those things.
Creating Your Monthly Themes
Now that we've set up why we do this and the first steps I want you to take before you choose your monthly themes, let's start thinking about monthly themes as less rigid, more adaptable.
Rather than saying "I'm gonna make $10K in January," I want you to reposition it as what the focus is that month.
I'll be honest with you, a lot of people are like, "Okay, I'm gonna make $10K months." How are you going to do that? Let's talk about what that looks like.
They might take the next step and say, "Okay, in order to hit $10K months, I need to sell X of this product." Great. But how are you going to do that? What is the focus?
I'm all about taking that revenue goal (taking that best revenue goal) and breaking it down into whether that's consistent monthly revenue you want to be generating. Maybe it does fluctuate if you're more of someone who does signature launches. Maybe you launch something four times a year, so March and June might be higher revenue months.
I'm all about figuring that out so you can see it's possible to hit the goal you want to hit. But how are you gonna do it? What are you gonna be focusing on each month to generate that revenue?
Monthly Theme Examples
Instead of just saying "I'm gonna make $10K in January," maybe:
January is my launch month - Maybe you have a product you're going to focus on launching in January, and that's gonna be the main focus of that month.
Content creation month - Where you're going to batch schedule a bunch of content
Community building month - Where you want to prioritize getting your reach out there, being on as many podcasts, doing as many guest speaking events as you want
Systems and backend month - I do this a lot in the summer. June tends to be a big systems and backend cleanup, the mess that exists
Rest and recharge month - Building in intentional downtime
Product creation month - Let's say you want to launch a new product in March. January's actually gonna be creating that product. That's gonna be the focus.
I actually have a goal for January which is all about testimonials. My January goal is to gather as many testimonials as possible for my products and my services, because this is something I've identified as a gap with my digital products. I know the results are there, people will send me a message or mention it on an academy call, but I need actual screenshots and documentation so I can use that in my marketing. Increasing sales for these products is a goal for me for 2026.
That's a goal I have that month. My normal content, that's gonna happen, the normal things are gonna be happening, but that is my main focus for the month.
How to Create Your Monthly Themes
To create these, you want to:
Look at your revenue goal (I highly recommend you aim for the best, I talked about this in the last episode)
Determine what needs to happen to hit that
Break it into 12 actionable focuses (not rigid goals, this is our main focus for the month)
Take into consideration your seasons, your holidays
List out your monthly themes
I've shared a few of mine. January is a big testimonial/social proof month for me. I'm gonna launch my book in April. That feels really scary to share with all of you, but here we are. April is actually gonna be my 10 year anniversary of having my business, so it feels like a really symbolic time to release my book.
If you are the type of person who only has the capacity for one monthly theme, start with that please.
You can always add more. It's like, if I do this one thing, I know I'm making progress towards my end of the year goal, and that's what I want for you. One main focus.
Because some of these months, it's gonna be a lot. If it's a launch month, that's probably gonna be what you have the capacity for.
If you want to add on more, absolutely go for it. But I do recommend you create some sort of hierarchy so that if life happens, if things start to get in the way, if your schedule gets busy, you focus on the one that's gonna matter the most.
This is going to give you direction, which is what most people are lacking.
We can't take action if we don't know the direction. This gives you the direction without the pressure of just focusing on hitting exact numbers.
A Reality Check About Monthly Revenue
I'll be honest with you, I've had many years where my year started slow. I would be like, "I'm gonna have a $25K month," and I didn't.
I didn't give up on that goal. I was able to make more money later in the year.
Creating these monthly income goals are really, in my opinion, just so you can see that the end of the year revenue is possible for you. Just so you can wrap your head around it.
If you know next year you want to make $100,000 as a business owner, you know that you need to average about $8,400 a month. So you're like, "Alright, $8,400 a month. How can I break that down?"
Let's say you solely focus on one-on-one. Then you need to have four people paying you $2,000 a month. Or you need to sign one one-on-one client every month at $8,000.
It's just so that you can see that it is possible. You're seeing the tangibles.
But as business owners, our months do fluctuate. If no one's told you that recently, here's your loving reminder: that happens.
A lot of people will start the year slow and make up a lot of revenue at the end of the year. Or they'll start the year really strong, they'll take a few months off, they'll end it really strong.
The goal is that you end the year hitting the number that you want to hit. How we get there can shift and can change.
The Quarterly Evaluation Process
In addition to the monthly themes, I want to leave you with one piece of this puzzle that I think is absolutely essential when you are creating an adaptable roadmap.
After this episode, you're gonna sit down and think about what are your 12 main focuses to help you get to your revenue goal (and not just revenue, but business and life goals as well). What are those 12 monthly focuses minimum? And you're gonna set those for the year.
But here's the key piece for adaptability: I need you checking in every quarter to make sure that is still relevant.
To make sure you didn't already do it (you might have gotten ahead of yourself, I love when that happens). To make sure you're on track.
These 90-day quarterly evaluations are so fundamental for business owners. Because what I want you to do is shift your focus around so that you are planning the specifics every 90 days, and then every 90 days you're checking in to see how that's going, and then planning the next 90 days. So everything you're planning is really based on who you are at that moment.
90 days is:
Long enough to make real progress
Short enough to stay focused
A very natural rhythm for entrepreneurs and business owners
The 4R Framework
I have a really simple framework for this. The Four Rs. I teach this inside Brand New Plan. We go into it a little bit more in depth. I actually share with you what data to look at, how to evaluate your process, how to make the shifts.
But I want to give you this framework here so you have an understanding of what it is.
Review, Reflect, Regroup, Refresh.
REVIEW
First, every 90 days, you want to review. You want to look at the data. Yeah, data. You need to be looking at specific numbers. What actually happened?
And I'm gonna say yes, specific numbers, but also the emotional data. It's not always a number. It's like, "Well, I said I was gonna do this, but I didn't do this. Here's why I didn't do this."
So what actually happened?
I love to have my clients really look at:
What is generating leads?
What is generating views?
What's working? Let's do more of that
What offers are making money for you?
What are the best and worst revenue months and why?
This can also help you identify seasons when you're going to plan again next year or within the quarter. This is the review: data collection, analysis.
REFLECT
How are you feeling right now? Because it's gonna change every 90 freaking days.
How are you feeling about your business right now?
Are you on track with your yearly goals?
What unexpected things have come up?
Are you feeling unbalanced anywhere?
Is there something you said you were gonna test and try that just isn't feeling great right now?
REGROUP
Do you still feel aligned with your plan moving forward for the next quarter specifically? Maybe even just assess the end of the year goals.
Do you need to change this?
What specifically needs to change as we're heading into the next 90 days?
Are you being called to do anything differently or try something new?
That's why this assessment is so important.
REFRESH
Make adjustments to your plan. Set your next 90-day very specific movements. Update your monthly themes if you need to.
This is how we create a plan that doesn't break, because it's designed to evolve.
We're checking in and it takes the pressure off of feeling like you have to check in every week or every month. It's every 90 days. You can do that.
The Strategic Power of This System
If you follow what I teach here at Brandmerry, you're also using that period of time to map out your content for the next 90 days.
So if you think about this strategically, my friend:
You're reflecting, you're checking in on your progress. You are getting really specific about what the next 90 days hold. This is where you're not just thinking about the monthly themes (you do that in January or December), but you're also getting a weekly breakdown for Q1 (January, February, March).
You have your monthly themes, but you also have maybe a weekly breakdown. "I'm gonna host a webinar. I'm going to launch this product. I'm on vacation." You're getting a weekly breakdown.
You're not doing that for Q2 yet because we haven't gone through Q1.
Then at the end of Q1, you are following the Four Rs: Review, Reflect, Regroup, and Refresh. You're listing out your specific weekly breakdown for the next 90 days, and you're also planning your content because now you know specifically what you're doing and you can create content around that.
Then you're taking the pressure off of creating content and what you're gonna post each week and what the focus is gonna be.
Do you see why this is so important?
And you're repeating that process every 90 days.
Planning Creates Space for Inspiration
Having a plan creates space for intuition, for inspiration.
A lot of people think that having a content calendar keeps them from creating things that are exciting in that moment. No, actually, it gives you the space in your brain to think about other shit because you're not sitting there going, "Oh my gosh, what do I post today?" and you have that stress.
You're able to make shifts and changes and post from a place of inspiration rather than a place of desperation. "Oh, I gotta do this. Oh my gosh, I gotta do this. I just gotta whip something up."
This is why having these plans are so great.
Your Action Steps for This Week
Right now you've got your monthly plans, and I want you to start thinking about the specifics of Q1 (January, February, March).
Ask yourself:
What's my theme or main focus for those months?
What needs to happen to support those quarterly revenue goals?
What are some things happening in your personal life? (Make sure those are on your calendar)
Write out your more specific roadmap for Q1.
You have your year adaptable roadmap (monthly themes), but then also right now, because it's the beginning of the year, you need to give yourself the specifics for Q1.
I have one of those dry erase calendars in my office, and I'll just write down for the whole week what I'm focused on: promoting a webinar, sharing a bundle, recording a bunch of content. You're just giving yourself those weekly themes, again, only for Q1.
This is gonna set you up for a lot of success and a repeatable system that's really gonna serve you throughout the entire year.
You're gonna have:
Your roadmap for the whole year
Your really specific strategic focuses just for the next 90 days
Then you will review, you will reflect, you will regroup, you will repeat the process again.
Want the complete system? I give you a full breakdown on this. You don't even have to wonder what you should be auditing, what data you should be looking at. I give you all of that inside Brand New Plan.
This is where we go even deeper into that quarterly evaluation. If you want the templates for that, you want more information on that, be sure to check out Brand New Plan because it's only available for a little while longer.
Go to brandmerry.com/newplan to get all the information. It's only available a few weeks out of the year because I do an end of one year, beginning of the next year to help you plan out your business in a truly authentic and sustainable way.
Speaking of sustainability, next week in our final episode, we're talking about sustainable execution. We're talking daily habits.
One of my favorite topics. This is how you actually make the things happen. The plan is great, but how do we do it? What are the habits that we have to take on?
And more specifically, what are the habits that our new identity, the future version of us, does on a regular basis?
We're gonna connect your habits back to your identity, giving you a system that'll actually stick.
It's gonna be a good one, and I will see you in next week's episode.
Michelle
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
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Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
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The Vision Alignment: How to Set Revenue Goals That Actually Mean Something
Welcome back to Your Most Aligned Year. This is episode two, my friend. Check out episode one here.
I am so excited you're joining me because today we're talking about the vision alignment. We're taking what we talked about in episode one and expanding on it to start thinking about the revenue you want to generate from your business.
Because here's the thing: your business and your life absolutely coexist. Many of us have businesses so we can create an impact in the lives of others AND better our own life and the life of our family. And that requires cash. That requires money.
But this isn't a number we can just pick out of thin air.
This isn't something we can look at Susie online who has a similar business, or someone we admire and go, "Oh, she did this. So that's the number I'm gonna use."
Because if we're not aligned and connected to that number, then it truly is just a number. And just a number is not gonna motivate you at the end of the day.
I remember my first six figure year. It was also my first year in business. I was so obsessed with that number that I felt with 100% confidence I was gonna make it happen because it was so connected to my identity and I was so crystal clear on what I needed to do to get there.
I want you to feel the same way.
But plot twist: We're not gonna pick just one number. We're gonna pick three numbers.
That's what we're gonna focus on today. It's the Good, Better, and Best Framework, my friend, and it's what you're gonna walk away with after today's episode.
Listen to the full episode below:
Every Dollar Has a Purpose
Today is all about setting business goals that match your identity. The first thing we need to strip away are any preconceived ideas of numbers or goals we might be carrying that are not ours.
This goes back to the shoulds. Who we should be, how much money we should be making, all those things we talked about in episode one.
One of my first accountants said something that changed everything for me: Every dollar has a purpose.
That was her methodology. Every dollar was either going into savings, paying off debt, paying team members, or going to my personal paycheck. Whatever it was, it had a purpose.
And I started implementing this in my actual revenue planning. Not just "the money is in, now what?" but "I'm gonna hit this number because these are the things I actually want to fund, and this is the money required to fund those things."
Because then you're not just choosing a number that sounds impressive, or something someone else did, or something you feel like you should be making.
It's a more emotional and grounded decision.
And I personally believe that when we are more rooted, when we are grounded (yes, I'm hinting at all the woo, we talked about burning things in episode one, and now we're talking about walking barefoot outside), that's when the magic happens.
Money can feel very fluffy. It's like it's imaginary. I don't see that dollar bill, that physical thing coming through. But when we can root it and ground it and feel more connected to it? That's where the magic really happens.
The Connection That Changed Everything
I still remember that first six figure year. I've done six figures continuously since then, and I've done $300,000 as my highest year. But the connection I had that first year has not been matched.
And I'm really wanting and hoping to match that feeling in this new year. Because that certainty I had, at a time when I should NOT have been certain (I did not know what the fuck I was doing in year one, I was throwing spaghetti at the wall), that feeling came from doing the identity work.
I wanted to say I was a six figure business owner, and I was crystal clear on what I was gonna be able to do with that money.
When we connect every dollar to your actual life priorities, that's when the shift happens.
Your business revenue isn't just about the business. It's about your life. YOUR life. And that's where these goals should be coming from.
The Good/Better/Best Framework
So instead of one magic number (air quotes, you can't see them, but I'm making them), you're setting three goals. Three of them.
This is called the Good/Better/Best Framework. I did not make it up, I don't know who did, but I've been doing it for years and teaching my clients how to do this.
Here's how it works:
Your GOOD is your baseline.
If I hit this, I'm good. For a lot of my clients, this could be what you've hit previously.
And I want to pause here because we don't talk about this enough. I remember Vanessa Lau (a fantastic entrepreneur I've followed for years) mentioned something before she took her sabbatical. She said one of the things we're constantly taught is that we have to be growing, and every year we have to have a new revenue goal. Every year it has to be different, more. It always has to be more.
But no one talks about the fact that you start over from zero at the beginning of the year. Not in your bank account, but the goal starts at zero. The year starts over. So you not only have to replicate what you did the year before, but also add to that.
Is that something you have the capacity to do?
When I heard her say this, I was like, holy crap. I've never thought about that before. Some of you might hear this and be like "duh," and some of you might be having that moment I had.
We're constantly just focused on more and growth, and this sent me into a whole spiral. But I digress.
The idea is that your good goal is GOOD. In fact, I'd argue it's great.
This is your baseline. This keeps your life running. It pays your bills, it covers your life. If you're a business owner, it's most likely what you've achieved this past year or in a recent year.
If you're not a full-time business owner, maybe it's what you need to make so you can take a step, maybe cut hours at your full-time job. (And by the way, not everyone needs to leave their nine to five. Entrepreneurship is hard as shit, and I know a lot of people who do it for years and then go back to a nine to five or get side jobs. There's absolutely no judgment there.)
Your BETTER goal is your growth goal.
Your good is what you've done, you can repeat this. Your better is the growth area. This allows for expansion, some breathing room. Maybe this is where you get to pay off some debt. Maybe you want to pay off your house or your cars. Maybe this is taking a trip you've been wanting to take. Maybe this just allows you to pay yourself more so you can do X, Y, and Z.
Your BEST goal is your stretch goal.
This is the dream scenario. This is the holy shit moment. BUT it is YOUR holy shit moment, not someone else's. Please don't do what I did.
That year I talked about in the last episode? In reality, based on how I was feeling and what I needed most in my life, I should have gone for my good goal being what I'd already achieved, and then incrementally raised from there.
Why This Framework Works
Here's what Good/Better/Best does:
It takes the pressure off having one perfect number.
You're not staking everything on hitting one specific target.
It gives you flexibility as the year unfolds.
And let's be clear, these numbers are NOT set in stone. You can adjust them. I highly recommend (and this is built into Brand New Plan) that you check in every 90 days to see if you need to adjust your goals.
These might shift. These might change. Because we don't know what's happening in Q3 of 2026. It could be something we didn't plan for. You could hit your goal in June. Then you better raise it.
It allows you to celebrate progress at multiple levels.
All three goals are actually wins. You don't "settle" for good. They're all winning numbers.
A Planning Hack I Love
Here's something I tell my clients in the Academy: When you're mapping out the nitty gritty (which we'll talk about more in episode three), when you're thinking about your offers and launches and revenue per product, plan for your best scenario.
Plan for the holy shit goal.
Because guess what? If you go for that and maybe don't hit it (because it's the "this will be crazy" goal), you're still on track for good and better.
And that's a cool mindset shift you can take. You're planning for the best, and if you hit it? Whoa. And if you don't? That's great too. We're still growing, we're still making progress, we're still doing amazing things.
Where Is Your Money Actually Going?
Now that we've thought about Good/Better/Best, let's talk about the "every dollar has a purpose" piece.
We get to connect the money to your actual life.
Don't skip these questions. You're probably already thinking of numbers. I can't keep you from doing that (that's your intuition going "this feels good, this feels exciting"), but this process really helps you feel grounded and rooted in that number.
Here's what I want you to consider:
Your personal salary: What are you gonna pay yourself from your business? If you haven't done that already, that's a fantastic goal for this next year. And not just what you're paying yourself, but break that down too.
If you're paying yourself $5,000 every single month, where does that $5,000 go? Some goes to taxes (hate to break it to you), but where does the rest go?
I'm really going to encourage you to think about these things from a best perspective. You could do this for all the numbers (feel free to do it for good, better, AND best, I actually love that because then you're very connected to each of them).
But for that best one? This is the part where you get to really dream.
Are you going on a family trip to Europe? Are you buying a new home or getting a new car? Does your kid really want to do some sort of trip or class that you can now get for them? Think about how that personal salary translates into everyday expenses and those goals.
Your business needs:
Business savings fund
Are you getting ready for maternity leave? Do you need a cushion?
Do you need to take a sabbatical for three months in the summertime?
Hiring support?
New programs or certifications?
Building an emergency fund (I recommend this for both business and personal life)?
I want you to do this for each of your goals, but bare minimum for your best.
How much is gonna stay in the business and what is that going to fund? How much is gonna be your personal salary and what is that funding? What are you saving for? What are you investing in?
Think about all these different areas so you can look at that number and it's not just a number anymore. It's a vacation. It's a new couch. It's investments. It's being able to take time off from work.
This is how revenue goals become more motivating, because they're connected to your real desires. They're not just a number you picked out of thin air.
The Alignment Check
As we go through these numbers, it's really important that we do a little alignment check with our future self, what we talked about in episode one.
As you're going through this, ask yourself:
Does this revenue goal support the person I'm becoming?
Do I have the capacity? Not "are there small things I need to shift" (that's gonna happen), not "are there challenges I'm going to face" (that's gonna happen), but am I READY for this? Do I have the capacity for this?
Do the priorities I'm funding match my values?
The things I'm not willing to compromise on?
How does hitting this goal make me actually feel?
Not just as an entrepreneur, but as a parent, as a caregiver, as a spouse, as a partner, as a human being?
This is all connected. We talked about feelings in episode one. If something feels off or one of the numbers just doesn't feel quite aligned, now's the time to dig deeper and shift that a bit.
This isn't about being perfect. This is about alignment.
Your intuition is already guiding you through this process. Listen to that. Trust that. And also know that this is an evolution. Just like your identity will slowly shift throughout the year, your goals can also be adjusted, especially this revenue goal.
How My Goals Have Evolved
My revenue goals have shifted SO much as my identity has evolved.
After that debacle (you know, where I realized I was going for a monetary goal that did not and was not aligned), I purposely took it back. I was like, "I'm gonna go back to six figures. I'm gonna make less, actually, because I need to do some inner work, and I know I don't have the capacity to be there for my clients and my family with everything we're going through."
I gave myself permission. And that was hard. It was very hard.
But if I wouldn't have done that, if I would've set these crazy goals and then not even come close to hitting them, not even been able to make a plan to hit them? I would have felt horrible.
That's not alignment.
The Mission Beyond the Money
As you've probably picked up on, I'm a very mission-driven individual. If you've followed any of my work, you know I have a background in nonprofit management. I worked for nonprofits for years, and my family actually had a nonprofit when my brother was really sick with cancer.
I believe that in order to build not only powerful and impactful businesses, but also sustainable businesses that you actually believe in and stick with, you need to have the mission behind it all.
So I'm gonna challenge you to think about the mission behind the money.
Revenue is important, but it's not our only goal here. And if you're only building your goals for the next year based on your revenue, and you are in fact someone who wants to make an impact, it's not gonna feel good.
What else matters to you as a business owner?
The type of community you want to build?
The lives you want to impact? (Does a number come up there, the number of people you want to serve?)
Freedom in your schedule? (What can you do with that freedom?)
Creative fulfillment?
These non-revenue goals matter too.
One of my big ones for the next year is to become an author. I have a book sitting in my drafts. I've had this conversation with some amazing individuals. I'm ready to share it. (I have to finish it first, obviously.)
That is one of my goals. It will most likely result in revenue for my business, but that's not the main goal. The main goal is that I publish a book. That's creative fulfillment for me.
What are those things for you?
Even just one to two non-revenue priorities for your business will be incredibly impactful.
When you have both the money and the mission? That is some beautiful alignment, my friend.
Your Action Steps for This Week
This week you are on a mission to:
Set your Good/Better/Best revenue goals
Map out where the money is going (specific life priorities and business priorities for each dollar)
Check your alignment (Does this feel aligned with the person you visualized in episode one?)
Identify your non-revenue goals (What are those other priorities you want to carry into your planning process?)
Next week in episode three, we're creating your adaptable roadmap. Another signature thing I love to teach. We're going to talk about monthly themes instead of rigid monthly goals, and you're gonna map out your entire Q1.
Yes, because I want you to start the year really strong. We can map out the next 90 days. I don't know what you're doing in September, I don't know who you're gonna be in September of next year, but the first 90 days? We can absolutely do that.
We're also going to cover the quarterly evaluation so you can recalibrate every 90 days without abandoning your plan. This is how we stay on track.
Want to go deeper? Brand New Plan is my signature planning course, and it's still available for a limited time. This is where we go even deeper into this work. There's an entire workbook, about eight additional audio trainings that break it all down. You're gonna get templates for breaking down your revenue priorities, putting actual dollar amounts on everything.
Everything we're talking about here is super actionable inside Brand New Plan. It's where the magic really happens, and it's only available one time every year.
You can get yours for just $67, one payment, lifetime access, all updates. Go to brandmerry.com/newplan.
Happy planning! If you're listening to this in real time, happy new year!
I'll be back with episode three.
Michelle
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU
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FREE GIFTS FOR YOU --
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
Check Out the Latest Posts
Must-Reads on the Blog
The Identity Shift: Why Your Goals Keep Failing (And What to Do About It)
There came a moment for me at the end of 2021, mid 2022, when I realized that the way I was planning my business was not benefiting my life.
I was on the edge of burnout. I was building a business that wasn't aligned with how I actually wanted to build it. I didn't want a giant team, and I was setting revenue goals that didn't match the life I wanted to live, the day-to-day life I wanted to live.
And as someone who is very gung-ho and ambitious, I was compromising different aspects of my life to hit those goals.
I sat there and thought, how the hell did I get here?
And I realized I'd fallen back into those traditional planning methods. The rigid, pick-a-number-that-sounds-impressive-but-has-no-meaning planning methods.
Sound familiar?
Listen to the full episode below:
Why Traditional Goal Setting Fails Creative Entrepreneurs
Traditional goal setting fails us, and I'm talking specifically to you creative entrepreneurs, creative business owners, the people building personal brands and putting something meaningful into the world.
You're driven by creativity. You love creating content, creating offers, creating solutions. And the traditional rigid ways of planning? They don't work for people like us.
Here's why:
Most people set goals based on what they think they should be doing.
Raise your hand if you're a recovering perfectionist like me. I can't see you, but I feel it. There's so much should in our businesses. What we should be doing, where we should be at, what we should be achieving, how we should have a team by now.
And it can be really hard to face those shoulds and instead look inward to determine what you actually need to be doing, what you want to be doing.
When those don't match up? That's when you start to wonder: Am I cut out for this? Can I really break all the rules?
But here's the thing, when we don't challenge the should, when we don't ask ourselves "is this actually aligned with who I am and how I want to live my life?", that's when the problems start.
The consistency falls off. You abandon your goals in February or March because they're not actually connected to who you are.
The Million Dollar Mistake I Made
Let me tell you a story.
I hit $300,000 cash in my business and I decided I was going to hit a million dollars. Just like that. I picked the number out of thin air, honestly because most of my peers were hitting that number and I wanted to do it too.
So I figured out how to get there. I built a big team. I shifted my entire business. I set myself up for a million dollar year.
And it didn't happen.
There are a lot of reasons it didn't happen, but I slowly realized that the person I needed to become to hit a million dollars? There were so many things I needed to go through before I could get there.
I'm sitting here on this podcast right now telling you that I am absolutely ready for a million dollar cash year. I don't know if it's gonna happen in 2026, but I know I'm ready.
That took three years.
Three years of therapy, getting my health in order, becoming a homeschool mama, restructuring my business. Lots of things shifted.
But here's what became very clear to me: if I would have slowed down, if I would have really asked myself what feels like an identity I can step into right now, it would not have been a million dollars.
And looking back, I know that now.
It's not that it wasn't possible. I've seen people go from $100K to a million. But it was not going to happen for me based on the work I needed to do.
The Identity-First Approach to Goal Setting
That story, that year, that's how I shifted my entire method of planning. That's why I teach what I teach now.
The identity-first approach.
Because when you actually slow down and start with who you need to become, who you want to become? You can set goals that match that.
If I had really paused at that moment when I hit $300K, I would have realized something: I was so tired. I needed a break.
Instead of asking "how can I ride this $300K wave and create more sustainable systems," I picked a million dollars out of thin air and expected myself to somehow catapult into that.
But I didn't actually want that. I wasn't ready to receive it.
Your goals should be a natural extension of who you're becoming.
That's why the vision work is so powerful. That's why you've got to do this deeper work. (Sound familiar to my approach to branding? Same energy.)
Who Are You at the End of 2026?
Here's what I want you to do right now:
Close your eyes. (Okay, maybe don't close them if you're reading this. But get present.)
It's December 31st, 2026.
Who are you? What are you celebrating? Who are you surrounded by? What are you wearing? Where are you? What does it feel like?
Really imagine that version of you.
Now think quickly, the faster, the better with this piece, what are you celebrating having achieved?
The things that come BAM out of you? Those are the truth. That's your intuition cutting through all the outside noise.
Write down 3, 5, 10 things. Whatever comes up. The more specific, the better.
Now ask yourself about that version of you:
What do they believe about themselves?
What are their values?
What are they prioritizing?
How are they feeling in their different roles? (Entrepreneur, parent, partner, friend, etc.)
Because here's the thing: when your goals match your identity, they will feel effortless to pursue.
Let me be crystal clear, the work will still be there. You're being challenged to grow. But it won't feel like a constant uphill climb where nothing is working and it's always hard.
This Is About Evolution, Not Transformation
You're not going to wake up on January 1st and suddenly be that person.
I'm not the same person I was when I started my business in 2016. In fact, and I didn't even realize this until I was recording this episode, you're receiving this on December 23rd. Ten years ago on this exact day, I gave birth to my son. I became a mother and began the process of my own rebirth.
A few months later, I started my business.
I'm not that person anymore. Thank God. I'm not even who I was in 2018. I'm nowhere near who I was in 2020. I'm not even the same person I was in January of this year.
Every single day, I'm thinking about who I need to become.
Not just for the next year, but for the next five years. The next ten years.
And that's what I want for you, to give yourself the grace and permission to evolve into that new identity. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens through small, consistent choices that compound over time.
Looking Back So You Can Move Forward
Before we step into the new, we need to look at what we're leaving behind.
Take some time to reflect on these questions:
What did you accomplish that you're proud of?
I'm really gonna challenge you here. Even if you didn't hit your main goal, what did you achieve?
What went right this year?
What felt good? What worked?
What went wrong?
What didn't play out the way you thought it would?
What did you learn about yourself this year?
What felt draining or out of alignment?
This is big. WHY did it feel that way? Is it not serving you anymore? Did something you used to love stop working?
(For me? I made a commitment at the end of last year that I would not host a damn webinar in 2025. And I didn't. Full stop. Because I hated doing them.)
What brought you the most joy in your work?
This reflection tells a story if we actually listen to it.
Release What's No Longer Serving You
In order to step into the new version of you, you have to release the old beliefs, habits, and identities that don't align anymore.
This could look like:
I release the version of me that hustles until I burn out
I release the belief that I need to do it all myself
I release the identity of the entrepreneur who doesn't take breaks
I release the version of me who's afraid to fail, who's afraid to stand out
For me, this year was very much a releasing year. Releasing the beliefs I had around how I needed to run a business, what I needed to be offering. Moving from my Girl Boss era to my Soft Girl era and finally saying fuck the eras, I'm writing my own rules.
This creates space for who you're becoming.
Write down what you're releasing. And if you're into the woo of it all (I am), write these on a piece of paper and burn them safely. We're right around the winter solstice, it's a powerful time for release. Watch those beliefs float away.
Choose Your Word for 2026
The final piece of this process is choosing a word or theme for the year.
Think of it as a guiding light. A filter for your decisions. When something comes up, you can ask: does this match how I wanted to feel this year?
Some examples: Aligned. Ease. Becoming. Expansion. Rest. Focus.
What feeling do you want to experience this year?
At the end of 2026, what do you want to say you felt? What do you want to say you honored?
Your word should connect to your future identity.
I'm still deciding on my 2026 word, I usually don't pick until the 31st. I float around with a few and then trust my intuition. (Which was actually my word this year: Intuition. I wanted to trust myself more. And I did.)
When you go through the steps I just shared, the visualization, the reflection, the release, it's going to be a lot easier to pick an aligned word. Not just one you saw on the internet.
Your Action Steps for This Week
Here's what I want you to do:
Choose your word or theme for 2026
Write down what you're releasing from your previous identity
If you did the other pieces (the visualization, the reflection), amazing. But these two things are going to set you up for success in next week's episode.
Because next week, we're talking about setting revenue goals that actually mean something. $100K, $500K, $30K, they're just numbers until you connect them to what they're actually funding in your real life.
We're going to walk through the Good/Better/Best Framework that I've been using for years, and you're going to map out exactly where your money is going.
Not just something you're picking out of thin air or something you saw someone else share on social media. (I'm not calling you out, but I'm just saying, we're taking a different approach.)
Want to go deeper? If you want the complete workbook with all the prompts, templates, business audit frameworks, and audio trainings, check out Brand New Plan. It's only available once a year and it's $67 right now.
This is just the intro into that deeper work. Brand New Plan walks you through my complete 7-module planning system, everything we're covering in this series and so much more.
See you next week for Episode 2.
Michelle
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU
--
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU --
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
Check Out the Latest Posts
Must-Reads on the Blog
Your Most Aligned Year: A 4-Week Planning Series for Entrepreneurs
Traditional goal setting doesn't work for creative entrepreneurs, and it's not because you lack discipline. It's because the system is broken.
Welcome to "Your Most Aligned Year," a 4-week planning series that will completely change how you approach business planning. Instead of rigid goals that break the moment life happens, you'll learn how to create a flexible planning system that evolves with you.
In this series, you'll:
Start with identity instead of just setting arbitrary revenue goals
Create an adaptable roadmap that works with your real life
Build habits that actually stick
Learn how to recalibrate quarterly without starting from scratch
This isn't about listening and nodding along, you're going to take action each week. By mid-January, you'll have your complete 2026 plan mapped out.
Ready to plan differently? Let's go.
Want the complete system? Get all the deep dive questions, templates, business audit frameworks, and habit trackers inside Brand New Plan:https://brandmerry.com/newplan
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU
--
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU --
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
Check Out the Latest Posts
Must-Reads on the Blog
Authentic Sales Conversations: How to Build Trust and Grow Your Business
Welcome back, friend, to another episode of the Authentic Brand Builders Podcast!
Today, we’re diving into a topic that often gets overlooked in branding and marketing conversations: sales conversations.
While branding, content creation, and marketing are crucial for getting your business seen and building an authentic brand, at some point, you also have to do the one thing many business owners resist…selling.
Let’s talk about why authentic sales conversations matter today more than ever, and how you can master them to grow your brand and serve your audience.
Why Sales Conversations Are Making a Comeback
In the past, many entrepreneurs relied solely on sales pages, DMs, ads, and email funnels to close sales. But the online industry is shifting.
Consumers are becoming more cautious. They're craving trust, connection, and authenticity before making an investment.
That’s why we’re seeing a return to real human conversations, especially for high-ticket offers and personalized programs.
Here at Brandmerry, we’re embracing this shift by offering more opportunities for small Q&A conversations for our programs, including the Authentic Brand Builders Academy. And today’s guest on the podcast, Leah from Digital Trailblazer, is a true expert in building authentic sales conversations.
Meet Leah: From Nursing to High-Ticket Sales Coaching
Leah’s entrepreneurial journey started in an unexpected place, nursing.
After struggling to start a family and facing the challenges of solo parenting while her husband traveled for work, Leah and her husband Todd decided to find a way to bring him home.
Their path led them through network marketing (where they initially struggled), to affiliate marketing (where they thrived), and eventually to building a seven-figure business teaching others how to own and sell their expertise online.
Why Selling Your Expertise Is the Best Business Move
When you build a business based on your expertise, you tap into:
Higher profit margins and faster ROI
More aligned, sustainable work
Deeper connections with your ideal customers
Your story, your transformation, and your lived experiences are valuable.
Start there when building your brand and business. It’s the crucial step in branding many entrepreneurs skip, and the foundation of what we teach inside of You! Branded.
As Leah shared, some of the most successful businesses she’s seen came from people recognizing the everyday transformations they'd created for themselves, whether it was a fitness journey, a career change, or a marketing skill.
How to Approach Sales Conversations (Without Feeling “Salesy”)
Here’s the truth: if you're selling high-ticket offers, you need to have sales conversations.
Even if you dream of fully automated systems one day, talking to your ideal clients directly is essential early on. Why? Because:
You build real trust.
You gather market research to improve your messaging.
You filter for the right fit (important when working closely with clients).
You learn how your audience talks about their challenges.
And the good news? Sales conversations don’t have to be intimidating.
Here are Leah’s top tips for mastering authentic sales calls:
1. Lead the Conversation with Service, Not Pressure
Think of your role as a leader, not a closer.
Approach each call as an opportunity to help someone, not just make a sale.
Leah shared that she says a simple prayer before each call:
"Let this be fun. Let me serve them well. And if it’s the right fit, let’s move forward."
2. Practice “Hyperactive Listening”
Successful salespeople aren’t the best talkers, they’re the best listeners.
Pay attention not just to what your prospects say, but what they don't say—the hesitations, the body language, the energy shifts.
The better you listen, the better you can lead them to the right solution.
3. Don’t Fear Objections; Understand Them
If someone is hesitant, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Often, nerves are a sign that this decision matters to them.
Learn to spot the difference between natural hesitation and a true misalignment.
Tailor your responses to their decision-making style, whether they need more time, more details, or more emotional reassurance.
4. Start Simple and Build Over Time
You don’t need a complicated application process right away.
Start by simply getting on calls, listening, and learning.
Over time, you can add layers, like pre-call forms, prep videos, or nurture sequences, to make your sales process even stronger.
The Bottom Line: Authenticity Wins
We are in a new era of online business, where real connections and authentic conversations drive success more than ever before.
Whether you're selling one-on-one coaching, group programs, or digital offers, your ability to lead with service, listen deeply, and build trust will set you apart.
If you're nervous about sales calls, good.
That means you care. And with practice, authentic sales conversations will become one of your biggest business superpowers.
Connect with Leah and Digital Trailblazer
Want more support on sales, marketing, and entrepreneurship?
Check out Leah and Todd’s podcast, the Digital Trailblazer Podcast, where they dive deep into strategies for building a thriving business online.
You can also find all their resources at DigitalTrailblazer.com.
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Podcasts to hear the full episode and all the tips.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU
--
FREE GIFTS FOR YOU --
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.