 Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash 2026 Approaches!
Do you create goals for yourself or your business? This can become a surprisingly heated debate with folks firmly "yay" or "nay" on goals. When Is A Good Time? Short answer--any time! No need to wait for January 1. If you're feeling inspired, it's the perfect time to heed the call. It doesn't need to be the first of the week, month, quarter, or year. Those are handy markers, but any time is good. How to Approach Goal Setting There is a "goal guru" wherever you look. There are different approaches and styles to test out to see what resonates with you. A few ideas have been covered on this blog here, here, here, and here. A Different Way of Thinking A Content Inc podcast by Joe Pulizzi, episode 521, talks about approaching 2026 with intention. Identify what really matters as we approach the new year. Per his show notes--"It's not about doing more...it's about doing less but with intention." Mic drop. Doing Less Before we imagine all the new things we'd like to do going forward, let's consider a time or calendar audit or even gut check on what to do less of. Note: all of these "what" questions can just as easily be "who" questions.
Every "Yes" Is A "No" to Something This is a tough one. Life is just so exciting and full of possibility, It's so easy to want to do all the things! But there are only so many hours in a day in a lifetime. The book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman does a great job of bringing this point home. This may be why the concept of removing tasks, people, meetings, and activities resonates with me. "Focus on What Truly Lights You Up" Now that we've asked some hard questions and realized what we need to say "no" to, we can think hard about what we wish to say "yes" to.
How Long for Goals? Everyone has a different goal tolerance for how long to set your goal or your goal approach. The second Friday in January has become known as Quitters Day. Seriously. For those that focus on January 1 for resolutions, there is a large majority who don't stick with them longer than two weeks! If you're reading this, you've likely been on and off the goal wagon many times. You know yourself about goals. Joe Pulizzi has recently discovered Misogi goals--one powerful but meaningful challenge for 90 days. The approach is to keep that one goal in mind with a daily plan of how to achieve it in 90 days, pushing all else to the side. For business folks, quarterly goals may work, breaking down an annual goal into four pieces. OKR's (Optimal Key Results) may work for you with steps built on the path to the goal. Julia Taylor of GeekPack has a fabulous analogy about this approach. Think of a cross-country road trip with plenty of curves along the path—never a straight line—and identify key stops (mini-goals or check points) along the way. Others of us may need far shorter than year-long goals. Focusing on just one quarter with 30-day check points may be more effective for you. A month with weekly goals may be even better so you can feel successful with how your brain and focus work best. Block the Calendar Yup. You heard me. Make time for the thing you want to focus on to make it happen.
What Is Your Goal Strategy? Are you a Goal Master and regularly move yourself and your goal posts further? Or do you struggle with goals and aren't quite sure what model suits you? I really like the remove items first approach. I'll be adding that twist to my plans this year! I'm a big fan of "start goals any time," but now does feel like a great time to prepare before January 1. Love to hear your approach! Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!
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 Jargon Defined
Before you do any “Googling,” narrow your search to focusing on marketing. (you'd be surprised what else ICP and UCP stand for!) You’re likely well aware of the concept, just not necessarily the abbreviations.
This is brainstorming who your target audience is with a focus on creating an image in your mind that reflects all the qualities you believe your customer has. There are a number of resources available on the web to help with this. We’ll review a few here with our action oriented summary to get you started today to create this! Do I Really Need an ICP or UCP? The short answer is yes. It helps you define your customer in your mind and better share it with others. (remember that elevator pitch we discussed on a prior blog post?) It helps you identify a persona to “talk” to in your head, blog posts, and communications. What would my ICP think about this direction for my business? and How can I solve my customer’s pain point? How Do I Start? This can be done on paper or computer, with the assistance of AI, or a recorder/voice message system if you prefer to talk things out.
Resources
What Are the Basics? There are a few general ways to think of this. Broad Considerations of Your Customer: these are outlined further on the Zendesk post noted above with many points for each.
Here Are the Basics for Your ICP/UCP
How About an Example Let's play with the general concept here. You may have one or multiple ICP/UCPs. I have three clients I serve - small nonprofits, fellow entrepreneurs, and nonfiction authors. They may seem unrelated but have similar needs or concerns that I support, yet I have different personas for each. Picking one, let's follow through on fellow entrepreneurs in my market:
Do You Have a Client Profile in Mind? If yes, I'd love to hear how specific you've gotten! Has it adapted with time? If not, after reviewing this information, do you have enough resources to get started? Happy to chat ideas if you need a thought partner! Contact me by email or on LinkedIn - Let's Chat!  How to Get AI Answers - Effectively
Everything is about AI these days. You can't turn around without an article or video about it. Unfortunately, much of the noise seems to be predicting doom and the awful results of the increasing AI. (Artificial Intelligence) I have plenty of my own questions about whether we truly need this level of tech assistance or impact in our lives. Sure, some advancements are already pretty cool, but the level the "tech bros" talk about or that you can see as the train at the end of the tunnel coming at you? I'm pretty sure none of us have asked for that level of AI "assistance." AI Bubbles There are very definitely the Users, the Non-Users, and the Ignore At All Costs bubbles at the moment. (NOTE: I am completely making these terms up for my own frame of reference)
Prompting Framework for Generative AI I caught Joe Pulizzi on a recent podcast of This Old Marketing referring to a framework he heard from Geoff Woods at a recent MAICON conference that he shared in a blog post. There are a few similar versions for prompting, but this is a useful reference if you're getting started with AI or looking for small ways to improve your results. CRIT = Context, Role, Interview, Task
Brilliant Use of AI! This is a great succinct way to work through better ways to prompt AI as a thought partner rather than using it as a "do this for me" tool. This reflects my typical use of AI with the addition of the Interview idea. This is also a far better human-first approach to using AI! With Gratitude My many thanks to Joe Pulizzi for sharing the thoughts and Geoff Woods for inspiring Joe! I just picked up Geoff's book The AI-Driven Leader on Audible as it inspired Joe's post. I'm looking forward to the read and sharing insights! How Will YOU Use AI? Are you an AI User, Non-User, or prefer to Ignore At All Costs? Hopefully the CRIT idea offers useful options to enable you to prompt better to be more effective in your use or even to help get you started! Love to hear how your AI journey is going - Let's Chat or message me on LinkedIn!  Extra! Extra!
It's newsletter week! If you'd like to subscribe as your one-stop review of the past few weeks on the blog, I'd be honored to have you along! Please Subscribe I'd love to add you to my email subscriber list so we can keep in touch! This will help me be more responsive to you with your feedback, sharing your challenges, and what you could use assistance with. I'm a great listener. If I don't have the answer or ability to assist you directly, I can hook you up with resources including people who can. There is a pop-up to subscribe when you stop by this website. There are subscription forms on this blog page and on the Home page. You can always simply shoot me an email or find me on LinkedIn to let me know to add you. Thanks for Your Interest and Support! If you have ideas for blog posts, newsletter features, questions, or pain points we can tackle, I'd love to be of assistance! Let's Chat!  Is It Really a Big Deal?
The short answer is YES. It really is a big deal to have made it to 3 years in business! Generally, one should be able to at least begin to see profit within 3 years of starting a business. This allows time for growth, firming up your business plan and market, and being able to differentiate yourself as a business rather than a hobby. This does apply to nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and authors as a "business." IRS Tax Deductions TurboTax refers to an IRS "safe harbor rule" that suggests a business should be able to turn a profit in 3 of 5 consecutive years. Keeping records of your business plan, receipts, expenses, and income are critical. Every business owner has their own comfort in what deductions to attribute to a business. A tax professional is always advisable. Mindset - From Startup to Growth The 3-year mark is a transition reference for different challenges in a business. The first 3 years tend to have a lot of adaptations to make to find a solid path forward. Once you get past the 3rd year, you approach your business differently. You feel more in the drivers seat and ready to take on different challenges, seeking more opportunities to expand your client base, consider hiring assistance, or simply feel more confident in what you're doing. Common Challenges - First 3 Years There are some pretty big factors that need figured out in those first 3 years. I do a deeper dive on the first 3 years on this blog post.
Small Business Survival in First 3-5 Years A search of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shares 65-70% of small businesses succeed within their first 3 years. I did find a note that number does continue to drop over time, so survival past the 3rd year is no guarantee, simply an indicator a business has promise to succeed. The 1st year is often driven by excitement and drive. The 2nd year shows the weak spots in cash flow, market, and business plan. The 3rd year is that golden year typically where you've sorted through the obstacles to being viable. At this point you have systems in place for your business, a customer base, and a proven concept! You've Made It - Now What? What does the future hold for your business past the 3rd year? You begin to look at long-term strategy.
Where are you in your business as a nonprofit, entrepreneur, or author - first 3 years or beyond? Have you noticed a difference between the two time periods? Any advice to share? Love to hear from you - Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!  Simon Sinek - Start with Why Book review time! I've only recently paid attention to the work of Simon Sinek. One of his earliest books, Start with Why, is hailed as a keystone sort of book, especially for business owners. Now that I've read it, I can see why. An Oldie but a Goodie! You can find the book on Amazon, published 2011. An Audible version was posted May 2025 as a 15th anniversary item, narrated by Sinek. He has a smooth, entertaining voice. Anything read by an author tends to get higher on my list! I was able to enjoy it for free through Libby, an audio app connected to many libraries. Generally About Start with Why The book is filled with corporate examples to illustrate his point for individuals and businesses to start with their "why." He highlights a few companies repeatedly as they simply exemplify his message. I'll admit, I got a little bogged down in the middle, but it picked up for me as he got closer to the end with chapters 10-14 noteworthy beyond the first couple of chapters describing the concept. The Golden Circle  This was really the core concept of the book and most easily describes Start with Why. Business owners, small or large, don't necessarily begin with a clear "why," but you have to develop one you can articulate if you have any hope of continuing beyond year three as a business. Why 3 Years? Three Years is considered a key transition time for businesses to mark surviving start-up and transitioning to a sustainable business. Refer to this blog post reviewing the general 3 year business lifecycle. Understanding The Golden Circle
Let's define the pieces of The Golden Circle.
Is Why REALLY That Important? You betcha. Simon offered many examples in his book about corporations rising to success - big ones like Walmart, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Starbucks - who "got fuzzy" about their Why as founding leaders and corporations faced transitions. It seemed a company remained viable as long as the founder and the corporate WHY was (literally) alive and connected with the business. Once a "What" or "How" style leader became the corporate head, often where money became the object or most visible metric of success, that's where corporations faced challenges to even remain viable, typically with reputations taking a severe hit. This Applies to Small Businesses Yes, my nonprofits, fellow entrepreneurs, and authors—this applies to us "little guys" as well. If we have any hope of lasting past Year 3 and becoming sustainable, we must create that Why if we didn't begin with one clearly in mind. Focusing on What and How Sometimes, you identify a need or a benefit you can offer and you simply start running, figuring things out as you go. That's fine to start. You typically have SOME Why in mind as you go, but it may be fuzzy to start, needs shaped, or adapts a bit in those three years to become viable and suit market interest. However, for your business to sustain, you must formalize your Why and be able to say it clearly to others. This becomes your rock or "North Star" to weigh decisions that arise. Staying True to Your Why Sure, it may still flex as you continue, but likely only a limited amount unless you decide to change businesses, which happens. What and How will regularly adapt as your business grows and evolves. But your Why should remain your core. What About You? Do you have your Why in mind? If not, are you working on fleshing it out? I'm working on the words to update my About page to focus more on my Why. Love to hear your Why and your journey to discover it! Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!  Do You Have an Elevator Pitch?
Just to be sure we're at the same starting point, what is an elevator pitch? It turns out, it's not found in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as a "word" to define. True, it's a phrase. So we'll go with the general idea behind it. An "elevator pitch" is your quick basic introduction to what you do and who you are. How Long Should It Be? Some "gurus" consider 30 or 60 seconds as the ideal length. Yes - seconds. The emphasis is on quick. I was listening to a podcast by Joe Pulizzi recently advocating for a 15 second version as ideal! Key Characteristics of an Elevator Pitch Joe Pulizzi suggests the response should be framed to answer "How do you make people's lives better?" I like that. If you search "elevator pitch," you'll find a number of suggestions of approaches to take. I'm afraid if a pitch included all the pieces I'm seeing recommended, we quickly go beyond 60 seconds for the pitch and you'll feel like you need to memorize it like a speech! Google Gemini offers these suggestions which are a generally reasonable starting point:
Adobe is very happy to provide you with templates to start you thinking if useful. (Warning: this is a fairly lengthy piece provided by Adobe) Indeed suggests you:
I really like the simplicity of Joe Pulizzi's suggestion, especially as I come from a service background and see my business in that light. I also appreciate the shorter time focus Joe suggests as short attention spans are real these days. Start with a 15 second quickie. You can always expand on it in conversation, but a 15 second hook is brilliant! Where Would You Use an Elevator Pitch? Anywhere you would talk to people! This could be as official as a job interview or networking event or as casual as chatting with friends and family. This is why it needs to be so simple that it quickly and easily rolls off your tongue like it's simply part of who you are! How Is YOUR Elevator Pitch? Having a ready elevator pitch is one of the first "tools" to have in your marketing "tool bag"! Having a couple of different lengths in mind or a 1:2 punch of start/follow-up at the ready is extremely useful. Need to bounce your pitch off of someone? Happy to be that extra set of ears if useful! Sometimes it helps to get out of your head and chat with someone not in your immediate circle of close friends and family who will love anything you create. Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn!  Which Path Is Best?
As an editor/proofreader, I am often asked which method of publishing is best - traditional or self-published. That's tough to answer as everyone is different in goals for their project, time, skills, and profit preference. I listen to many podcasts and resources including authors. Authors are seemingly 50:50 in their preference and recommendation. I'll share author resources I pay attention to and review responses I received to the question "traditional vs self-publishing" in Google's Gemini, an AI service. Defining Traditional vs Self-Publishing Let's begin at the beginning. According to Gemini: "Traditional publishing involves a publisher buying the rights to your manuscript, covering production costs, and handling distribution and marketing. Self-publishing is an author-driven process where you manage and finance every step of bringing your book to market, but keep a higher percentage of the royalties. The best path depends on your goals for control, speed, and financial return." Below is a very quick review of the differences according to Google Gemini. Choose Traditional If... Control You are comfortable with relinquishing creative and business control to a team of experts. Financials You want a risk-free path with a potential upfront advance, and are fine with a smaller share of royalties. Validation You desire the prestige, industry recognition, and wide physical distribution that comes with a traditional book deal. Timeline You are patient and can wait 18+ months for your book to be published. Business mindset You prefer to focus solely on writing and let professionals handle the business side. Choose Self-Publishing If... Control You want complete autonomy over every aspect of your book. Financials You are willing to invest your own money for higher royalties and long-term profit potential. Validation Your main goal is to get your work to readers sooner than later. Timeline You want to publish quickly and on your own schedule. Business Mindset You have an entrepreneurial spirit and are willing to learn about editing, marketing, and distribution. And Now for a More Expansive Comparison Jane Friedman is a fabulous resource in the publishing world. She has created charts to make it easier to digest this rather significant question as there are actually multiple types of publishing within both traditional and self-publishing. She offers them freely to all. I will attach a copy of the charts she posted January 2025 and a link for you to review her chart post and subscribe to her news. Fabulous Self-Publishing Resource Let me introduce you to my friend Gillian Whitney! She is a 5x author herself and is happy to assist you with getting published. She has a number of resources available on her podcasts, YouTube, and on LinkedIn. You'll see a number of other services available to help you make your publishing decisions. But What About Marketing? I regularly hear from authors that you really need to plan on your own marketing. Going the traditional publisher path does not guarantee the best or full scale marketing effort on your behalf. You are one of many of their clients. It's a given the marketing is all on you when self-publishing, but you really should plan on it no matter how you publish. This is a large topic on its own. Many marketing options have been shared in prior blog posts and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis - stick around for more fun! How About You? Have you done traditional publishing, self-publishing, or both? I'd love to hear how it went for you to be able to share your insight with others! Let's Chat or connect with me on LinkedIn!  Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
If you follow weekly for my blog posts, you'll note I missed last week. Well, I didn't exactly "miss" the week. I shifted gears to maximize time and got my first newsletter published! Newsletter Plan It took months to settle on a do-able plan to create a newsletter, but I think I've finally figured it out. Marketing one's own business while marketing for others is a bit of a time challenge. Add the challenge many entrepreneurs face of blending business with home life? There are only so many hours in the day. At this time, newsletters will provide snippets of info from the most recent 3 blog posts, news from my Purr-roofreader Assistant Lillie (yes, our kitty), and any last random bits that may connect us in business and life. Please Subscribe! I'd love to add you to my email subscriber list so we can keep in touch! This will help me be more responsive to you with your feedback, sharing your challenges, and what you could use assistance with. I'm a great listener. If I don't have the answer or ability to assist you directly, I can hook you up with resources including people who can. There is a pop-up to subscribe when you stop by this website. There are subscription forms on this blog page and on the Home page. You can always simply shoot me an email or find me on LinkedIn to let me know to add you. Thanks for Your Interest and Support! If you have ideas for blog posts, newsletter features, questions, or pain points we can tackle, I'd love to be of assistance! Let's Chat!  Are You Struggling to Move Forward?
Sometimes, we're our own worst enemy—standing in our own way! Maybe you're thinking of starting a business or book or blog or anything, but you're stuck in the "some day" or "thinking about it" stage. Maybe you started that thing but it's stalled and isn't really moving forward. The day-to-day is happening but the excitement and fire are gone. You've gotten bogged down in survival mode or simply doing all the steps—wash, rinse, repeat. How to Move On A recent podcast episode from Joe Pulizzi inspired today's post with some suggestions that may energize you. The suggestions noted here were listed in his podcast as excerpts from his new book, Burn the Playbook. It is definitely on my buy list after listening to the podcast. Purchasing from Joe directly gives you a ton of extra resources. As he notes in his podcast, there's no need to implement all of his mindset ideas at once—that's a perfect recipe for failure. Instead, pick one. Start there. 6 Mindset Shifts - Joe Pulizzi
From Drifting to Goal Driven Goals are anchors. Write them. Speak them. Track them. You'll get further than if you have none and float along. "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there" as the Cheshire Cat effectively told Alice in Wonderland. Joe suggests reviewing your BIG goal weekly, if not morning and night, to really ingrain it. Weigh every decision against that goal. Does your action serve to get closer to your goal?
Lean into Your Crazy Identify your "tilt" as Joe calls it. Find your unique set of skills, quirks, and passions. "I help (who) with (what) so they can benefit (how)." From Tilt to Mastery of Repetition "Repetition is branding, not redundancy" - Joe Pulizzi. We've all heard various numbers of how often you need to say something before someone actually hears it, anywhere from 7-20x! Create Before You Consume This is along the 60/60/1 goal idea. Even if you don't follow that philosophy, focus on your goal before you indulge in social media or surfing the news or random entertainment. Focus for your first hour on what you aim to achieve. Consider a time audit for a week to see where you have opportunities to be more focused, capturing those mindless surfing times or how frequently you're checking email. Get Better Friends This one cracks me up, but he has a point! You are who you surround yourself with. Be inspired by being with inspiring people who challenge you to do more or be better. Joe flips this and suggests your crew determines your ceiling - I like that. Build your core group of friends intentionally. Joe suggests a few types:
Sell Every Day! Somewhere along the line, we grew up thinking sales is icky. "Sales" is no more than sharing your opportunity with others! Why wouldn't just the right person want and need to work with you! If you're in business for yourself, you're obligated to share the news. Don't think of it as selling if you're getting hung up on that word. How Is Your Year Going? We're starting Q4 - fourth quarter of the year. No one says you need to start goals on January 1. You can start them any time—including now—or take this opportunity to update what you may have going. I'd love to hear how you're doing on your goals! I'd be thrilled to be someone you can run some ideas by if you're looking to bounce some ideas off of someone. Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn! |
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