I was double blanket tucked on the couch watching season 3 of Gilmore Girls, half conscious that my partner Kyle was sweeping the floors and…. there was something about wrapping paper.
And then I was out.
That information alone doesn’t read “poignant moment” in flashing red letters.
But I was able to rest, guilt-free, for that matter - while someone else did something on my mental to-do list… is huge.
And it’s not something I could have done a year ago (I’m stressed just thinking about that girl).
Not unlike you Reader and every other gal on my IG threads/stories. I’ve been reflecting on 2024, and the experience of trying to grow my business, travel part-time, and live in a literal construction zone was a trip.
And as I think back on the lessons I learned, things that got in the way of the goals I set, and themes that emerged (with help from The Rearview Mirror, my newest freebie designed by for multi-passionate female founders who have spent the last year in a season of transition, or growth).
The #1 theme that emerged last year is learning to rely, trust, and lean on other people for help.
And I get that that is some deep shit, but when you have a combination of the eldest daughter, only child (on my mom's side), and divorced kid energy pulsing through your veins - you get pretty used to relying on yourself & only yourself.
Which makes building a business hard.
Rewind to this time last year when I was planning out what 2024 would have in store. I knew I wanted to stop working in a vacuum and focus more on investing in my brand.
In fact, out of all the goals I set, I followed through on the goal of investing in my brand the most.
The lack of comfort in my day-to-day life this year - pushed me into a zone where I had to learn how to receive help - and that intentionally reverberated in my business and, even now, my everyday behavior (like peacefully falling asleep on the couch while my partner did chores without my involvement).
I’m telling you all of this because I know how hard it can be when you are looking up to people in your industry who seem (the key word here) to have it all figured out, a community they can lean on & can afford help with everything.
Then there is you, who is still doing most of the things on your own & owning the solopreneur status while getting equally burnt out by bootstrapping everything. The help you hire and the courses you invest in are a big deal and a huge part of your brand growth strategy.
That’s why I’m using the last email of the year to spill the deets on everything I invested in for Cedar June this year, how to plan for how you want to invest in 2025, and giving you a few resources to help figure it out.
This style email was one of the most popular newsletters from last year (something I figured out when I was auditing my own content), and I am excited to share it again this year!
Full disclosure - I know this one is LONG AS HECK, especially for being the Monday before Christmas - but I wanted to go all in on the resource roundup section.
If you KNOW your brain can’t think thisss much about your brand today click here to bookmark the public version of this newsletter so you can come back to it later/ reference it over the next month or so.
2024 Resource Roundup
AKA living proof that people are spending money and courses aren’t dead
Coaching
6 Month 1:1 Coaching Container with Maegan Burke
I worked with Mae for 6 months this year and having a sounding board while I was navigating my rebrand and what was next for Cedar June was so important for my own development.
One of the things I love about Mae is just how different we are in a lot of ways, and I wanted to work with her because I admired those qualities and wanted to learn from someone that had them. Her coaching really helped me to step into my own POV, plus what makes my services & processes unique, with confidence.
If you are thinking of working with a business coach in any capacity this year, I would highly recommend that you choose someone who you know is going to challenge you to think differently and has traits that you yourself want to grow in.
Mae is not currently taking on 1:1 coaching clients, but since I happen to have a backstage pass to what is next for her brand, I can promise you will want to give her a follow (even if only for the IG stories IYKYK).
Courses
I feel like there was a lot of talk about “courses being dead” at the beginning of 2024… but like whoever said that was dead wrong (Biggie voice).
There are a lot of amazing high-value courses out there that people are scooping up like hot cakes in the middle of maple season, and I am one of them.
I’ll be yapping a little more about the shift I see in courses + what that could mean for your 2025 plans in the next section, so make sure to keep scrolling.
Nourish Your Hormones
Leisha’s course is the only non-biz course I am including in this list, but it was a non-negotiable that it made the cut for a couple reasons. One, I know the majority of my audience is female with similar values to myself and therefore you also have hormones.
As a self-employed woman, your hormone and reproductive health directly influences how you can show up for your brand (as well as life in general).
The DAYS I have gained back in my work schedule by implementing the changes I learned in this course have been huge for not getting super behind with client work. Full disclosure—I haven’t even finished the course and I can say that.
For the marketing girlies—the way that Leisha markets this evergreen course is GENIUS. Not only is her messaging so good, but she leads with so much value + mainly relies on Podcasts & Email to launch (like I don’t even know if I follow her on Insta and here I am talking about her in my newsletter when I purchased this course in APRIL, so there ya go.)
Site Series
(which has since been rebranded & updated to Site Series Sprint)
I don’t want to divulge too much about the course because
A. I still haven’t written my website copy &
B. I know that Sara has since updated the course to solve that exact problem—but I can say that I have learned a ton from the course and that although I think a lot of the marketing gals on my list may know about Sara & her website copy course—lots of my clients (who I am constantly referring to this course) have not.
If you want to learn how to write your own website copy, or a great newsletter, follow Sara & invest in one of her courses. The end.
Launch Your Own Way (Live)
I don’t know if I would 100% consider this a course because there are group coaching elements to it as well, especially in the live version that I did—but I can say that this course is the future of where courses are headed in 2025 (in what it teaches + its delivery + packaging). I have taken other launch courses in the past, but what I loved about Kelsey’s course was how she taught the why and exactly how. Anyone who wants to successfully launch (or relaunch/promote) literally ANYTHING in 2025 would benefit from this offer.
Dreamium
This is another course that, in my opinion, also has a big group coaching element to it (although I got the evergreen version). I just recently got this course, so I don’t have a ton to say, but I will say that I have been STRUGGLING with my offers + WTF to do with them for 6+ months. Now, I’m pining for an extra 45 minutes in a day where I can work on this course content because it’s finally making sense in my brain. I have time blocked to work on it over Christmas break (because I really, really want to).
Digital Products
AI Copy Buddy
I think AI got a bad rep early on, and it isn’t hard to find a conversation about “what is a dead giveaway of AI copy” on threads. But sooo many resources have come out this year to help business owners use AI to their advantage (a trend I don’t see going out of style in 2025) and this Digital product was one of the first on the scene this year. It has sped up my own writing process so much - that I recommend it to anyone who is still doing a lot of their own copy and wants to make the most of an AI bot bestie.
1:1 Services
Groovy Social Audit + Strategy
I jumped the gun on outsourcing early on in my business, and so I spent a good chunk of time sorta scared to do it again. The Groovy Social Offer Ecosystem did such a good job of helping me to overcome that. I first worked with Nicole when she audited my IG, and then I jumped at the chance for a done-for-you IG strategy (an offer I am still working with her on right now).
I had already started the process of working with Nicole when I started to reflect on 2024 and what held me back from achieving my goals. Instagram, and the fact that I didn’t feel like I understood how to be successful on the app or create content there (cuz hello I’m long-winded as hell) really held me back and was a problem that needed to be addressed in order to move forward on what I wanted to be next for my brand.
Sure, I was repositioning myself on paper, but my public persona (for lack of a better term) on Instagram needed to demonstrate that level of authority. Yeah, the IG game has changed—but I finally feel like I want to play thanks to Nicole.
This is by no means a master list of all the AMAZING things that caught my eye or landed in my inbox this year. But it is a list of the things I prioritized investing in based on the parts of my brand that needed support and to be developed during THIS particular season.
There are plenty of offers and creators who I have my eye on for 2025, and I invite you to create a goal around how much you want to invest in your brand in 2025, and who you want to learn from and work with!
What’s Next for Online Offers
One of the things I’ve noticed affecting my clients’ launches in 2024 has been creating offers based on what is, quite frankly, an outdated mold. What used to work just doesn’t anymore. And the creators who are growing their brands successfully are ahead of the curve.
The three things that are going to be KEY for the success of your offers in 2025 are: 1. Planning, 2. Positioning, 3. Messaging
(it’s a real bummer I couldn’t get 3 P’s there—but I digress)
If you aren’t planning out your offer launches & promo periods far enough in advance, there is a good chance that your audience isn’t going to be warm enough when it’s time to sell.
If your brand’s positioning isn’t aligned with your offers—then there is a disconnect that reverberates like the butterfly effect through your entire brand (aka why EVERYONE and their first cousin are actually rebranding right now).
And if your brand’s messaging doesn’t speak to the exact person & problem you work with—while painting you to be the expert that specializes in solving that person’s problem.
Let’s be real—if you aren’t making money off your brand, you sure as hell aren’t going to be able to invest in it (for long) or grow it for that matter.
And while I wish there was a perfectly wrapped gift under my tree that I could give you that would help you with your brand’s PPM, I can help you with the first part.
Join me January 15th for The Snowed In Strategy Sesh.
In this workshop, I'll walk you through exactly how to
- Set goals for your brand
- Map them on a life first calendar
- and Outline your quarterly launch calendar
All in less than two hours + in a notion database that you can use to keep your brand on track for the rest of the year.
Plus - you’ll get a 30-day action plan template (that you can re-use at the start of every month) that helps you break down your big brand goals into monthly actions you can actually tackle to help keep your brand on track.
And because I am confidently stepping into my brand mentor role this year + want to join the ahead of the curve club - you get till V-Day to submit your brand goals, calendar, and your first 30-day action plan in Slack for 1:1 feedback.
Annddddd I didn’t even mention that you can still get the Early Bird discount through the end of December.
(once we get to JAN the workshop will be full price though).
A Few More Resources For Your End Of Year Roundup
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FREE MINI-COURSE
DIY end-of-year brand audit
Learn how to audit your audience, content, and impact to create data about your brand that can help you make strategic decisions moving forward.
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2025 PLANNING CHECKLIST
that's a wrap on 2024
Click for instant access to a Notion to-do list of everything I recommend you do at the end of the year to prep for the next.
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MORNING PAGES & AI PROMPTS
annual brand reflection & roadmap
In 5-morning page sessions, you’ll transform your scattered brand ideas into an aligned vision for 2025 to stop putting your brand on the back burner and start taking focused action with the strategic foundation you need to create a data-backed plan for the year ahead.
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