And just when I thought I would have nothing to write about in this week's newsletter - a Saturday night viewing of Moana saved the day.
Now, on the off chance that you don’t have a 6-year-old in your life who requested that all of her dad's childless 30-something friends go see Moana 2 in theaters together when it comes out, let me set the scene.
Our group chat has been buzzing all week in full support of this plan, choosing the theater, adding on brunch (duh), and realizing that most of us would need a refresher on Moana 1 to prepare.
Naturally - with nothing to watch on TV Saturday night - Kyle and I opted to turn on the Disney masterpiece.
(Meanwhile - my Monday morning newsletter was still not started, and I hadn’t a clue what I was going to talk about)
Then inspiration struck during a poignant scene in the movie when Moana pleads with Maui to teach her to sail.
Maui corrects Moana - telling her, “It’s called wayfinding - and it’s not just sails and knots. It’s seeing it’s seeing where you are going in your mind and knowing where you are - by knowing where you’ve been.
(obvi I linked said clip here)
Damn - it thought. If that wasn’t the perfect description of what we entrepreneurs do year after year, I don’t know what it is.
With a blank 2025 calendar staring you in the face, you’ve got to be able to:
- See where you are going in your mind
- Know where you are based on where you’ve been.
Creating a vision for where your brand is headed in 2025
WITH THE HELP OF AI
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One of my favorite ways to get clearer on my brand's vision and the steps I need to take to make it a reality is with AI. I first started playing around with “future brandcasting” post-sabbatical in July. I realized that I was at the halfway point in the year—nowhere near the lofty goals I had set—and needed to realign with my own vision before I moved forward with the rebrand.
Here are a few of my favorite prompts that you can test out with your brand so that you can get clearer on where you want to take your brand in 2025
AI Prompting Tips
- Start by sharing your current context and historical data
- Be specific about numbers, timeframes, and goals
- Include lifestyle factors that impact business capacity
- Share both professional and personal aspirations
- Note any major life events that could affect 2025 plans
- Share specific metrics and goals when asking for analysis
- Provide context about your industry and market
- Include information about your current resources and constraints
- Be clear about your non-negotiables and priorities
- Ask for multiple scenarios or approaches to consider
- Request concrete action steps and timelines
- Ask for potential pitfalls or blind spots to consider
Here are three prompts to get you started
- In my first year as a [your title] I earned [###] in my second year I earned, [###] in my third year I earned [###] and so far this year i earned [###] can you help me predict what my income will be in the next [years]?
- Based on everything I told you about the last year - what worked really well for me that I should continue to implement in my brand, business, and life in 2025?
- How can I protect my current revenue while experimenting with [new direction]?
For 57 (yes, 57, I kind of went off) AI future brandcasting prompts + 5 days of strategic reflections to help you know where you are based on where you’ve been, my new Free resource, The Rearview Mirror, will help you find your way from 2024 into 2025 and beyond.
In 5-morning pages sessions, you’ll transform your scattered brand ideas into an aligned vision for 2025 so that you can 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.
Shhhh - don’t tell Instagram, but…..
We’re doin' a little somethin’ for Black Friday
Lemme fill you in.
I designed the rearview mirror (the freebie mentioned above) to help entrepreneurs like you turn down the noise in their industry and tune back in with your audience and your brand's mission and vision. I decided to launch it in November, so you have time to marinate on what’s next for your brand as you navigate the holiday craze.
Then, by the time idk - let’s say January 15th rolls around, you will know exactly what you want to accomplish for your brand in 2025.
This is perfect since on January 15th, I’ll be hosting a two-hour workshop called The Snowed In Strategy Sesh. In this workshop, we take your brand vision and turn it into a strategic, lifestyle-first, and actionable plan.
Instead of doing a big public push for the workshop during Black Friday (because honestly, I need to focus on getting my own rebrand and client work done), I decided to offer Black Friday—Cyber Monday savings for the workshop just to those on the waitlist.
Here’s what you need to know:
Join the waitlist by Thanksgiving to save $60 on the workshop from Black Friday - Cyber Monday
The workshop will be live on January 15th (recording to follow), just in time for our brains to be back to business after the new year.
In 2 hours, you’ll create a clear and actionable 2025 brand roadmap, so that you feel confident and organized, and you can start January with a prioritized 30-day action plan that aligns your goals with your calendar.
You can get all the deets and join the waitlist at the link below.
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GET DATA ON YOUR BRAND
free brand audit mini-course
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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REBRAND UPDATE
the cedar june website is under construction
You can check out the temporary website + the fun little video I made for it (which, yes includes a hard hat - shout out to being with a blue-collar man)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES TWDI ISSUE #103
before you doom scroll for brand answers, do this
Five questions to ask yourself if you need clarity + what is helping me quit the comparison game when it comes to my brand and business.
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