I gotta tell you ReaderIt is more than a little hard to believe that I am currently sitting on a couch in my almost finished living room - with the sun just starting to dip behind the snowy hills across the road as I write this newsletter.
Which is a weird sentence, I know.. But if you understand where we/me and this room have been - you would get it…
3 years (almost to the day) ago, we walked into this house for the first time
2 years ago - this living room was completely gutted - had no insulation or heat
1 year ago - We finished installing all of our new windows (which felt like the first big win)
And if there is anything that the last three years of renovating this house have taught me - it’s this.
80% of the work goes on behind the walls
But the last 20% makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something.
When you are two years in, and you’ve
Addressed structural issues
Gotten all new plumbing
All new electric
All new HVAC system
And re-insulated
You have done so much work, and it's insane.
But people don’t want to come over to see the new electric service you ran.
They want to see it when you paint your living room.
It’s the last 20% on the surface that people see, including the paint, trim, furniture, and floors.
But it is the 80% behind the walls that people FEEL (and that can go both ways).
You FEEL warm inside the house because it has a new furnace and insulation etc.
But you also FEEL the fact that the floor is a little squishy in one corner of our shower (in a room we haven’t gutted yet)
You can’t SEE either example. But it shapes your experience.
YOUR BRAND WORKS THE EXACT SAME WAY.
There is the 20% at the surface that people can SEE like
Your website
Your logo’s
Your brand colors + photos
But there is also the 80% going on behind the scenes that people can FEEL like
Your brand’s foundations + Positioning
Your messaging + voice
Your vision + mission
Much like rebuilding a house, when developing your brand, you've got to align the 20% that people see on the surface with the 80% that people feel in order to see conversions (which is all of our goals, at the end of the day).
And in order to align that 80% bts with the 20% your audience sees, you've got to start with your vision and mission.
How your brand's vision + mission should shape your goals & launches in 2025
THE THREE THINGS I DO EVERY YEAR TO GET CLEAR ON WHAT'S NEXT FOR MY BRAND
I had a vision for this living room the first time I walked in the door and told Kyle we had to knock the wall down. That vision became clearer when I stripped the walls back and could see where the original windows used to be.
Since then, we’ve been on a mission to bring this house back to its former glory (if not better) and do it in a way that feels like this is how it’s always been.
Without that vision + mission, I can assure you that I wouldn’t be sitting in and enjoying this room today.
If we hadn’t had a vision for how we would eventually live in the space, we wouldn’t have known where to put the outlet for the Christmas tree or where on the floor the heat vents would make the most sense.
Your brand’s vision and mission guide the strategy behind everything you do, and it’s easy to see why the new year would be an ideal time to clarify them.
My goal by the time January rolls around is to help you develop a clear vision for where you want your brand to go in 2025 and then create a plan for how to tackle the 80% that needs to go on behind the scenes to execute that vision and grow your brand in a sustainable and intentional way that still makes room for life off the clock.
I’m living proof that it’s possible after being a fully self-employed solopreneur, renovating a home, and traveling around six weeks a year for the last three years.
Each of those years, I’ve:
Reflected on the past 12 months, what I’ve learned and how it will inform the year ahead
Gotten clear on the vision I have for my brand, business, and life off the clock
Mapped that vision out in real time on my calendar - breaking down big brand goals into day-by-day action plans that create impact over time
And it’s that exact process that I’m sharing in The Snowed In Strategy Sesh - Annual Brand Planning Workshop - January 15th.
Today is the last day you can register for the workshop at 50% off with code BFCM.
Close out 2024 with clarity and start 2025 with purpose! This free 5-part email series and interactive Notion dashboard will help you reflect, plan, and create an inspiring, actionable roadmap for the year ahead.
2024 REFLECTIONS - WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR CEDAR JUNE
Going into 2024, I thought it would be my year—work and money would flow, I would rebrand, and everything would be great.
But abundance showed up in different ways, and although I am so proud of everything I’ve accomplished and done this year, there are personal and work-related goals that I didn’t reach.
We were nowhere near ready to rebuild our kitchen this year & it still sits untouched.
What I thought was going to be a brand refresh in early last year turned into a complete overhaul of my offers, strategy & positioning (aka. the 80% behind the scenes that you don’t see)
I didn’t come anywhere near my income goal, in-fact my revenue didn’t grow this year since I spent most of my time excavating and repositioning my brand and offers instead of launching content and promoting offers.
But I did take off two months to travel this summer. In the meantime, I managed to help and survive rebuilding our house. I learned so much along the way that it will inform my goals for the next year (and help make them more attainable).
Going through the prompts in my new freebie, The Rearview Mirror, really helped me ground in where i've been and where I want to go.
If your brain isn’t quite ready to think about New Year's planning (and a workshop in January, for that matter), there is still time to register; you just won't get 50% as a thank-you for being a loyal subscriber.
Share your thoughts, feedback, or even suggestions for future topics. I value your input and can't wait to hear from you. Please email me at catie@cedarjunestudio.com, and let's keep the conversation going!
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