As a planner-by-trade does, I set and review my goals every year.
When I read back through my past annual goals and reviews when I set out for 2025, I saw that a few big milestones kept appearing (and kept not being finished): launching courses, a podcast, and, most importantly, my book.
After three straight years of having some version of “I’m publishing a book" as a goal, (and getting tired of my parents asking me when I was going to recoup the investment with my book coach) I decided last winter: 2025 would be the year I published.
Once I made that decision, the year locked into place—for better or worse.
As many readers know, the book launched!
Leaving the Casino: Stop Betting on Tactics and Start Building a Business that Works launched October for direct sales and on Amazon in November.
I've read quite a few business books over the years, but few of them have been as jam packed with honest, practical, realistic advice as this one. If you want a roadmap to understanding how a new business actually works and the phases of how it grows and evolves, Jessica Lackey has you covered.
This is a clear, easy read with lots of examples. She also gives you pragmatic advice on what works and what doesn't work for the life phase of your business, potentially saving you a lot of time and money over-optimizing on the wrong tactics. This alone will pay for this book many times over.
I also appreciate Jessica's honesty. She doesn't just share the things she got right along the way; she also shares what didn't work and times her success took a while to materialize. |
And along the way, I accomplished every major goal I set this year.
But that leaves two important questions:
What set 2025 apart?
And what does that mean for my 2026 plans?
An interconnected year with hard due dates
Because I committed to publishing the book in 2025, I inherited a series of immovable deadlines.
To beat the Q4 print-on-demand slowdown, I had to turn in my manuscript in February, the full layout/creative needed to be completed by the end of July, with printed author proofs approved in September.
Because I was re-branding the business alongside the book, the visual brand had to be finalized by March—which meant the full rebrand process needed to start in December of 2024 for messaging, web copy, and visual identity. (You know, while I was finishing the manuscript.)
To sell from my re-branded site in Q4, the new website needed to be live by May, domain migrated by June, the book page and sample chapter ready by August, and the SquareSpace shop operational by September.
And to free up the time and financial margin to do all of that, I needed to sunset my final Fractional COO client in July (which meant hiring my backfill in May), and launch a course in June to cover the cash gap.
Phew.
There was no real margin for error on this plan.
Everything was compressed into a tight and interdependent window, which meant I had to stay, as I've heard is the phrase, "locked in" for the entire year.
That intensity paid off—but it came with tradeoffs.
We didn’t take a big vacation, just short weekend trips.
I worked through most of the summer. My July 4th holiday week was spent deep in web design, finishing course delivery, and book proof reviews.
In the spring especially, I worked more than I wanted to—taking 8am calls with my copywriter and web designer because that was the only time that worked for me (a side effect of hiring very talented professionals in Europe).
On the flip side, I saved a lot of time and money by putting on blinders: fewer community and business-development investments, much less content creation on social and YouTube, restructuring my team to do more things myself, and no money spent on random courses that seemed like a good idea and yet never opened.
And at the end of the year, I feel like I made it through this harvest season intact.
Exhausted, but intact.
- Steady revenue and profit, even when I sunset my largest revenue source
- Re-branded the business for the next 5-10 year arc
- And finally, my book in the world—over 325 copies sold across my site and Amazon to date
Most years aren’t like this.
Most years don’t have a single, arc-ending milestone that pulls everything into focus. I don’t know when I’ll have another year quite like this—for better or for worse.
What happens when you go from “locked in” to “what’s next”?
The only reason I was able to focus the way I did was because of the interconnected nature of the book and everything it required.
And now that milestone is done.
I know what still needs to be completed to finish my current business arc: the Building Blocks time and planning rhythms program launching in January, two additional courses to round out the foundational education layer of my work, and ongoing improvements to the Membership, Cohort, and 1:1 Consulting.
But there’s no concrete, next arc-defining project on the near-term horizon—and that’s appropriate.
The next big ideas are still forming, collecting energy, composting in my body and brain.
And honestly… it’s time to rest. To step away from the primary focus on business and return attention to the rest of my life (like, say moving to our new house). It’s time to play Mahjong, host weekly dinners now that we’ll have the space, and take weekends to read on the couch.
It’s also time for a book tour—which is happening, and I’ll share dates soon.
(Maybe also a Deeper Foundations in-person gathering? Is there a desire for one from readers, members, and clients?)
But slowing down is hard for me.
After 18 months of sustained momentum, it’s difficult to step away from that level of adrenaline. It’s tempting to immediately start planning the next expansion instead of finishing the punch list in the room I just built.
This final stretch mirrors the hardest part of publishing the book, too—dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.
This is my edge: accepting my place in the arc of my business, and not blowing everything up because I’m bored or itchy for the next thing.
My 2026 goals aren’t sexy. They’re about stability.
Finishing the remaining courses.
Shoring up my email systems.
Making existing programs even better.
And getting back to a life that was, in some ways, de-prioritized this year.
Maybe that’s exactly what needs to happen before the next big thing can take shape.