Every year, I complete a variety of processes to properly say goodbye to the year. As a self-employed coach, I don’t have the benefit of an objective performance review.
The hope is this will spark some new processes for your own year-end review, and shed some light into how I will support clients into 2023.
This year, I would like to share a simple 3-step process following the 3 I’s- Income, Impact and Intention, when looking back at my past year. I will also highlight the guest spots and features I’ve participated in throughout the year, with a grateful shout-out to the various communities and hosts who welcomed me in.
Ready to get started?
Income
Step 1 of my year-end review process is all about Income.
Honestly, this is the part of my review I dislike the most, and is probably the most eye-opening. You may also have your own money or income story in your business to reflect upon. Whatever comes up for you is ok.
First of all, I did not set specific money goals this year in my business. This is a departure from my normal way of operating. However, I did set specific numbers I wished to work with. I would also like to highlight that 2022 threw a number of unexpected and sometimes sudden costs at my family that we could not have anticipated.
- Income Goal 1: Get paid my full fee to speak 2-3 times month.
- Outcome: Got a 50% raise by joining another contract relationship, and spoke on average 3 times per month.
Speaking represents 75% of my total income in my business. While I did not speak as much this year as I did last year, it was still steady income.
Looking ahead: Most of my ongoing speaking contracts are for health seminars. My new focus will be getting paid at least once per month with my keynote presentation on public speaking. I also paid to speak at certain events, and the ROI is slower when you are one of many experts.
- Income Goal 2: Become fully booked with coaching clients.
- Outcome: I booked several paid in full clients this year, which was nice. Yet, I never became fully booked with 5 clients monthly this year. The first half of the year, I was still accepting pro-bono coaching clients in order to reach my ICF requirement of 100 coaching hours.
Looking ahead: While this year was better in terms of enrolling coaching clients, I continue to nurture my existing relationships and lean into improving my programs and services.
- Income Goal 3: Contribute more to family income and set up retirement payments for myself
- Outcome: Because of the sporadic nature of getting paid as a business owner, I did apply for a J.O.B. this year. I was offered a full-time coaching position in February which I accepted. Unfortunately, the company reneged on our contract. This slowed down my business activities for almost a quarter, as I had informed some of my existing contractors and stepped back from actively marketing my own coaching work. My part-time work-from-home hours also declined around this time, so I accepted a new part-time position as a food taster at 9 hours a week. Unfortunately, I was not able to add to my retirement account consistently.
Looking ahead: Decide whether full-time work is a solution for our family, both financially and practically. Set aside a specific monthly target for retirement savings for myself.
- Income Goal 4: Increase attendance at my quarterly masterclasses
- Outcome: Not only did I nearly triple attendance from my first masterclass to the last one, but I also booked 30% more in VIP ticket sales.
Registration is now available for the January 19 Masterclass on How to Become a Sought-After Guest Expert on Podcasts, Radio and Summits. Click the image to register.
Looking ahead: I continue to refine my masterclass process, topics and follow-up. One topic did not resonate at all, and now I have a process where I ask my community to vote for the next topic between two choices.
What year-end review is complete without a list of my favorite guest expert appearances from 2022? I showed up on 15 different shows***, and below are the titles/show host. Note: I also wrote two articles- one for top public speaking blog I am Dan Ram and one for my alma mater, Holistic Coach Training Institute.
Featured speaking from 2022:
- The Xennial Traveler
3 Ways Speaking can Help Build your Audience https://youtu.be/vBleaSzpmsk
- One Woman Fearless Summit
https://youtu.be/e6MR0DJo7io (2:44)
- The Activate Symposium
Activate your Zone of Genius Through Presentations https://youtu.be/PVx63gV1tTY
- Game on Girlfriend Podcast
Get Paid to Speak https://youtu.be/o9wKVftDMiM
- 5 Things Not to Do when you Pivot your Business
- Powertalk Toastmasters
Finding the Right Speaking Opportunities https://youtu.be/K6hV_Plkt_Y
- Own the Microphone podcast
https://mcgowen.libsyn.com/show-up-and-speak-up
- Faith Christiansen
How to Explode your Business Brand through Speaking: https://youtu.be/VnbBrr-cvRQ
Mind, Muscle & Movement podcast
- The Social Savvy Introvert
Confident on Camera https://www.podcastics.com/podcast/episode/9-confident-on-camera-with-jenn-espinosa-goswami-115847/
- Marketing and Mindset podcast
How to Get Paid to Speak https://www.networknessi.com/podcast/how-to-get-paid-to-speak/
***Not all shows published this year, or had links that I could post here.
Impact
Step 2 of my year-end review process is all about Impact.
If you’ve heard my keynote presentation, Speak like a Boss, you know that I talk about Impact as being part of the A.I.R. you need to be a powerful speaker.
Impact can be defined as having a strong effect on someone or something.
Yet, how do you measure a “strong effect” on someone or something?
This is a tricky question, and one I still grapple with. Here are some ways I am addressing this as part of my year-end review.
- Impact Goal 1: Growing my email list
- Outcome: Being able to consistently communicate with potential clients who want to learn more about my services. Through some assistance from my business coach, Shi Chen, I had a consistent outreach process that allowed me to grow my email list by 40%.
Looking ahead: What value can I add to my email subscribers so they are eager to hear from me? Speaking of value, if you find value in this 3-step year-end review process, I will be sending a free recording on this process to my subscribers by January 10, 2023. If you wish to receive this free resource, make sure to subscribe.
- Impact Goal 2: Increase number of booked calls
- Outcome: The more I connect with my community, the more I learn of their unique struggles and needs. I started offering mini-coaching calls in June, where we work either on a speaker biography or a signature speech topic in 30 minutes. I received amazing feedback from these calls, and realized that choosing a signature speech topic takes more than 30 minutes.
Social media has become a “yes, man” kind of thing, where folks collaborate to make shallow comments on other people’s posts to boost the algorithm. As a coach, my goal is deep awareness and perspective, not agreement with my own opinion.
Looking ahead: Invite my community to more consistently book a Discovery call with me to determine if coaching is a fit, or a mini-coaching call on the expert speaker biography.
Book a call here: www.calendly.com/jennchat
- Impact Goal 3: Collaborate with amazing business owners
- Outcome:: I participated in a number of collaborative communities this year such as Explosive Profits summit, Minklife University, Powertalk Seminars, White Box Club, the Daring Venture and continued to serve on the Board at ICF-MN. I reached out and asked for podcast recommendations from previous show hosts. A highlight of my year was attending the International Association of Women Gala in Las Vegas as a Coach of the Year finalist.
Looking ahead: How can I leverage existing relationships, or add value to my current collaborators? I would love to discuss and set up referral relationships with those who serve coaches, consultants and authors. If this describes you, schedule a call to discuss.
- Impact Goal 4: Be present with both myself and my family
- Outcome: Make time for me, so I can be there for my family. This year, I started therapy after years of bottling some challenging family dynamics. I also learned to take a personal retreat with a friend (with my family’s blessing), increase my gym attendance, and enjoy new-to-me outdoor activities. These things were all on my vision board, as my word for 2022 was Serenity. As an empath, I need time to rest and recharge.
Looking ahead: Integration of personal and business activities is an ongoing process for me. I give myself permission to take my time.
Intention
Step 3 is for Intention, especially as set specific intentions through my Word of the Year. Last year’s word was Serenity.
In just a moment, I will reveal my word for 2023.
When you think of the word intention, what comes up for you? Maybe a word, an action, or something else.
I set my annual intention through my Word of the Year, then create a vision board that I keep in my workspace to remind me of my intention.
This is a more flexible solution than setting concrete S.M.A.R.T. goals and has served me well since I became a coach. Plus, when I had a setback or challenge (many in 2022), I was able to review my intention and determine what the next best step was.
- Intention Goal 1: Strengthen
- Outcome: Back in 2021, I gained weight and had a trick knee that would go out. Therefore, I decided to focus on muscle-building. This means I increased my attendance at Basecamp Fitness- even hit 100 classes in the fall. Not only is my knee much improved, but I no longer need to wear the brace I wore this time last fall.
Lesson Learned: Strength is not a function of appearance (my weight remained the same). Strength is a function of consistency. I was reminded that my body is capable of amazing things with the right support.
- Intention Goal 2: Stretch Myself
- Outcome: I stretched myself both personally and professionally. Personally, I consistently saw a therapist, started treating my new-to-me eczema, and set boundaries that I had never considered before. Professionally, I created a Tedtalk video series on Youtube, and even reached out to some Tedtalkers with an invitation to see their review (spoiler alert: Julian Treasure said “yes” to the feedback 🙂 Additionally, I explored more audio options through Clubhouse and LinkedIn. See video below for my most watched Tedtalk video.
Lesson Learned: I love my gym, and already signed on for another year. It challenges me without overwhelm. I am not certain about audio in 2023. While I love the convenience of not having to put on make-up or have an amazing backdrop, I am not certain how effective those platforms are for me in just a few guest spots.
- Intention Goal 3: Calmfulness
- Outcome: This was a word and feeling that I put on my vision board, and is still a work in progress. However, I am receiving validation from therapy and coaching for the areas in my life I feel unsupported, and continue to lean into my early morning rituals to ground myself. In addition, I am doing my best to let go of situations and/or people I cannot control.
Lesson Learned: Calmfulness is not a destination, but a journey. I am at the point in my life and business that I am letting go of people and practices that don’t really add to my vision. There was an instance where a colleague essentially claimed I said things I did not with a trusted partner. This could have been damaging to not just my relationship with this partner but also my overall reputation as a coach. Instead of letting it damage me, I was able to repair my relationship and not let this experience bring me down.
There is no doubt that 2022 was a game-changer for my Income, Impact and Intentions, especially when compared to 2021.
As I look ahead to 2023, I look forward to a brand new intention.
My Word of the Year is…
This is an acronym that stands for Wealthy, Exciting, Laughing, and Loving. These are what I will lean into as I say goodbye to 2022.
What intention will you set for 2023?