How to Plan 2026 Without a Business Plan

I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous to record this episode. I am going to be reflecting on 2025 and this year has been absolutely wild. If I had to describe it, if I had to describe 2025 in one sentence, it would be, I didn't see that coming. And actually that was kind of the whole point when I was at this time last year, thinking about what I wanted 2025 to look like. I made some very intentional decisions, the first one being that I didn't want another year that was driven by obligation or force, or this is what I should do next, because we all know there's so many strategies out there. There's so many people sharing what, how they've built successful businesses, and it's very tempting to try and follow those things and to try and make those work for your business, and to believe that they're going to and I've tried that. I've already done. I've gone down that path way too many times already. So I've said this before on the show, what I did for 2025 was I gave myself one rule, and that is only if it's a hell yes. So I had no big 12 month plan, no mapped out quarters and launch dates and special things really done much in advance. I just focused on paying attention, trying things, following what fell to line, and then the hard part, which was being brave enough to live with the uncertainty that comes with that, and I am an Enneagram eight, and ask anybody who knows me or my husband or my family, I like to be in control of things. I like to know when things are happening. It gives me so much anxiety to let something else dictate how things are going to roll out. But I was clearly at a breaking point with my business where I was like, I can't do it this way anymore. It has to be completely different. And what I didn't realize at the time is that letting go of control didn't mean things slow down necessarily. It just means that they unfold in ways that you couldn't have planned. So today I'm going to walk you through five big

themes that shaped my year. And this is definitely not a highlight reel kind of episode. I want to share mine with you, and I want you to think about yours as well. And I have to share also that I used AI to help me create this outline, because I wanted to do some of the thinking in advance, but I also wanted to be able to come here and just openly share that was another thing that I learned last year in my human design. I'm a generator, and so responding is the best way for me to feel an alignment and feel really connected. So I just kind of brain dumped all of the big things that I could think about that happened that kind of played a role in the way that this year ended up for me. And then I asked AI, the new platform that we're developing that I'll share a little bit more about again, at the end, I asked it to turn that into questions for me to reflect on as I'm walking you through this. So when I said I was a little bit nervous, I don't know entirely what's going to come out in this experience, but this is kind of an important thing to do, and if you're currently kind of sitting in some extra white space and feeling reflective about your year. Something I love to do at the very end of the year or early into the next year, is just take some prompts from this. I'm going to give you a question around each of the themes that I have to share with you, and take those and sit with those and do your own version of this. It'll be super powerful. So let's get into the first one. The first theme is the hell yes compass, which was all about letting alignment lead instead of control. Oh, but it feels so much better. I have to say that, like, it's it's funny. And again, if you know me, this is like, it's crazy to think I could just walk into a year and be like, I don't know what's gonna happen and end that year being like, well, I'm starting an AI company now. So that's what happened. But here we are. So this was all about choosing responsiveness over

rigidity. I really needed this going into 2025 because I was getting fed up. I was fed up of trying so many things and being in this effort, this painful effort. I do not have a problem working hard. I don't have a problem. I'm trying. I am. I am the top student for any coach or course or anything that I've ever done, because I'm always going to implement. But implementing and not getting results is so frustrating, so I had to really give myself some space to reflect on why that was the case. Why am I not getting the results that others get when they implement similar things? And it was because something must be wrong that is outside of me. I'm just operating from the wrong playbook, is what I felt. And so that's why I shifted into this, okay, what I know about myself now through my human design is this need to respond. So I need to be able to like, see opportunities and reflect on whether or not I want to pursue them. So I shifted into mentally a mode where I was able to just say that's how I'm going to operate, and I'm going to do it for the whole year. I think that was important too, that I'm committing to this, because as I started doing it, that momentum really started to build, and I could feel the alignment. I just have this inner knowing now that the way that this is going is right, and that is something is really hard to articulate how to feel that, but when you understand what that looks like in your own body, when you're in alignment with your energy and with the way that you're moving through life, it's truly magical and powerful and inspiring. So yeah, it was really uncomfortable, though, not having a long term plan, not being like, this is what I need. These are my goals. This is I didn't even set a small goal, like, I want to be on X number of podcasts or speaking opportunities, or anything like that. I just kind of knew what some of the top things were that I like to do, and I focused on relationships, and I'll get to that as well in one

of the other themes. But not having this long term plan can be very scary. It can kind of feel like on a daily basis, I wake up and go, What do I need to do today? And now, of course, I'm really good at getting shit done. That's another part of being a generator. Is like, once I've got a project or a goal, I am going to make that happen, no doubt about it, I'll reverse engineer. I'll work back plan. I'll get all the dates, I'll have it all written out, but I'm just, I was like, doing these in little micro bursts, instead of having a big look out ahead of the whole entire year. And so that's not for everybody, that's for sure, but that is what ended up working for me. I

Yeah. And I also want to say that hell yes, like as a compass, also led to some big nos. That is what happens when you say only if it's hell yes, that the opposite is if it's not a hell yes, it's a no. And what happened there? First off, at the beginning of the year, I was pursuing, like I rolled into 2025 pursuing a partnership with somebody else. I was looking to join her existing business and come online with that. And everything felt really good, and I did a lot of work towards it for about three months, and we ended up not pursuing that partnership. We couldn't make it work out, and I'm and that's okay, like that was a aligned decision as well. And sometimes it feels like when something doesn't work out, like you can get really I would have, in the past, anyways, gotten a little bit more hung up about that and felt like some kind of failure had happened. I didn't feel that way at all, and I was able to really quickly shift from Okay, that's not, not what we're doing, into what are we what am I doing now? Right? And that's where, like, making those moves and kind of the timing, actually, of when that happened was I, I was invited to speak at one big in person conference here locally, and they also had a speaking opportunity the next month online in an AI context. And I was like, this is interesting, because I'm talking about AI now, and I've also spent the beginning of 2025 and one of the other decisions that I had made going into the year was that I'm going to learn AI. I know that this is going to be an important tool to understand how to apply it for business owners, for. For just for your workflow, for your sanity, for ease, for alignment, as well as I saw it as an opportunity for me to be able to create things that would support my clients and implementing what I was teaching them how to do. And so that was the initial stepping my toes into this space that I am now taking a leadership for forward facing role in which is another one of the

crazy outcomes of 2025 to be honest. So I want you to reflect on this. Here's a question for you. Where did I choose alignment over expectation this year. Where did I choose alignment over expectation in 2025 and think about how you can find clues there in what alignment really means for you, because we all feel it differently. So the second theme was all about micro experiments. Micro experiments over master plans. It was about testing and trying and learning things in real time. I was replacing certainty with curiosity. So what did experimentation give me that planning never has it gave me a lot more openness and flexibility. I was able to be more nimble as I was trying things out, and really kind of paying more attention to the details, I think in the past, the past version of me who was like, this is the plan, execute the plan, do the plan would have never faltered from that. It was just like everything's laid out. Here are the steps, go, go, go, go. And even if in the middle of it, something came up that didn't feel right, I would still push through. And that is what is different. Now I will not forcefully push through something if it doesn't feel right. I'm much more in tune with that ability to observe the feeling of alignment as something is happening. So this isn't like, oh, I went to an event, or I planned one little, small thing, it's like the bigger things, I guess, around experimenting that are important to be in touch with the alignment, because if it's going to take a significant amount of your time, you really need to know that it feels like the right thing to do. So what was surprising about what actually worked? First of all, investing in learning AI without knowing how it was going to fit in and shape the entire future trajectory of my business and my life, honestly, at this point that was a pleasant surprise, just continuing to step into that, get feedback from the process and apply it, talk about it, teach about it, host workshops about it, and

use it in for my clients and building AI tools I was building, I built brand calibrator this year, which was huge in helping to create that really core brand DNA that's necessary for training AI to actually function like you. It's kind of useless if it's generic, but it's really useful when it understands you, your business, your target audience, your personality, the way you say things, and is able to replicate that for you. It also. One of the experiments I did this year was hosting my first bundle. So I've participated in so many lead generation bundles over the last several years, and I've always found them really an effective way to gather leads for my email list. So growing my email list, and then I decided I'm going to now step into taking on a leadership role here. This was putting myself at the forefront and being the host of something related to AI. So that was kind of like, this is like September timeframe. Now I'm going, Okay, we are getting to a place where I'm going to have to start forward, facing, publicly, declaring what my role is and how AI is involved, and how I'm involved with AI. And so the ease in alignment with AI bundle was one of those opportunities, and I was just testing different marketing strategies all year. So that led to accept, like doing a speaking. Opportunity in the middle of the fall, and I also decided to host a $1 workshop. So that was actually super effective. Rather than making it free, I made it $1 I gave it away for free, for people who purchased an upgraded package within a different event. But otherwise, people from my podcast, people from my email list, were invited for $1 and we sold 135 ish spots to that workshop. And you guys, I have never sold 135 of one thing ever in my whole business. Like free things, sure, but actually paid. And so this was an interesting experiment, and I'm excited to see, because it's still kind of mid way, how that translates over to people joining and participating in

our new platform moving forward, because ultimately, it was a very early initial teaser about what that was all about. Oh, another really great experiment this year for me was taking the summer off social media. And honestly, it was fantastic. I did a whole episode about it back in September, talking about what I liked and didn't like, and I have been very, very, very, very sparsely back on social media, primarily only in the DMS to just talk to people, because that's one way some people like to communicate. And I'm all about staying in touch and building relationships and and meeting people where they're at. So I have been talking to so many people who have been off social, who are starting to get off social, who've been off social for years and have had just better life experiences, as well as more successful businesses as a result of it. So that's an interesting one that I'll consider again, moving into 2026 so this is kind of the thing for me with the micro experiments, is it's about

looking at the data, doing an experiment, reviewing the experiment. How did I feel? How did it work? What were the results? Should I try this again? And so there's some of those that I will be taking into next year that I know were effective. The bundle was huge. I'm already starting planning, and I'm going to be implementing a new bundle in January. So watch out for it. The year of the bot bundle will be coming January 15, and I know that there's amazing momentum behind this, because I had about 38 contributors to my ease and alignment with AI bundle, and I had 63 people apply for a year of the bot so it's like doubled almost already, which is amazing. And that's again, that's a proof following the results and feeling in alignment. So here's your reflection. Question related to this section, what did I try this year that gave me clarity? It didn't have to be a huge win. It's not like what did I try this year that made me $10,000 it's just what gave you clarity, and how can you use that to propel you forward into 2026, so the third theme for my year, was all about relationship led visibility, not just marketing, growing through people. And I talk about this all the time when I speak about visibility strategy, and what's important is that it's about proximity, trust and shared rooms. So what was consistently creating momentum for me was just being deepening relationships with people. So some people I met new people, I really prioritize making time to connect with other people and have, like, coffee chats. That's a really important thing for me. When you surround yourself by the right people who are supportive, encouraging, will help you question what you're up to and make you feel more confident in your own decision making. As well as people who are doing similar efforts, who are also putting themselves out there, in big ways, they have relationships with others. And they're more than willing to make introductions to help you get to the next step. This

is what has been a huge theme for my year, is about surrounding myself with the right people and collaborating. Collaborations have shaped nearly every opportunity that I've had, I will do things like, well, first of all, I'm in a community called mix your mind. I'm going to talk about it a lot more this year, because it is amazing to have a space where you know that every single person in that group is also interested in supporting and collaborating and helping push, push you forward and just give each other opportunities. So every time I connect with somebody, from there, I end up on a podcast with a summit, with a list swap, with some kind of collaboration. And so that's why I'm building and hosting my own as well. Almost, almost all of the guests you will have heard on the podcast in 2025 were likely mix your mind members, and that's because, I mean, it's not because I don't get enough pitches. We know I get, like, dozens of podcast pitches every single week, and I rarely accept anybody cold who I haven't met, because I want to bring relationships and have those deeper conversations as well here so speaking In or going to and attending in person events has led to speaking in those events has led to the next opportunity. Each time I go to something like that, it leads to something else. For example, I participated in a private podcast series in September, and I attended an online event just for the speakers to connect with each other. And I think I left that meeting with four podcast bookings and collaborations. So those people have been on my show, or I've recorded, and they'll be coming out in 2026 and I've recorded for their shows as well. And that's just from going to one meeting, and from being present and from trying to deepen the relationships. So if you're doing things like participating in bundles or summits, and there are events tied to that, where you get an opportunity to meet the other speakers do it, that is like the

best way to keep building momentum around the opportunities that you're looking for and how you can show up and support and if those things don't exist, reach out to the host, ask, say, I'd love to be able to connect with the other people who are part of this collaboration and and see if there's a way that you can make that happen. Also host your own hosting. This is one of my reflections, hosting the bundle and starting to put myself in a lead role and hosting a bundle, and then maybe hosting and thinking of hosting a summit of some kind, some kind of online event in 2026 that is because I'm ready to step into that next level layer. Which? Here's your question, which relationships quietly open doors for me this year, if you can even actually make a list of the people who you really want to prioritize making sure you stay connected with next year, because we all know, we get busy, we forget to check in. All of a sudden, you look back, and the last message you've had with someone was six months ago, and you meant to, like, stay more top of mind, be top of mind for them. Make them top of mind for you. Truly, genuinely care about supporting them and helping, and you'll be able to make amazing things happen together. I already have a handful of people who were looking at doing joint collaborations in 2026 and I'm so excited about that, one, because it means I don't have to do it by myself. And two, like when you combine forces, you each bring your own skill set, you each bring your own audience to the table. And that's hugely powerful as well. Okay. Theme number four, it was definitely a year of partnership the universe. The universe wanted me in a partnership. It was time to stop trying to do everything by yourself. Kelly, let's team up. Teaming up. This was repetition for me, like we I said it before I started 2025 pursuing a partnership like this time last year, I was reading the book The Partnership charter, having conversations with people who had

been in business partnerships, trying to figure out, what does that look like? There's a lot of things. Games to figure out behind the scenes, from a structure perspective, what, how do you build your company? Who gets what is equity? And now I'm in a place where it's like, what does the IP licensing look like? How? What are all these things? And there's a lot. So I definitely know that's where the universe was sending me this year, was into into a partnership, and it's interesting how one actually led to the other, because I was the first one was similarly technology related, even me stepping into the tech space was new for this year, like it kind of just all made sense, right? I was doing AI stuff, but still marketing and the other business that I was originally working with had an app and was technology based, so I was able to access a few kind of training programs through that which put me in rooms with people in accelerator programs, incubators, things like that. We have an incubator here in Cochrane, where I live, that is

housed in a in a municipal government building. And the intention is that businesses come and you start your businesses, and everyone's working independently, but we're kind of around each other. So it was in there, and that's when I met Andrew for the first time. And I kept seeing Andrew talking about AI and what he was doing. And I thought, I need to talk to Andrew, because I'm doing all this AI stuff, and I just think it would be fun to go for coffee and talking nerd out about AI. And we actually looked at the calendar recently, and it was May 8, 2025 we went for our first coffee shout out to Cochrane coffee traders, where it all began, where we started talking. And then we kind of were like, Ooh, let's have another meeting. So we just kept meeting there for a few weeks. And I kept being like, I'm doing all these things, and I wish I could do this. And he was like, let's just do it. Then let's build it. Let's make it happen. And the rest is history. It will be Anyways, these, oh my gosh, this episode is going to be so funny to listen back to in a year. Oh, I love that. This is why you should do some version of this record it for yourself on your phone, or even just talk it through with your AI, so that it captures it and you can reference it back and be like, hey, what was I talking about? What did I think was going to happen at the end of 2025 in, how was 2026 gonna go anyways? So that's just what happened, is I was open to it already, right? Like I'd already considered, what am I look like to have a business with another person? And so as that started unfolding, I was, I feel like I was already partway there. I was already ready. And yes, there's challenging things to figure out, to do all the legal stuff and get the business set up. And that's what I just keep saying right now, is like, this is the bumpy part before we get to do all the fun stuff again. So it's good, right? Like that has helped me to realize that as long as there are certain pieces in

place, shared values, open, good communication, willingness to be flexible, these are kind of the core pillars of building a partnership. And here we are now. We're starting this AI platform, I really hope to be able to share name of it and access to it like in the coming weeks, like we are just only weeks away at this point, for being able to turn, turn the key and open the door and let people in and let you see what we're really up to, because it's kind of crazy, and this will kind of flow into my next theme. It's so crazy to be doing things behind the scenes and not not fully out in the open yet, because there's building in public is definitely good, but also there's, like, some pieces that just need to be in place before I can be super public about certain things, right? So anyways, that sounded a little coy, but here's your reflection question, what keeps showing up in my business that I might be meant to approach differently and not abandon so if it was like for me, it was like partner, partner. No, not this one, but maybe this one. And even the year before that, I was, I was pursuing getting a job, so like I'm looking at being involved with other people. I was ready to move out of solopreneurship, for sure. So I wonder what that might be for you, if you sat and thought, thought about it. Okay, let's get into the last one. And this is. Yes, this is a big one. The theme number five for me, is about identity shift and becoming before you declare doing the work, before you claim the title. And what is this really about? There is a lag between growth and self identification. So like I was just saying this concept of building in public, there's like layers, right? I'm certainly sharing with people that I interact with on a regular basis, people in my mixer mind, collaboration partners, people like that. They know a little bit more about what's up in terms of how I'm stepping into this role as a tech co founder, as an AI platform creator and owner. It's

just been such a big shift for me, like it doesn't seem like a natural evolution of what you would think somebody was a PR degree goes into communications, goes into being an entrepreneur who helps people with marketing and communications and just different flavors of what that has looked like in terms of visibility, branding, all those things to me, though, are related, technology, not related. I can trace the I can trace the path, but it doesn't seem as natural to me. And so I feel like it might be jarring to others to to see that. And so there's this like battle that I'm kind of having where it feels really scary to say out loud what I'm doing. The other day, I had a moment I was talking to a friend who has been a collaboration partner, who is somebody who is willing to make an introduction to me, to somebody who is hosting a big event and has a podcast and community that I'd really like to get in front of. And she said, Okay, just send me what you'd like me to share with him. And I was like, Ha, I don't know. I don't know how to say. I don't. Moving forward, I am not just a visibility coach who uses AI like that. Enough was a shift that I made earlier on in this year to just bring AI into the description of what I do into my bio. But moving forward, I am an AI founder who is teaching business owners how to use AI in a human first way. Who is who cares about the way that this technology, more broadly, actually gets adopted into our world? I know that it is so important, it's going to make it's a huge shift, like I was a teenager when the internet came out, and that was monumental, this is also monumental, and we don't know yet if it's more monumental in terms of the shift in how the world operates than when the internet was introduced, right? And I just know that there's such an important role to play, because there can definitely be negative impacts and how this all comes into fruition. And I want to, and Andrew, my business partner, we want to make

sure that we are taking on a role of supporting how it can be done that allows humans to do more, humaning, not just do more, not just increase the volume and productivity and reduce the workforce and all those things that might happen. We want to stake our role in how this can be shaped in a human first way, my new bio is going to be entirely different, but I am just having a hard time putting it out there. For some reason I cannot make myself update my LinkedIn. So you know when you see it, if you follow me on LinkedIn, when you see me shift that you'll know that it's been a big moment for me. I'd love, love for you to reach out if you see that happen, when you see that happen, because it won't be too long, but it's truly like it's truly challenging to step into this expansion publicly, to think about what that actually means, and I can really understand now, because a lot of my clients that I've worked with In the past have had a hard time talking about what they do. And I don't think it's just about being at whether or not you can articulate the words about what you do. It's actually owning it. It's actually believing that this is what you're doing and staking your claim in a leadership role in what you're doing. That's the truth. Challenging part. It's not like, what are the words that will describe how I do what I do? That doesn't matter. That's easy. It's actually believing those things. And that's where I am at right now. Is like, behind the scenes. I know this is what's happening. We know this is what we're doing. Some people know about it, but as soon as I put it out there to like the world, it feels a lot more challenging to do that. So I mean, we are, we have an alpha test group. There's real people using our platform right now, giving us feedback, trying it out, seeing what we're doing. They know, but that's seven people, and I have to let the rest of the world know very soon.

So this is what's wild. Obviously, there's a few pieces that need to be in place, like, I'd like to have a company name and a real company structure set up legally and everything like that which we're working on, and then I feel like that's the moment for me to be able to actually step into it and reflect, to step into that and to share it with the world. But it's big. So here is your reflection question related to this, what version of myself, am I already living but not fully claiming yet? And there's just, there's just going to be a tipping point right where you finally can step into the identity that you are creating. And I am not claiming that that's going to feel like easy or like, I can be super confident in it every day, but that's part of what helps build the confidence is actually talk like speaking about what you're doing, talking more about it, doing things to really solidify your role as a thought leader in something. It's like taking action before you do it fun, fun, and oh my gosh, what a year has 2025 been? What I feel is most true is that nothing about 2025 went how I expected, and yet I have never felt so aligned. I didn't plan my way here. I experimented. I followed the energy. I stayed connected to people. I trusted patterns instead of forcing outcomes. My word for 2025, was Unlimited, yes, entirely inspired by defying gravity and my obsession with wicked but nonetheless, the amazing thing is, I feel like I actually embodied this all year when something felt good, I went all in hell yes. Has led to so many incredible stretches, growth opportunities, a complete reshaping of my business going into 2026, so here's what I want to leave you with. If your year didn't look how you thought it would, if it felt non linear, if you're standing at the edge of something new, but you haven't named it yet, you're not behind, and you also didn't do it wrong, right? Like, what if that was how it was meant to be, even if you didn't

intentionally design it like that. So as you reflect on your own year, maybe don't ask yourself, did I hit my goals? Ask, what did this year teach me about how I want to move forward? That question has changed everything for me, I hope that you can find some time over these next couple of weeks to sit and just block off a morning journal, audio note yourself, work with your AI to help extract it, have it ask you questions similar to this. Take the prompt questions. I will make sure they are directly listed in the show notes below. And if you take those and put them into your AI and have have it ask you those, you can have an interactive experience. That's the one way that I really like to use AI too. I hope that your end of Year holiday season, whatever that looked like, had moments of rest and family and friends and love and joy and all the good things, enough good things to override the awkward and annoying things that may happen within your own family. And I wish you an amazing kickoff to 2026 I don't care about this whole new year, new me thing. It doesn't matter about the date, but there's definitely an energy that culminates at this time of the year that you really have the opportunity to step into and leverage as. You move into January, so I just encourage you to do that and enjoy and Happy New Year. I'll see you in 2026.