My 2024 End of Year Biz Review (Part 2)
The feelings & knowings
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Did you know: I’m running a business retreat in Central Oregon in February? It’s a long weekend and we’ll spend our time diving into branding (so you can authentically express who you are within your business in 2025), 2025 planning, and money mindset. There are also fun adventures on the agenda: A snowshoeing trek, crafting by the fire, a hot sauna/ cold plunge in the lake by the lodge, live music, gourmet food, and beyond. There are just a few spots left (one solo king, two queens in a shared room, and one solo cabin). I’m closing registration on December 31st so send me a note if you’re considering joining us.
🎁 I made you something! Check out my newest program, an audio training called Peace & Power, focused on teaching you how to build a creative, sustainable business that feels stable and has a big impact. I think you’ll love this one!
This is part 2 of my annual business review! (If you missed part 1, you can read it here). Part 1 was all about the rational details of my business with a focus on the finances. But today’s review write up is more focused on my feelings & intuition, related to what happened this year and where I’m going next year.
As always, this is your reminder that we all have different businesses that meet different needs. I don’t share these details so you will compare yourself to me! Rather, I share this because rising tides lift all boats. You can’t build what you can’t see! And I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with expanders over the past year — so now I want to be one for you, too. You can do hard things. (So can I.)
Alright, on to the review:
The emotions of 2024
Truthfully, this year was a tricky emotional one for several reasons: Money and marriage.
First, the marriage bit. I mentioned it in last week’s write up, but working with your spouse is tough! My husband joined my business officially in 2023 and in 2024, we really focused in on setting up an agency together. The idea was that he’d build websites and I’d do all the content necessary to help emerging thought leaders build their brands. Financially, this worked well. But personally, it was challenging. We started to talk only about work (which eroded at the corners of our relationship — we had almost too much in common). We also have very different work styles and paces. It’s one thing to disagree with a coworker but it’s another to also be married to them! As I finally told Sean: I want to bitch about your annoying manager but I don’t want to be your annoying manager.
We eventually went to marriage therapy to figure the whole thing out. Now, he runs a website design firm of his own — that way, I can refer people to him but I’m no longer working directly with him. This has been far healthier! He’s also going back to some clinical work. (He’s a trained nurse.) This has helped him to feel a lot more confident, since he’s back in an area where he has control and expertise. But I’m not going to sugar coat it: It got dicey there. It was not fun. And my marriage is one of my very top priorities. I would never risk it for work — not ever.
Second, the money. I went into 2024 feeling a lot of scarcity around money. As my writing clients started to disappear right and left, we ended up with a large financial deficit in January. I was terrified. My coach reminded me over and over again that revenue comes from being of service and creating things — and I ended up running my most lucrative workshop, The JUMP Playbook, as a response to this financial gap. (It covered the gap in full!)
Those months were a lesson for me, though. Even as my income has increased, I still felt unsafe. So I dove into reading about the philosophy of abundance. I invested in a guided psilocybin journey. I did a lot of therapy and coaching work. I journaled almost every morning. All of it was about the idea of safety. What I learned is that money is a proxy for safety, for me — but that’s an old pattern. There is so much more that keeps me safe. (My relationships, my creativity, myself, etc.)
As we near the end of 2024, I’m amazed by how much has changed, and how abundant and trusting I feel on a regular basis. The work, works, as they say. In fact, when I saw that I’d be making over $300,000 this year, I had a very neutral response. And now I can see that money is an outcome of helping people. Centering it led to me making decisions about work that weren’t aligned with my most joyful desires. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, removing money from the center often means I’m earning more and feeling more joy.
Don’t get me wrong! I do still occasionally get nervous about my earnings. But as the coaching business holds steady, month after month, I’m finally seeing how precarious my freelance writing business was. I don’t chase paychecks anymore and I don’t haggle for an extra $100. When I want to make more money, I create something new. I have a team of professionals helping me understand my next best financial moves in the business. I am safe. There is enough — more than enough. And, for the first time ever, I don’t need to set a higher financial goal for the year ahead. I’m good, right where I am.
It’s also worth mentioning another word: power. I spent a lot of time this year working with the concept of power. I wanted to believe in my own power but found it to be a tricky idea. About halfway through the year, I started to study how women and non-binary people wielded power — and it felt like an aha moment for me. Embracing cyclical energy cycles, finally accepting that my prolific creativity is cool (and not embarrassing) and getting rid of a very high perfection bar all helped me find more power.
My power is in my honesty, my creativity and my joy. Those will be big moods for 2025 — and I’m already seeing more and more powerful women signing up for coaching as a result of me accepting my own power.
Listening to my intuition for 2025
At least 10 times this year, I’ve spoken to someone about partnering on a project or coaching program — and I’ve felt this heaviness in my gut. My mouth goes dry and I get a little nauseated. And after literal years of ignoring this physical response, I’ve finally started to listen. I now tell people if we’re a right fit within 5 minutes of getting on the phone with them. I trust myself in a way I’ve never trusted myself. And the few times I haven’t listened, it’s become so clear that I should have. I know what I know, and I know it early. (My clients have been loving this — our sessions are such truth telling deep dives and I’m starting to see clearly where people are headed, too. If I see this for you, I tell you. And it’s wild how many times it’s right on target.)
For 2025, my intuition, heart and mind are pretty aligned on where I’m headed: Into an era of slow power and creative truth.
There will be an investment in more somatic movement, to help myself process and feel emotions. There will be a more robust product and freebie library featured on my website. My creativity is going to take the lead on what I’ll teach — but I’m definitely going to be offering more intensives, small group pods (with themes! some in person!) and workshops.
I’m doubling down on SUSTAIN because it’s just the coziest community with the most healthy momentum. (I also added new payment plans!) I’m also going to invest in continuing education related to coaching, and learning more about plant medicine. I’m prioritizing weekly adventures outdoors, deep care for my body, and creative white space on my calendar. And I’m investing in systems and processes that help me create prolifically. My marketing? It’s still going to be just like this: Soulful teaching & being of service in a generous way.
I’ll finish up with what I wrote in my journal after five hours of looking through 2024 notes and dreaming about 2025:
2025 will be a year of joyfully teaching so many people! It will be a year of creating incredible rooms and gatherings, of shouting: I am not alone, and neither are you. I will remind myself daily that I am powerful and yes, it looks different and yes, it is fun to be this alive. This will be a year of less pressure and obligation, more inspiration and “me, too.” A year of telling the truth.
See you in 2025,
Jenni
PS. I’ll be back with newsletters on January 6th. I’m always looking for folks to interview for my Q&A column, so reach out if you have a non-traditional business practice or approach you’d like to share.
Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach living in Central Oregon. My goal is to teach everyone who will listen that it’s possible to build a simple, stable, successful business that support your human needs first. Join my group coaching program, SUSTAIN, for more conversations like this (and a community of people who are all about the path less taken), and follow me on Twitter & Instagram.