4 Steps I'm Taking This Month to Plan for 2026 [Ep 224]

Today, we’re talking all about planning ahead - because let’s face it, the end of the year has a way of sneaking up on us, and before we know it, January is here. That’s why this is the perfect time to hit pause, reflect, and map out a strategy that actually feels good for 2026.

In this episode, discover:

• Life First, Business Second: Learn to map out personal priorities first, ensuring your business supports your lifestyle rather than the other way around.
• Leveraging Data & Reflections for Better Decisions: Understand how to use data from 2025 to inform your strategies and set goals.
• Crafting Revenue Goals with Flexibility: Set income targets without feeling locked in, leaving room for new opportunities and inspiration.
• Sync Your Life & Business Calendar: Find out how aligning your calendar with personal events and business goals prevents burnout and keeps motivation high.

Ready to grow your business without social media or burnout?

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Transcript

Kylie Kelly [00:00:00]:
Have you ever looked ahead to a new year and thought, okay, I know I want it to feel different, but how do I actually plan for that? Because that's where I am right now. And today I'm taking you behind the scenes of how I'm planning 2026 in a way that honors my life, my energy, my family, and my empire.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:23]:
Are you a female business owner frustrated with battling the algorithm and looking for growth strategies that don't involve awkwardly pointing or dancing or throwing cash at paid ads? Welcome to the Email Growth Show. I'm your host, Kylie Kelly, visibility and email marketing strategist. I grew my email list from zero to almost 10,000 subscribers in less than two years.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:44]:
And the same is possible for you, too.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:46]:
Are you ready to build your email list and start making more money in your online business? Let's head into today's episode.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:55]:
Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Email Growth Show. Today we're digging into one of my favorite end of year conversations, mapping a new year in a way that actually reflects who you're becoming, not just who you've been. This isn't about creating a Pinterest vision board that you burn out trying to achieve by February. And it's definitely not about pretending you're suddenly going to wake up on January 1st with boundless energy and a brand new personality. This is about creating a year that holds you. A year that fits your life.

Kylie Kelly [00:01:23]:
A year that supports the way you want to show up as a mother, a partner, a business owner, and a woman building her empire in a deeply intentional way. 2025 has changed me. You've probably fe that in my content, my grounding, my direction, even my confidence. And because of that, 2026 has to be planned differently. So let's do that together today. Firstly, we're going to start with our life, not just our business. This is the biggest shift I've made in how I plan my year. I used to start with launches and visibility and revenue goals, and then I tried to squeeze my life into the.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:00]:
Cracks that were left over.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:01]:
And honestly, I that's how burnout happens. That's how resentment builds. That's how you end up feeling like an employee inside your own business. The very first thing I do is open up my 2026 calendar and put in the things that matter most. School holidays, family commitments, travel, any downtime. I know I need the pockets of connection and space that actually make my life feel like mine. I give myself permission to acknowledge seasons of high energy and seasons where I need more rest. I don't plan launches in school, holiday chaos.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:36]:
I don't overload January after a big December and I build in recovery time around my empire expansion events because after guiding dozens of women through two of the most powerful days of their year, I want space to breathe, reflect and restore. And probably get a massage. This step alone changes the entire feel of the year. Life isn't an afterthought, it's the foundation. So that is the first thing you are going to do. Start thinking about your year with your life. Life first, not your business. Then we move into reviewing 2025 honestly, without judgment.

Kylie Kelly [00:03:12]:
Before I think about what I want for 2026, I have to spend time looking back at 2025. Not through the lens of what didn't work or what I should have done, but through a lens of compassion and curiosity. I scroll my camera roll. I check my revenue reports. I look at my email list growth month by month. I remember the seasons where I felt powerful and alive and the seasons where stretch too thin. I revisit launches and client wins, unexpected opportunities and unexpected challenges. This kind of reflection honestly gives you data you cannot get any other way.

Kylie Kelly [00:03:49]:
I can see exactly where I pushed too hard, where I under supported myself, where I made magic without even trying, where I grew in ways I wasn't expecting, and where things felt aligned and where they didn't. That clarity is everything. I will also add When I used to be on social media, my Instagram stories archive was gold for this because I would be sharing my life as it happened through my Instagram stories. So going back to what happened in January, what did I share? What happened in February, what did I share throughout the year gives you even more insight into what was happening, what felt good, what didn't, and what we need to consider when we're planning the next 12 months. After we've done that reflection piece, we then start to think about building revenue around our capacity. So something that I've been working on in 2025, and I'll continue to work on, is that I'm no longer willing to build a business that demands more than I can give. So before I map out numbers or goals or projections, I sit with one question. What do I actually have capacity for? Not the fantasy version of me.

Kylie Kelly [00:04:57]:
Not the highly caffeinated version of me, not the hyper optimistic January version of me. The real me. Right? The MU woman running a household. The woman supporting my clients deeply. The woman who actually wants spaciousness and softness built into my days. Once I'm honest about the capacity piece, then I can look at revenue. But I need to build it around my actual life. This is how sustainable scaling happens, right? This is how we scale our business in a way that feels really good.

Kylie Kelly [00:05:23]:
Not by forcing more, but by creating smarter. And it gets to feel calm and powerful and grounded, like we're building something we can fully step into, not just something that I'm forever trying to keep up with. So that's the third step, is to consider your capacity and build our conversion events, our launches, our revenue, plan around what we can actually hold, even on our worst days, right? Think of it that way. What can you hold on your worst day? Plan for that. And then if you have extra energy, my goodness, you can do whatever you like, but plan it around your worst day. And then the last thing that I wanted to leave you with here is to map the year with flexibility instead of being super rigid. Once I have my life in my calendar, I've reflected on the year that's been. I've thought about my capacity.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:10]:
I start to sketch the architecture of what 2026 can be. What will the launch windows be? What will the rest windows be? Do I have an evergreen focus season, right? Do I have an event season? Do I have a quiet season? Do I have a creation season? Think about what do you want 2026 to be? And then you can map it around that. Every single plan that you make must include room for being human. I want to really encourage you. Leave white space. Leave room for recovery. Leave space for things to evolve, for the plan to change, because it often does. This isn't about getting it perfect.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:46]:
This is about creating a structure that supports you and instead of squeezes you. And when your year feels like it can support you, you get to show up differently. Your content can hit deeper, your offers can feel easy, your confidence can expand, and your business can grow. Not because you're hustling and pushing harder, but because you're finally aligned. So I want you to sit with this. As you start to think about what 2026 can be for you, I want you to have the permission to plan it in a way that feels really true for you. Not rushed, not forced, not color coded, not filling out some perfect planner, not stack with unrealistic expectations. You get to build your year on purpose.

Kylie Kelly [00:07:26]:
You get to create plans that support your energy instead of draining it. You get to treat your life like the CEO level priority that it is. And if, as you're mapping out your year, you realize you want more clarity or more direction or more support, holding the big picture of your business with someone who actually sees you, you know where I am. You can always book a Business Breakthrough audit and I'll help you map your visibility, your list growth and your offer flow through the lens of the empire that you're building in 2026. The link, as always, is in the show notes or you can go to kylie kelly.com breakthrough as a reminder, go through those steps. Start with your life, not your business. As you start to map out 2026, review the past year honestly without judgment. Look at what felt good, look at what didn't.

Kylie Kelly [00:08:13]:
Then build the revenue goals and plans around your capacity and map out that year with flexibility. Right? Remember, you get to choose. You get to make this plan and if you can do it with those things in mind, I know that you're going to have the most amazing year ahead. Okay, that is all for me this week. I hope you found that helpful. Please reach out if you have any thoughts, feedbacks or just want to share what you are thinking about as we go into the new year. I love you loads and I will see you next week. Bye for now.

Kylie Kelly [00:08:41]:
Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Email Growth Show. I hope you found valuable insights into the next steps you can take to grow your email list and and boost your business without relying on social media or paid ads. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show and share it with others.

Kylie Kelly [00:08:59]:
Your feedback helps me reach more female.

Kylie Kelly [00:09:01]:
Entrepreneurs just like you who are ready to say goodbye to social media and leverage email marketing to grow their business and make a bigger impact.

Kylie Kelly [00:09:09]:
Thank you so much for listening and.

Kylie Kelly [00:09:11]:
I'll see you in the next episode.