388: Your 2025 CEO Report: The Four‑Step Framework to Reset Your Content Strategy

[00:00:00] Hello friends. Welcome back. This is our final full length episode for 2025. I will have a special little note for you guys next week, but this is the last one. This is a topic that I do every single year because it's something that is so important but is often hard for us to sit down and do. But it is.

[00:00:26] Such an investment in our future. Before we start, I want you to go and download the free CEO report. I'm linking that in the description below, so click it and then follow along as we're going through this episode, or if you can't do it right now, I want you to make sure you go and download that after.

[00:00:47] You can print it, you can use it straight in Canva, or you can do what I do. I like to save it over to my iPad so I can write on it that way. The whole purpose of doing a CEO report and really giving yourself kind of like a state of the union for the year is to break the content creation hamster wheel, avoid burnout for the next year, and really look at what do you want to be different.

[00:01:16] Where do you want to do things better? Where do you want your life to improve? So we're gonna walk through this framework and I really want you to give yourself some time after this episode. Just give yourself like an hour of focus work, like block it off, no interruptions. Turn off your notifications and go through this CEO report for yourself.

[00:01:40] Before we dive in, I just want you to know that this builds on practices that we do very frequently inside of bold fluence planning parties. So make sure you click the link in the description to also check out Bold Fluence and sign up if you haven't already. Hey there, I'm Brief Hair content creator, coach, and your host of the Thrive Podcast.

[00:02:03] And I'm here to help you build a brand you're proud of with clear strategy and real support. Let's dive in.

[00:02:14] So the first part of doing this report is looking at some data. So we're going to do some data analysis and data matters because it helps us make informed decisions about where to focus our attention instead of making assumptions. Assumptions can get us into some really sticky situations in life and in our businesses.

[00:02:38] Okay? So we don't wanna make any assumptions here. I want you to really, truly look at the data. Because you can say, I really wanted to grow this, but it didn't work. Or I, I tried to do this, but then it, it flopped, but data is going to show us did we actually dedicate time to it, and did enough people see something?

[00:03:01] So key things that we're going to look at is some platform performance reviews. Okay? So looking at what platforms performed better than expected, which ones performed worse than you wanted, and what specific tactics helped you grow on your top platform. Then we're gonna dive into doing some income analysis.

[00:03:25] Then we're gonna dive into doing some income analysis. Now, everything I'm talking about today is inside that CEO report, but I just wanna let you know that it's also going to be in a very detailed blog post for you as well. So looking at your income, how did each of your platforms that you created content on contribute to income generation?

[00:03:46] Often we like to look at the income and the income source, right? Oh, it was this much from affiliate links. It was this much from. Ads, it was this much from brand deals, but what we wanna really dive into and where we can take this to the next level is looking at how did the platform contribute to those income streams?

[00:04:06] And then you can really dive into which platforms are worth the time investment versus which are draining resources. Then looking at, all right, now, let's do some strategy evaluation. Are there platforms where you need to change your strategy after looking at the data, what worked well and what needs rethinking?

[00:04:25] So look at all of the platforms you used in the last 12 months, even if you only use them for part-time, a small amount of the year, or maybe you started it later in the year. I want you to look at all of them and really use platform analytics tools to dive deep into those numbers. Create a tracking system for yourself, a spreadsheet, a notebook, something that you can return to for organization.

[00:04:49] If you listen to last week's episode, I talked about really needing to be organized, not last week. Last week was about creating a series. The week before was about like content planning. But I talked about the importance of having something that you can return to. So if you need to purchase a new notebook and you only use it for like content planning, I think you could also use that notebook for tracking things as well.

[00:05:11] In fact, you know, I might need to buy myself a new notebook, giving myself permission there. So make sure that you're tracking things as well. And the second part is reflecting. So we are looking at the data and now we're going to reflect on. Goals and intentions. So the purpose of reflection is really to just kind of look at like what were those previous goals that I set?

[00:05:38] How did the business actually perform? And then that way we can really learn from the past to double down on what worked and to reevaluate, re-strategize or maybe let go of what didn't. This is going to help us break patterns that are holding you back or draining resources. And this is why I talk about this.

[00:05:55] Every single year because if we don't stop and analyze these things, we are going to just keep repeating what we are doing and it's going to be so much harder for us to get further and further ahead. And we're going to kind of just, yeah, by keep doing what you're doing, you're going to grow at the pace you're growing at, and if you wanna grow at a different pace, you'll stop and do this work.

[00:06:18] So some goal review questions is looking at those goals in terms of what were your goals for the last year? Which goals did you achieve and which goals did you not achieve? And then also like, okay, aside from just like, yep, hit these ones. Did it hit these ones? I want you to note what helped you achieve your goals?

[00:06:38] Write that down. What helped you? Get to finishing that goal and then what didn't work or what held you back? What changes do you want to make moving forward? Right? That's the next level that I want you guys to go to with me. I don't want you just to like do a check next to, okay, hit this goal or didn't hit this goal.

[00:06:57] I want you to really dive into this analysis because that is what is going to make the big difference. So if you need to like hit rewind 15 seconds twice to re-listen to that, do it now. Then I want you to review your content across all formats, blog posts, social media posts, emails, threads, anything at all, and I want you to ask yourself questions For each piece, I want you to ask yourself, what was the topic that I like to cover?

[00:07:27] Is this a topic that my audience wants to hear about? Do I have strong hooks? Was my content engaging? Did it make people want to binge more? What could I do differently next time? Now if you are releasing a ton of content, doing this for every single piece is going to take a long time. So instead, I want you to kind of look at more so like maybe the top 10, top 20, and then the bottom 10 or 20, and learn from things that way.

[00:07:55] One thing that you can do in the future is really doing this monthly, not just annually, and identifying top performers per month rather than. All in huge bulk, right? Like where right now it's like impossible to go through everything. Um, but look at those top performers and the content that fell flat and look at this on a monthly basis.

[00:08:19] Also, look for patterns and timing. What times of the year did content perform best? So before we keep going, I wanna make sure that you grab that free CEO report because it's gonna have all of this in there. Head to the link in the show notes. Click the CEO files right now. Seriously, pause this episode.

[00:08:39] Go download it. You're gonna wanna have it in front of you so that way you can fill it out as we're walking through these remaining sections. It's completely free. Like I said earlier, you can print it out, use it on your iPad, or just keep it digital. The link is going to be in your show notes, so trust me, having this workbook as we go through vision casting and your letter to your future self is going to make this so much more impactful.

[00:09:02] Okay, let's keep going. Part three is looking at opportunity. So I want you to look at what's available to you. So with the goal of this, it is to strategically decide what deserves your attention. Next year, I want you to look beyond just what you've done to look at what you could do. This is something.

[00:09:27] Sometimes it's hard for ourselves. I was talking to my friend Haley, who is our incredible podcast producer and my coach for this podcast. Shout out to Haley at Gaff and Creative. But this is something that we were talking about lately because as coaches, it's our job to really help people see. This vision for themselves and to kind of give you a little bit of that inspiration or tell you, you know, this is what I see for you to kind of like push us outside of our comfort zone.

[00:10:02] Right. A good coach can help you with strategy to reach your goals, but then also see where you might be holding yourself back a little bit. So this is where I really want you to work on pushing yourself, looking at what is possible for you, and if you need somebody to help you do this. That's what we do inside of Bold Fluence as well, with that coaching aspect.

[00:10:27] So looking at. What are some untapped ideas? What ideas have you had this year that you just didn't have time to focus on? What opportunities are you seeing in your industry? When was the last time you just paused and thought about those things and wrote them down? Looking at community growth, what opportunities exist to grow your relationship with your community?

[00:10:49] What are you not doing with them? What are you, where are you leaving things on the table? And where should you focus to increase your income in the next year? What opportunities are you leaving on the table? Should they be added to your strategy for the next 12 months, or do things need to stay on your idea list because of time management?

[00:11:10] The other opportunities I want you to consider is anything that might need to be refreshed for your content. What pieces of content should you refresh and share again next year? What pieces should you expand on? That was something that was really eyeopening. Had a conversation inside of bold fluence where we were diving through somebody's content.

[00:11:31] Um, 'cause I think they were feeling a little bit stuck in knowing what to post. And so we were looking at that top. Performing pieces of content and realized that she could just really branch off of that and really dive deeper, and her audience loved her talking about this, and so she could expand on it.

[00:11:49] And so you might have that idea already started and your audience is just waiting for you to keep talking about it. And then what content can be repurposed into different formats or turned into a series? Which holidays do you want to lean into this year? Which holidays do you wanna lean out of next year?

[00:12:08] You know, as we're talking through all these opportunities and strategic. Decisions. I realize this can feel really overwhelming to do once a year. So like I said, that's why inside Bold Fluence, we're doing this. During our planning parties, we get together as a community. I send everyone a workbook and we walk through what worked, what didn't, and what we're taking into the next month all before we even start planning our content.

[00:12:31] It really helps keep you off that content. Creation hamster wheel and helps you build a business with intention instead of just reacting all the time. So if you're interested in having this kind of strategic support every month, plus a community of other entrepreneurs who get it head to thrive together, blog slash bold fluence to learn more.

[00:12:51] But now let's keep going with your annual CEO report. Mm-hmm. Part four of this is life goals. Life goals really matter in a business report. I, I don't know if other people do this. I know corporations sure don't do this right, but that is what sets us apart and makes us unique in that we get to do this because personal happiness and wellbeing directly affect our business performance.

[00:13:22] When we're drained mentally or physically, we cannot pour into our businesses in the way that we want to. And also avoiding burnout means evaluating how we're living our lives. If we are constantly running on empty, we're going to burn out, and that is going to affect our business. So we can also acknowledge that each season of life impacts business differently.

[00:13:51] So it could literally be with the changing seasons and things are different, whether kids are in school or not in school, or what's going on with family or work, whatever it may be, right? Or. Motherhood major life changes a death in the family, right? There are seasons for everything, so I want you to really consider your personal circumstances.

[00:14:14] This is not a cookie cutter CEO report that you are doing. This is something that is highly personal. With this, I want you to ask yourself some questions about your mental and physical health. I know now I'm starting to sound like a doctor here. I'm not a doctor, but I know how much this plays into work for me personally, ask yourself, how have you felt mentally this past year?

[00:14:45] You don't have to share this with anybody, so be brutally honest with yourself. How have you felt physically this past year? What did you do to take care of yourself? Work life balance wise, I want you to look at did you work more or less than you wanted to this year and why? And write down what is your ideal day, week, and year look like?

[00:15:11] Now is the time to figure that out, and now is the time to set that intention. Then big life events. Are there any big life changing events happening next year that you need to plan for? Are you moving, are you having a baby? Some things, obviously we can't plan for, but in a way we can plan for the unexpected by looking at how we have our business set up.

[00:15:38] Working ahead, giving yourself grace, so many, so many things that we can talk about, right? I just want you to remember as you're going through this and why we're talking about life goals is because you started this business for freedom and flexibility, so don't sacrifice that. To stay on the content creation hamster wheel and just to keep running and pushing and pushing and pushing, because that is not freedom, flexibility, that is not peace.

[00:16:05] That is not long-term happiness, and that's not why we started these businesses. So as we're getting towards the end of the CEO reports, now is when we're going to do some vision casting. It's so easy to jump into tasks and content creation. Even planning. But before we plan, we need to set the stage because we're in this for the long haul.

[00:16:32] So I want you to first define success for yourself. If you had to choose one word, what to success feel like for you? What does success in your life mean right now? Now this time next year, 2026. December, 2026. What do you want success to look like? This is so powerful because it is going to shape every decision that we make for the year.

[00:17:10] If we allow it, if we lean into what we want success to look like for us, and then let's look at a progress assessment. What is currently helping you achieve that vision of success? And also what's holding you aback from achieving that vision? A lot of this, all of it, you know, except for like the data, right?

[00:17:32] Which can feel a little fun or not fun, depending. All of this is like being brutally honest with ourselves, with we're, as we're analyzing this stuff. So action steps with this is what changes do you need to make to move closer to building a business and life that you love? So as you're building your content for the next year, I want you to make sure that your content aligns with your business goals, your audience needs, and your life.

[00:18:02] I want you to set clear, actionable steps that lead towards meeting your goals but aren't burning you out. I'm gonna talk about that in next week's episode in my little holiday note to yourself and just kind of share with you where I've been with that in the last year. So set some clear actionable steps that lead towards meeting your goals and plan to revisit them regularly and revise your strategies throughout the year.

[00:18:28] This is where we get into trouble is we do all of this work. Maybe you did this CEO report with me last year, but then there were key things that you needed to remember to look at throughout the year, and you didn't. Because we got back on the content creation hamster wheel and we just kept going.

[00:18:45] That's why in bold Fluence, we're doing this regularly. We're looking at these things regularly together. I was in a group where we did something similar to that, and I knew that I wanted to bring that into bold fluence because it was so powerful for me because I don't like to stop, like I just keep going, right?

[00:19:03] I have my never ending to-do list, and I just keep going and going and going, and those calls forced me to hit pause, evaluate things for an hour, and then make better decisions for the rest of the month or the rest of the quarter. It was game changing for me and that's why we do it inside of Bold Fluence.

[00:19:21] The last part of this CEO letter is one of my favorites, and I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that there's somebody listening to this episode that did this last year. Did you write a letter to yourself last year? If you did, will you please, please DM me on Instagram? Please let me know, because I just think that would be the coolest thing ever.

[00:19:43] I wanna hear from you. I wanna hear like how it went, how that letter felt, reading it back a, a year later. So why do we write a letter? I know it could sound a little woowoo, but there really is like something wonderful in this practice, so something. Deeper just happens when we pause to write things down rather than just thinking them.

[00:20:06] It's a way to give yourself a pep talk to wish yourself well. So here's some things to include. Your hopes for the year ahead, encouragement for the challenges you'll face. Reminder of what you've already accomplished, your commitment to yourself and your vision, and also just. Encouragement in terms of you made it through this year and I'm so proud of you.

[00:20:34] You handled every obstacle that headed your way and you did it so well. Like truly encourage your future self and please message me if you did this last year and let me know how it went. Alright, so in closing this episode out, our final big episode for the year, I want you to download the CEO report in the description below.

[00:20:59] I want you to block out one hour to complete it before January 1st. Please don't just roll into 2025. Please stop and learn what you've been through. This is not about perfectionism. We are. Going into this with intention, we don't wanna keep dealing with burnout in 2025. So I want you to really set yourself up for success and business growth and a life that you love.

[00:21:27] So grab the CEO report in the description below, bonus, share it with a friend. Do it together. Hold each other accountable. Or if you're in bold, fluent. Block off a time, be like, Hey, I'm going to do my CEO report on this day at this time. Does anybody wanna do it with me? And consider setting in times to do this on a monthly review rather than just once a year.

[00:21:56] And like I said. We do it inside Bold fluence. In the new year, we're gonna start having more planning parties and office hours. We haven't been doing this over the last few months, and so I'm really excited to bring them back. So make sure you sign up and you're ready to grow in January. That's at Thrive Together blog slash bold fluence.

[00:22:15] Everything I talked about today is in the description below. You guys are amazing, and I will see you back here next week for our final episode of the year.

[00:22:32] If this episode helped you, help us grow, leave a review, share it with a friend, and tag us on social media. We can't wait to cheer you on.