Where Are We Going in 2024? | 153
Welcome to part two of this mini-series, The Highs & Lows of 2023! This episode actually focuses on where we're going in 2024 because what good is dwelling on the past if it doesn't inform us about the future?
In this short and sweet episode, I share some big changes happening personally and how I'll be attempting to be more intentional in my business in 2024.
Key Takeaways:
Personal life predictions - end of mat leave, my youngest is off to school and me-oh-my those grocery prices!
Business intentions - how I plan on going deeper with ongoing clients and upcoming projects
Plus, an exciting milestone that's coming 🎉
Wanna hear about the highs and lows of 2023? Listen now!
Episode Transcript:
Happy New Year! I am really excited to be back. This hiatus was shorter than expected and I'm really excited and happy about that. There has been some life changes which has left me with less time and I'm really happy about it. But, one of the things that I was told by multiple of my coaches, who I adore, plus some of my biz besties, who I also adore was to let the podcast go.
And I thought about it for a really, really, really, really long time, but I just didn't want to. So, hopefully, hopefully, I can keep it going. Maybe time will magically appear and create a, oh my goodness. So we'll see. I hope that you had a relaxing holiday and a happy new year. And this is part two to that bonus episode that came out.
I put that episode out kind of on a whim on December 31st. So here we are. Doing part two of the highs and lows of 2023 and actually more so this one is going to be where we're going in 2024. After recording that bonus episode and re listening to it and editing it and all of that, one thing that really, really stuck out to me was that I really felt like 2023 was a hard year, but there was so many great moments and actually just a couple of bumps in the road, but mostly some really, really great times and really happy moments and lots of family time, which is so important for me.
And I know that it definitely could have been a worse year. So. It just reminded me, I think, I think the first place I heard this was from Stacey Boehman and then I've also maybe heard it from Brooke Castillo, but maybe not. I'm really blanking on if I have, but anyway, it's that life is 50 50 and there are going to be good moments and bad moments all mixed together. So I'm really thankful that last year was a 50 50 year, that there was good moments and bad moments, and I'm looking forward to 2024. While it was fun to look back, here is what 2024 has in store.
The first thing is the official end of my maternity leave. If you've been around here a while, you know that I am in Ontario where Canadians get a year of paid maternity leave.
When my daughter was born in May of 2020, I went off on leave. And then following the end of my leave, I went to part time. And I went down to two days a week. And so, in the What would it have been? So it was off for the 2020 2021 school year. So then 2021 2022, I taught two days a week and then 2022 2023, and then this year as well, 2023 2024, it's one day a week.
I'm so, so fortunate that my school board allows for this extended maternity leave. that first year was the official maternity leave. The second year is what's considered extended parental leave. And then year three and four are personal leaves. And so, I have to make the decision before the school year starts of what I am doing.
If I'm going to go back to teaching full time, if I'm going to resign a portion of my contract, or if I am going to go back to school. To or sorry, if I'm going to resign my entire contract, so I don't have to resign 100%. I am able to resign like one day or four days or 50%. I can in half day chunks is kind of what my board requires.
And so I have to make that decision. Coming up. So stay tuned. I, if it really depends on the day what's happening how my kids are feeling, like if they're sick or a big performance or a field trip or something like that, that really dictates if, if it was a teaching day that I just had, if I was in the classroom, there's so many different things that dictate what my decision is going to be.
But, yeah, day to day, you probably won't get the same answer, so stay tuned because I officially need to decide what's happening sooner than I really, really want to because I wish I could just stay in this limbo. My contract, I have a full time contract. It is protected currently. I have a position at my school, a full time position at my school in a classroom if I so wish to return to it so we'll see.
We'll see that's good. It's it's a really, really hard decision. So with that, uh, my youngest is going to be going to school. And that's part of the reason why there's the four years so that you can stay home, offset the childcare with your child, your child until they go to school. So in September, my daughter will be going to school, uh, next 100 percent sure when registration opens, but I will be registering for.
So that's super, super exciting. I'm really, I don't know, I was really excited about my son going to school too. And then, you know, when it actually happens, there's, it's a rollercoaster of emotions. So I know it's going to be a rollercoaster of emotions again with her when she goes to school. But I am really looking forward to it. Still all the same.
Okay. Next thing that I wrote down is less travel and more mortgage payments, which is so crazy for me to say out loud. But we are pretty close to paying off our mortgage and uh, we have as a family, my husband and I have decided to pause travel plans for the next 12 months. So that every single extra penny can go to our mortgage. We're up for renewal in, I think it's April ish of 2025. And the goal will be when the renewal happens that we won't have to renew. That will be able to just pay off the balance. I'm really sad. I am a total total travel bug. I've been to 30 maybe 40 countries.
I've done a lot of a lot of traveling in my my life and to have this on pause even though it's just for like a year maybe a year and a half I'm still really sad about it. So stay tuned for that one, hopefully we will have travel plans that we can get excited for. In like six months, right? Next summer, we can start thinking about like the following summer's travel plans is my hope.
Okay, number four. This is so ridiculous, I wrote it on the list, but it's so true. The most expensive groceries of my life.
I don't know where you are listening from, but here, where I am. Groceries are so freaking expensive right now, and it's like, actually not funny at all. It's horrible. Not only are grocery prices increasing at the most insane rate ever, but I have two children who are growing, and over the last year have gone from eating probably like a quarter of a person's. portion to almost one person's portion, and I know that as they continue to grow, they will grow into eating two full human portions, and I'm just not looking forward to it at all. Like, having to double the quantity of food we're currently making, basically. So, hip hip hooray for the most expensive groceries of my life in 2024, and I'm really sorry if you're there with me.
Okay. More project work. I have been really leaning in to sprints, the Facebook ad sprints that I offer, as well as summits. I love these project based opportunities where I get to work with a business. And with a sprint, we're setting up an ad that will grow their email list. And we typically have amazing results growing people's lists with 500 to a thousand new subscribers in the six weeks that we're working together.
And then same with summits. It is so much fun to be behind the scenes of a summit. You do not want to, I go back and forth. I go back and forth. I do want to host my own summit, but also because I've been behind the scenes of so many summits, I know how much work is there. And like, I also don't really want to do that.
So it's one of those things that's on the back burner and probably will stay on the back burner because it's just more work than I'm interested in for right now. But. I am really excited to take on and work with more business owners who are looking to run sprints and grow their email list with the paid Facebook ad, or they have a summit that's coming up.
I have already booked, uh, summits for January and February plus. It's really important that we have a good six to eight week leeway to make sure everything is done and ready and set up properly for the summit. So if you have a summit in March or April or May, and you're hoping to run ads, definitely reach out, send me a DM on Instagram at heyitsjenzaia so we can chat if the summit package is right for you.
Okay. The last thing I have on the list is going deeper with fewer clients. I have my core. container. I mean, that's the wrong way to put it, but I have an ongoing ads management package that I've always felt that I want to take on a certain number of people. And recently I've had about half of that number of people and it's really given me the opportunity to dig a little bit deeper into some of these businesses and to help with more of the strategy piece behind with the long form content and how we can drive more traffic there and how we can turn on retargeting ads for their memberships and those types of pieces where I I didn't really have that ability when I had the full, full, full roster.
It's definitely something that I didn't realize was missing, but that strategy piece. So I'm really excited in 2024 to really be going deeper with fewer clients and really helping to make sure that the ads are facilitating, uh, that holistic marketing approach that I always talk about and really, really creating a well rounded ecosystem that includes those paid ads. So yeah, that's where, that's what's happening.
So just as a bit of a recap. The end of my maternity leave, officially, will be coming, my youngest will be going to school. Less travel so we can pay off our mortgage. The most expensive groceries ever. Uh, more projects, fewer clients, going deeper.
And I'm just really looking forward to 2024 being a great year. Oh! Also, also, it is a big birthday for me. I'll be turning nine. So, Yeah, I'm really really excited about that. If you, I, I will talk more about this. I'm going to have an Ask Me Anything for my ninth birthday. If you're like, uh, Jenzaia, what the hell are you talking about?
I am a leap year baby. So in human years, quote unquote, I will be 36. But this is my ninth official birthday that is happening this year, and I'm super excited about that. I can't believe that that didn't make the list. It's always exciting when it's a leap year and I have a quote unquote real birthday.
Uh, so stay tuned for that. I'll have an ask me anything happy birthday edition and yeah, I will be back in your ear next Saturday with a new Saturday strategy session and thanks for being here as always.
And I thought about it for a really, really, really, really long time, but I just didn't want to. So, hopefully, hopefully, I can keep it going. Maybe time will magically appear and create a, oh my goodness. So we'll see. I hope that you had a relaxing holiday and a happy new year. And this is part two to that bonus episode that came out.
I put that episode out kind of on a whim on December 31st. So here we are. Doing part two of the highs and lows of 2023 and actually more so this one is going to be where we're going in 2024. After recording that bonus episode and re listening to it and editing it and all of that, one thing that really, really stuck out to me was that I really felt like 2023 was a hard year, but there was so many great moments and actually just a couple of bumps in the road, but mostly some really, really great times and really happy moments and lots of family time, which is so important for me.
And I know that it definitely could have been a worse year. So. It just reminded me, I think, I think the first place I heard this was from Stacey Boehman and then I've also maybe heard it from Brooke Castillo, but maybe not. I'm really blanking on if I have, but anyway, it's that life is 50 50 and there are going to be good moments and bad moments all mixed together. So I'm really thankful that last year was a 50 50 year, that there was good moments and bad moments, and I'm looking forward to 2024. While it was fun to look back, here is what 2024 has in store.
The first thing is the official end of my maternity leave. If you've been around here a while, you know that I am in Ontario where Canadians get a year of paid maternity leave.
When my daughter was born in May of 2020, I went off on leave. And then following the end of my leave, I went to part time. And I went down to two days a week. And so, in the What would it have been? So it was off for the 2020 2021 school year. So then 2021 2022, I taught two days a week and then 2022 2023, and then this year as well, 2023 2024, it's one day a week.
I'm so, so fortunate that my school board allows for this extended maternity leave. that first year was the official maternity leave. The second year is what's considered extended parental leave. And then year three and four are personal leaves. And so, I have to make the decision before the school year starts of what I am doing.
If I'm going to go back to teaching full time, if I'm going to resign a portion of my contract, or if I am going to go back to school. To or sorry, if I'm going to resign my entire contract, so I don't have to resign 100%. I am able to resign like one day or four days or 50%. I can in half day chunks is kind of what my board requires.
And so I have to make that decision. Coming up. So stay tuned. I, if it really depends on the day what's happening how my kids are feeling, like if they're sick or a big performance or a field trip or something like that, that really dictates if, if it was a teaching day that I just had, if I was in the classroom, there's so many different things that dictate what my decision is going to be.
But, yeah, day to day, you probably won't get the same answer, so stay tuned because I officially need to decide what's happening sooner than I really, really want to because I wish I could just stay in this limbo. My contract, I have a full time contract. It is protected currently. I have a position at my school, a full time position at my school in a classroom if I so wish to return to it so we'll see.
We'll see that's good. It's it's a really, really hard decision. So with that, uh, my youngest is going to be going to school. And that's part of the reason why there's the four years so that you can stay home, offset the childcare with your child, your child until they go to school. So in September, my daughter will be going to school, uh, next 100 percent sure when registration opens, but I will be registering for.
So that's super, super exciting. I'm really, I don't know, I was really excited about my son going to school too. And then, you know, when it actually happens, there's, it's a rollercoaster of emotions. So I know it's going to be a rollercoaster of emotions again with her when she goes to school. But I am really looking forward to it. Still all the same.
Okay. Next thing that I wrote down is less travel and more mortgage payments, which is so crazy for me to say out loud. But we are pretty close to paying off our mortgage and uh, we have as a family, my husband and I have decided to pause travel plans for the next 12 months. So that every single extra penny can go to our mortgage. We're up for renewal in, I think it's April ish of 2025. And the goal will be when the renewal happens that we won't have to renew. That will be able to just pay off the balance. I'm really sad. I am a total total travel bug. I've been to 30 maybe 40 countries.
I've done a lot of a lot of traveling in my my life and to have this on pause even though it's just for like a year maybe a year and a half I'm still really sad about it. So stay tuned for that one, hopefully we will have travel plans that we can get excited for. In like six months, right? Next summer, we can start thinking about like the following summer's travel plans is my hope.
Okay, number four. This is so ridiculous, I wrote it on the list, but it's so true. The most expensive groceries of my life.
I don't know where you are listening from, but here, where I am. Groceries are so freaking expensive right now, and it's like, actually not funny at all. It's horrible. Not only are grocery prices increasing at the most insane rate ever, but I have two children who are growing, and over the last year have gone from eating probably like a quarter of a person's. portion to almost one person's portion, and I know that as they continue to grow, they will grow into eating two full human portions, and I'm just not looking forward to it at all. Like, having to double the quantity of food we're currently making, basically. So, hip hip hooray for the most expensive groceries of my life in 2024, and I'm really sorry if you're there with me.
Okay. More project work. I have been really leaning in to sprints, the Facebook ad sprints that I offer, as well as summits. I love these project based opportunities where I get to work with a business. And with a sprint, we're setting up an ad that will grow their email list. And we typically have amazing results growing people's lists with 500 to a thousand new subscribers in the six weeks that we're working together.
And then same with summits. It is so much fun to be behind the scenes of a summit. You do not want to, I go back and forth. I go back and forth. I do want to host my own summit, but also because I've been behind the scenes of so many summits, I know how much work is there. And like, I also don't really want to do that.
So it's one of those things that's on the back burner and probably will stay on the back burner because it's just more work than I'm interested in for right now. But. I am really excited to take on and work with more business owners who are looking to run sprints and grow their email list with the paid Facebook ad, or they have a summit that's coming up.
I have already booked, uh, summits for January and February plus. It's really important that we have a good six to eight week leeway to make sure everything is done and ready and set up properly for the summit. So if you have a summit in March or April or May, and you're hoping to run ads, definitely reach out, send me a DM on Instagram at heyitsjenzaia so we can chat if the summit package is right for you.
Okay. The last thing I have on the list is going deeper with fewer clients. I have my core. container. I mean, that's the wrong way to put it, but I have an ongoing ads management package that I've always felt that I want to take on a certain number of people. And recently I've had about half of that number of people and it's really given me the opportunity to dig a little bit deeper into some of these businesses and to help with more of the strategy piece behind with the long form content and how we can drive more traffic there and how we can turn on retargeting ads for their memberships and those types of pieces where I I didn't really have that ability when I had the full, full, full roster.
It's definitely something that I didn't realize was missing, but that strategy piece. So I'm really excited in 2024 to really be going deeper with fewer clients and really helping to make sure that the ads are facilitating, uh, that holistic marketing approach that I always talk about and really, really creating a well rounded ecosystem that includes those paid ads. So yeah, that's where, that's what's happening.
So just as a bit of a recap. The end of my maternity leave, officially, will be coming, my youngest will be going to school. Less travel so we can pay off our mortgage. The most expensive groceries ever. Uh, more projects, fewer clients, going deeper.
And I'm just really looking forward to 2024 being a great year. Oh! Also, also, it is a big birthday for me. I'll be turning nine. So, Yeah, I'm really really excited about that. If you, I, I will talk more about this. I'm going to have an Ask Me Anything for my ninth birthday. If you're like, uh, Jenzaia, what the hell are you talking about?
I am a leap year baby. So in human years, quote unquote, I will be 36. But this is my ninth official birthday that is happening this year, and I'm super excited about that. I can't believe that that didn't make the list. It's always exciting when it's a leap year and I have a quote unquote real birthday.
Uh, so stay tuned for that. I'll have an ask me anything happy birthday edition and yeah, I will be back in your ear next Saturday with a new Saturday strategy session and thanks for being here as always.
Enjoy listening to Market, Scale, Grow?
—> Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Google Podcast.
—> Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
—> Join the conversation in the Facebook Group!
