So this is a new thing! Not yearly goal setting, I have always believed in goal setting in my business! I probably always have in ways goal set every year. Especially at uni. What is new and honestly a little scary is this goal setting blog!

2021 is in some ways going to be the hardest year for me to set goals. As 2020 was so all over the place! It started so amazingly, more than on track and then March wow! It is something we couldn’t predict! When setting 5/10 year goals I always have in my head we can’t control factors that may come up so these are goals that are fluid. My yearly goals I am usually more set on, a little too strict I would say. 2020 has definitely taught I can’t be so strict!

I have my yearly goals set for 2021 and they are not as strict as normal. I do have a financial goal also and I might start doing monthly income reports for my blogs. Reading other income reports has become a little obsession lately! I love others achieving their goals and love being able to go back see how they built on it month after month right from the beginning! I think I would like that to have a look back on myself and hopefully, it will help others in the future like the ones I have read helped me!

2021 yearly goal setting!

Anyway back to planning 2021 and my yearly goals. So it feels a little like my first year in business all over again, I am not going to lie! With only designing 2 weddings at the beginning of last year I feel like I haven’t really done much. Also, I have changed so much in the way the business is going! What I want and the future I want!

So, for the new people, you may not know I have had a complete rebrand. New name and all! This took me sooooo long to get around to and I am glad! I know what I want now with this part of the business and this new blog is so widely different from the last. I want to make it my space of the internet and of course share weddings and event design tips and promote my design business. However, I want it to be more of a journal. Sharing what it is like to really run a wedding design business. Sharing behind the scenes and my lifestyle.

Also, share business advice, I am far from an expert but I have taken all the course, yes all! (learning addict) I love to learn and have learnt so much over the last 4 years I want to be able to help anyone who may be feeling a little lost or just starting out. I also plan on interviewing the experts and colleges in the wedding industry to hear their business journey and give their top tips.

I took Lisa Johnson’s passive course this year also as adding passive items into my business was something I was already considering. With COVID-19 it gave me the time to push it forward. I am going to do a full, honest review of the course at some point soon. I want to implement a few more of the teachings first. This course and my research into passive ideas really changed my mindset towards my business. Don’t get me wrong I love designing weddings and events! However, my long time goals are to travel the world! By yacht, but that’s a blog for another time!

When I looked at my business model and my plans for scaling, I realised that I wasn’t building a business to support this dream. Also, in 2019 my mum had a stroke and I just stopped working on my business for months! It had a huge impact and have been playing catch up ever since! Taking time away and still earning is my goal this year!

I am telling you all this as it all plays a part in my 2021 goals. I have changed so much of my business model it is why along with the dreaded ‘C’ I feel like the first proper year in business this year! Which means I have my drive, focus, passion and excitement back! The ones I felt 4 years ago! Okay, Zoey. Shut up we know your life story just tell us your goals! I hear you!

Business yearly goal setting

Goal 1 – Do less weddings

This was a goal I had for 2020 also! be careful what you wish for hay! It is something I struggled with as doing fewer weddings means charging more! And, not to sound arrogant! I know I am really good at what I do, I make sure I am! Learning constantly, about design, weddings and business. I know my system works for designing a wedding or event that is truly personal. I get to know my clients and couples and have learnt over the years what to pick up on and what questions to ask!

It is the fact that charging more puts me at a higher price point and less accessible to my clients I have now! I started my business wanting design to be available to all couples! Not having to have a cookie-cutter wedding because they can’t afford or don’t wish to hire a designer or stylist! They are left with the DIY option or a venue dresser! Venue dressers are great but you hire their stock, there is no designing involved and it is usually a package that hundreds more have already hired! I want to give the option for weddings of any budget to have a beautifully curated day that is as stylish as it is personal!

Starting The event design toolkit has helped this all fit into place so beautifully! I have my passion back and I get balance and to start building the life of my dreams! The wedding toolkit course will provide couples with all they need to design a wedding of their dreams. With no disasters and no tat or chair covers in site! I can raise my prices without guilt knowing that this way I can actually help more couples and budget will not be a barrier to beautiful design anymore!

So, 6 to 10 weddings a year is my aim! Slowly doing ony full design and limiting it to 4 to 6 a year! If you have been meaning to see if I am free for 2021 or 2022 get in touch!

Goal 2 – Launch course

Launch the wedding design toolkit course! I am thinking I need a better name though! I will have toolkit out already! Which is all the spreadsheets, checklists and information you could need to design a wedding, ready to print and go! So, the course definitely needs a different name! Names I am not good at though, so I will definitely need your help with this one! I am hoping September/November time. There is so much to do for it and mix with a crazy wedding season, I hope, I will have to see how it goes! I will at least get the beta course out in 2021 no excuses!

Goal 3 – Blog growth urban

If you don’t know I also run the urban wedding company. A blog for modern stylish couples looking to plan a city-centre wedding. The goal for this is blog growth! I run it alongside Chelle a wedding planner. She is one of the planners I use when you want to add coordination on to your design package. My why I outsourced planning blog explains this properly. We have definitely developed this business and moved things around over the years. I am a big believer in this and I am one of the few that doesn’t agree with the niche down right away parade! Again, I explain it more in my why niching isn’t always the way blog. Because we ran with the idea, analysed and grew and developed from this we now have this amazing blog that fills a huge gap in the market!

Anyway, you may notice I digress a lot! I just know a lot of you will be new readers and want to make sure you understand the path already taken. Honestly, I do this when I am talking though! I can’t keep up with what I am saying myself, god knows how others cope! So with our own businesses and lives, urban needs to work with us, support us without taking over.

With my new found love, passive income, our focus is really pushing the blog. So this year is all about great content we know our readers will love and find useful while planning a wedding. It is also about the numbers, we really want to grow our reach with the blog! Get those reader numbers up and we are going to monetize to with ads. We feel this is the best route for us still to be able to provide amazing content our readers need and it supports our own lifestyles separately.

Goal 4 – Expand Zoey Louise Design

Branch out Zoey Louise design. I want to work with brands and businesses more. As a small business owner myself, I really understand the value of good brand content. I love working on brand shoots. Shoots have always been a huge passion of mine, I feel I get the chance to be more creative, push boundaries more. With weddings and large events, there is always the restriction of guest experience and practicality. For me, the guest experience should be at the front of any event design, with this though it restricts the possibilities in ways you are not restricted on editorial shoots. The goal is to do more shoots and brand events.

Also, I know I can’t fully talk as it took me so long to rebrand and nail mine! But I was always so aware of the impact not rebranding was having on my business. However, even with the brand not how I wanted it I still branded all my content. The experience was always thought out and on brand. Branding is so much more than just a logo! So, I want to develop my digital shop and offer templates for wedding and creative businesses. Like with my other digital items they will be fully customisable to make your own and are the perfect starting point for new business or older ones needing a refresh.

Goal 5 – Digital products

Following on, goal 5 is to really streamline and get some order to my digital shop. This shop is over on Etsy at the moment and is the place to head for DIY stylish wedding and event digital items. It has everything you could need when planning a wedding or event. Well, that’s the plan. It definitely needs some work and my goal is to have this bringing in a steady semi-passive monthly income by the end of the year!

Goal 6 – YouTube

YouTube! This is the one that scares me the most I think! I need to get out my own way and start filming twice-weekly YouTube videos. This is partly as it is the easiest way to give advice and help couples wanting to design their own wedding. It will be a great source of advice for DIYers and anyone planning any event! An enhancement to the event design toolkit blog! Let’s be clear also, I am running a business so it has to be a benefit for my business also or it is just dead time. So for me it a great marketing tool and will hopefully bring me more readers and customers. On a personal note will help with my confidence and public speaking fears!!! Red tomato face anyone else??

2021 yearly goal setting

My six business goals! What do you think? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email, a message on insta, however you want to connect I would love to! So, as much as I am a workaholic! Life isn’t all about work and business goals. So next I have my 3 lifestyle goals. Then if you are still not bored! I will break this all down into the first-quarter goals and then monthly goals. I will do a monthly recap and let you all know how I am getting on.

Life yearly goal setting

Health yearly goals

So I have really made an effort this last year to work on me and my mindset. I am going to share more on this throughout this year with my favourite mindset books and practises that help me. I want to carry on growing, learning my strengths as a person and how to live a mindful life, where I enjoy every day! This isn’t about fake happiness and positivity! Being present, having gratitude with the day and experiences that happen. I am back to eating healthy, no not a fad diet! I am a big believer in you are what you eat motto! My mood, energy and body feels better when I am thoughtful with what I eat.

Fitness goals

So, kinda ties in with above! But separate also as I want to get back into weight training. Really committing this year and getting back to the body I love! This comes back to mindset above and no I am not saying you have to be skinny to love yourself! I just know I love my body and have more self esteem when I am at my fittest and strongest! I think learning to love yourself you need to love your body and sure getting the right fuel it needs and strengthening it to be at its best is part of this.

Joy yearly goals

Family time! Making more time for Tayha and Ryan. Present time, no phones, no TV! Well, maybe a big screen now and then! I am a self-confessed workaholic! Always have been, I love being focused, blinkering everything else out until I get where or what I want! With business, though this is always growing, changing and I will never get to the finish line.

So, with that I need to learn to switch off and have time away and spend it with the ones I love. I am trying to commit to every Saturday off! That sounds crazy that one day completely off a week is such a hard goal to reach, maybe even the hardest of the year! But like with most hard things I am sure it will be the most rewarding! Weeks when I have weddings this will not be possible I know, but with limiting my weddings now it is also not a huge impact on how many spare weekends I have. I will try to have the Sunday off instead after clear down. Sundays are mainly planning and organising days so I definitely can squeeze that into an hour.

2021 yearly goal setting

Well, I have spilt my 2021 dreams to you all! I hope you enjoyed or found this yearly goal setting blog useful? This is the easy part, daydreaming, setting big goals! The hard part and the only way these will actually come true is to now get focused and put a plan into place! I work in quarters, I think most people do. I then break that down into monthly, weekly and daily tasks! Is my teacher training showing here? I always do feel like I am doing lesson planning a little!

So next we will look at quarter one and January! I will update this blog every month and every quarter so you can all keep me accountable and see how I am getting on. I would love for you all to join in also, share your goals with me. Even better, write your own blog and link it in the comments, I would love to read along with yours also!

Next up I break them into quarter goals/tasks now. What needs to be achieved first to then build on later on in the year. I do my quarter goals at the end of each one. Then add these each quarter to the bottom of the blog. I will also be doing monthly mood blogs. These will go over my monthly goals and again I will add a link here each month so you can catch up no matter what month it is! Each monthly mood also includes a free printable quote!

• January monthly mood!

Quarter 1 goals

• Weddings, for the first quarter I am really streamlining my client process. Making the experience feel even more personal and luxurious. Just like the weddings I design! Adding welcome packs, booking in monthly meeting or calls. Getting super organised and hoping no more cancellations or postponements. Linking back to goal 1 of fewer weddings but higher-end.
• Have the toolkit ready and do a mini launch. 2 weekly bogs to push brand awareness. Goal 2
• Keep working on SEO and Pinterest to keep at 10k monthly views or more. Get ready to apply for an ad company. Goal 3
• 2 weekly blogs, Pinterest and Instagram content. Building my brand in the direction I am heading. Goal 4. Repurpose my streamlining digital items for the Zoey Louise digital shop
• Have 4/5 wedding full digital packages. Have all spreadsheets and checklists up. Seasonal content -Valentine, easter!
• 2 weekly youtube videos. Repurpose blog content or vice versa! 1 DIY/inspo and 1 help or interview.
• Monthly family night and date night. 80% of the time healthy and focusing on mindset.

So that is it for now for my yearly goal setting! keep checking back to see how I am getting on and don’t forget to let me know your yearly goals or link your goal blogs in the comments!