We are at the pointy end of 2023 where I get to ask you about having a “word of the year” for 2024!

What’s going to be your word of the year?

This is the word you use to help make decisions, to help create the business you want next year, the word you measure things against!

Now, don’t click off this blog just yet.  This little exercise has had a massive impact on my business and I just want you to share in the love too!

Ok, just in case you’re thinking I’m going all wishy washy on you talking about one word to describe your coming year, let me tell you a bit of a story!

It all began about three years ago now.

I was listening to a podcast and I can’t honestly say which one it was, although if I had to guess I would say more than likely Amy Porterfield’s podcast because I’m a HUGE Amy fan, and they were talking about choosing a word to describe your year.

Writing down all your goals, your hopes, your dreams, your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and then choosing one word that would describe all those goals, hopes, dreams that you could think of every day in your business.

I kind of thought at the time “One word, are you kidding me, how am I to think of one word to describe all that!”

But in true Jenn fashion, the thought wouldn’t leave my head.

So I chose a word – that word back then was IMPACT and it had a massive impact on my business and on me, so ever since I’ve chosen a word of the year.

This year in 2023, my word was CHALLENGE.  Challenge was my word of the year and what a challenge it’s been!

Back mid-year, in episode 253 I talked about how much my word of the year was influencing me.  I have been challenging everything in my business – from offerings to business models to who I work with to what I am actually capable of …. Hence the newly released book! (If you don’t already have your copy of SMALL TOWN BIG IMPACT, head here to order yours now!!)

Honestly, I don’t think I would have made the decisions I did, made the changes I have and am still doing, if not for my word of the year.

It’s bizarre because I didn’t really feel like I chose this word – challenge – I felt like it chose me.

Did you have a word of the year this year? How did that work out for you? I’d love to hear your stories as well.  Let’s chat! Maybe we could even do a Facebook live about our experiences with choosing a word of the year.

WHY CHOOSE A WORD OF THE YEAR?

If you’re new to the concept of choosing a word of the year, here’s a few reasons why it could be useful for you.

• It helps to give you focus.
• It allows for flexibility. Do you ever feel like your goals change a lot over time, or you fail to meet a goal and then feel like it all goes out the window? It’s totally happened to me before. But by having a single word, you can adjust your goals over time, so long as they are in line with the focus word you choose at the beginning of the year.
• It’s easy to remember If you’re like me, type it up and print it out and put it in front of you, in your diary, wherever you look every day!
• It can unify your goals. Generally, our goals are broad and cover all the different elements of our life, making it hard sometimes to use them as a criteria for making decisions. But by analysing your goals and then choosing a word that resonates across all of them, I find it makes it easier to define your approach for the year and guide any decisions you need to make.
• It makes it easier to review your achievements; ask yourself: ‘Does this (insert activity) reflect (insert your defining word here)?’.

CHOOSE YOUR WORD FOR 2024

So, are you ready? It’s TIME! Time to decide on your own word.  You might know straight away what you want your year’s word to be, it might be something on the tip of your tongue. Or, you might need a little help to develop some ideas, which is totally fine too. Maybe your word of the year, like mine this year (challenge) just appears to you and makes sense.

The beauty of the exercise is that there’s no pressure to know straight away. In fact, I give you permission to take your timmmmeeeee on this.

There are three steps involved and the worksheet goes through them:

Step 1. Do a little brainstorm of words that come to your brain about the year to come.

Step 2. Then, if you want to, list some thoughts under the different areas on the sheet.  What are your personal goals, your fears, what can’t you wait for in 2024 and how are you going to give back to your clients/customers/community/yourself/family/friends – whoever –

What’s your big project for 2024?  Your goals for your business/career?  What’s something new you’d like to learn?

Step 3. Finally, choose one word that you think unifies your thoughts across all your goals and write it down at the bottom. You might find that your chosen word relates to your strongest goals and not to all of them, and that’s ok, but the broader it is the more useful it will be.

I’ve even created a downloadable sheet to help you with your WOTY for 2024! Click on the image below to access the download:

So, what’s my word for 2024 going to be?

Well, the word I’ve chosen probably won’t surprise you. If I follow my method that all decisions are based around this one word, that all decisions are measured against this word, then my word of the year for 2024 is BOOK.

You’re not surprised, are you?!

All I do next year will be based around my book SMALL TOWN BIG IMPACT!

Why?

Because the whole reason for writing the book was to IMPACT small businesses, take away the marketing overwhelm by showing them what good marketing looks like (via the book) and change the world through marketing, one small business owner at a time.

So, my word could have been IMPACT – but it’s not – it’s book.

I’m sure you’ll understand this is no coincidence, Small Town Big IMPACT.

Its purpose is for impact, my purpose is to make sure that happens via the book, the course that’s been created out of the book (My Nine Week Marketing Transformation Program – which is open for registrations now, and starts early in 2024 – click here to take a closer look), by doing PR, free media, podcasts, blogs, talks, workshops, keynotes and all the other goodies I have planned for 2024.

My podcast is also up for a change … more to come on that in future episodes but it’s been 5 years, so I think it’s time to do something a bit different.

It’s a hell of a year coming up!

Okay, so now it’s your turn, I’d love for you to hop into my Facebook group Like Minded Business Owners https://www.facebook.com/groups/LikeMindedBusinessOwners and let me know – what’s your word of the year going to be?  Or do we need to brainstorm this together inside the group?

Go on, inspire someone else with your thinking and your willingness to take charge of 2024.

I cannot wait to hear what it is!

And if you would like my guidance and support in setting up your 2024 business planning so that you leap the new year with all guns firing, I would love to assist you! Simply go to https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery and you can make an appointment to chat with me.

Or if you want to chat, get in touch.  Email me jenn@jenndonovan.com.au or DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn – I would love to hear from you.

CONTACT JENN:

I would love for you to book a free discovery call with me to talk about how I can help your nail your business goals, planning, strategy, marketing and social media! Simply click the link and grab a spot!

My Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group is also a great community to join – full of awesome people in small business!

Or you can DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn, or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.  Jenn’s an expert marketing coach and mentor from rural NSW. She is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.  Not only is she a sought after expert on all things marketing for Small Business, she is a keynote speaker, author of Small Town Big Impact, was the Founder of Buy From a Bush Business and a Co-Founder of Spend With Us e-commerce marketplace, and is the host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple and Stories from the Bush. Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!  H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram – @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Jenn Donovan

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan