Latest / The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business / EP144 - A Better Way to Plan 2026 with Natalie Potts

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EP144 - A Better Way to Plan 2026 with Natalie Potts · The 3Bz Podcast - Building Better Business

• 0:01
  Hi there business owner, and welcome to the Three BS Podcast,
• 0:04
  the place where we go beyond the numbers and dive into the
• 0:07
  strategies to help you build a Better Business one step at a
• 0:10
  time. I'm your host, Stephanie, a
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  multi awarding entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in
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  the bookkeeping and currency world.
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  If you're a business owner looking to streamline, grow, and
• 0:19
  get back the time that you deserve, you're in the right
• 0:21
  place. Tackling real world problems,
• 0:24
  answering tough questions and digging deep into business
• 0:26
  building secrets in just 15 minutes each week.
• 0:30
  So are. You ready to?
• 0:31
  Build a Better Business with confidence and clarity, then
• 0:33
  let's go. Hello and welcome back to
• 0:37
  another episode of The Three VS Podcast and a Happy New Year.
• 0:41
  Welcome to 2026. I hope this year helps you.
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  I hope you achieve all you want to this year and you get
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  everything out in the open. We had a guest on a while ago
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  who was so brilliant I had to bring them back again.
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  Hello Natalie, would you like to introduce yourself and a happy
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  New Year to you too? Well, happy new year.
• 0:59
  Wow, I feel very privileged to be here.
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  Thank you for having me. I'm Matthew Potts.
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  I help people to cut through the noise, get laser focused and
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  clear on who they help and what they do in their messaging so
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  that they're seen as a go to person in their industry.
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  I love that and I couldn't think of a better person to help me
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  with this episode. It's the new year, people are
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  probably still listening to or watching this hungover from last
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  night's party, but we want to get straight and planning is the
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  key to everything. So I know things change, plans
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  change, everything changed throughout the year, but I feel
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  like it's really important to start the year on the right foot
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  with a plan for 2026. Do you agree with that?
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  I absolutely do agree with that, so hopefully I'm going to help
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  you out on this one as well. Perfect.
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  So for business owners across the world, where should we start
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  when we're looking at planning for 2026?
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  So I think the key is that you've like exactly this.
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  You've got to start immediately. So I am I'm majorly in
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  strategies like, you know, you're here, do this, get
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  result, plug the gaps. But loads of background in
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  coaching, specifically things like this goal, goal setting and
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  in corporate 19 years was always around what our goals, where do
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  you want to be? What do we need to do to do to
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  get there? But you've got to start
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  immediately. And I think a lot of people hit
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  the ground like start in January, think like, you know,
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  they wanna do so much and they get, you gotta just think of the
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  mindset around us as well. They get going and then they get
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  to the end of the month and they hit that kind of overwhelmed all
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  too much. Is that exact analogy.
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  I use a lot of messaging around fitness, but they start at the
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  gym and the gym is ramo in January.
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  I hate it. And I always joke about it and I
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  was like, I just got to wait till February and then people
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  drop off. You don't want to be that
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  person, so you do want to start immediately.
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  But I think just be really clear on like what I really want.
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  What does the 12 months look like?
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  What's you know a bit out there? Like really dream big, but also
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  be a bit realistic. You have to meet yourself where
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  you're at because otherwise I think that gap becomes so big
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  and that causes you overwhelm. So I feel that that can be a bit
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  confusing, what I shared there. Dream big, but reverse it back
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  and get really clear on where you know what I want now because
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  you want to be able to block out a year really in 90 days always
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  works really well to see what's working, what's not working as a
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  time frame. But I want you to start media so
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  get really clear on your goals, you know, like where are you at
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  right now? Where do you want to be in a
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  year's time? Because you've got this absolute
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  incredible opportunity here. So think around some of the
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  things that you delayed last year, the things that you put
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  off, the things that are really going to change your game, but
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  also what stopped you. So this is around starting
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  immediately, but just getting that absolute clarity on what it
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  is that you want this year you have here.
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  Continue. Absolutely.
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  I, I definitely think you should.
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  I, I believe in reflecting on the year before before we go
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  ahead. So you're in the same place I
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  am. I do just like it's done.
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  But I do think you need to understand like what happened?
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  Why did it happen? Why did it not?
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  And some of the things around that in terms of what could hold
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  you back from moving forward because actually you don't want
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  to repeat the same thing. And often I'll get to this like,
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  you know, October in the year and I'll say to people, you
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  know, if you weren't like, if nothing's changed, nothing
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  changed, right? Or if you weren't where you said
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  you're going to be and you set out these ambitious goals in
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  January, then you have time to change it.
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  But you got a small window now, so let's really get focused.
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  So be really honest with yourself.
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  You know what went well last year?
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  Because also as well, I think we can think we need loads more
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  things to stack up and do, but there are things that really
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  work you're not doing now that you could lean in them.
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  So I think just like you said at reflection, but not getting into
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  a space where it holds you back saying I'm here now, how do I
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  move forward with that is really important.
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  Yeah. And I think for me, I mean, I've
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  always broke down. You said 90 days and I probably
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  should do 90 days, but I always break my year down into
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  quarters. So I always.
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  Yeah. So I look at, you know, quarter
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  one, I suppose it's 90 days, isn't it?
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  Quarter one is, is for bookkeepers and accountants,
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  January is the busiest time. It's the tax return deadline.
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  We are so flat out. We, I quite often joke about the
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  fact that I eat a Christmas dinner flavored Pot Noodle every
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  day in January because I just don't have time to stop and
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  think and eat poor plan on my behalf sometimes.
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  But things just get pushed and pushed and pushed.
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  And when you've got such a hard deadline, January for
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  accountants is just. And bookkeepers, it's just we're
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  not around. Which then?
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  Means the first two weeks of February most accountants go on
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  holiday now for me that's my time to really make an impact
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  because I don't go on holiday and I'm here when no one else is
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  that's. The key that's important there,
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  so if you you know, again, quarter used to be it's the
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  language you use of our audiences, right.
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  Nice days as well with my book, quarterly is exactly what I
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  always used to being corporate same thing.
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  So it's you're right there in a game.
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  Like I said, that overwhelmed part.
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  You know yourself really well. So trust yourself with this.
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  You know that January is a insane month.
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  Then don't create loads more goals on top of that, like, Oh,
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  everybody else is getting back on a fitness.
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  Oh, I said I was going to do 2000 steps.
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  Oh, I said I was going to do this or I said I was going to
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  drink more and eat better. But be again, meet yourself
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  where you're at a little bit it because you probably did the
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  same thing last year and things may have not worked how you
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  wanted to. So that's that kind of reality
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  check in. Think bigger picture B, you've
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  got to come back and go, what resources have I got right now?
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  What's the time? Is it going to take?
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  And I was like, you know, every goal requires a trade off,
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  whether it's time, energy or attention.
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  And I think it's really important to just sense and look
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  at my goals and say what's, you know, like there's moments of
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  time where it's busier than others.
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  Just being honest about that and being a bit more losing some of
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  the emotion and just seeing it for what it is.
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  And it just helps you just get a bit more context to the
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  situation, not give yourself a hard time because that's when
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  people just stop and don't do anything.
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  Yeah. And I think, yeah, we're all
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  well known for those New Year's resolutions of I am going to do
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  it this year. And then by the end of January
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  we're done. My daughter's 16th of December
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  birthday. So we're very close to
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  Christmas. We don't do an awful lot.
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  She has a birthday, but we have an unbirthday the last weekend
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  of January because by then everyone's done with their
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  diets, They're no drinking, they're they're healthy fitness
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  and we just have a really good party.
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  So I think, yeah, I'm not putting the pressure on
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  ourselves. That's something everyone
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  because everyone starts January. You feel.
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  The pressure to start in January, whereas actually the
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  season of life that our industry is, is that January is not a
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  good time to start anything new. So for business owners that may
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  be planned last year and failed. What have you got a top tip of
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  of where to just where to start right now?
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  Look at where you failed again, divorce the emotion, which I
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  think is when most people get caught up because they it's
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  often about ourselves or it's our businesses and things like
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  that. We care, we do care, but it's
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  the ability to prioritize and then eliminate what what didn't
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  work for you. And you know what is going to
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  work for you. Not all goals are prayed
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  equally. So you have to focus on what
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  really matters. What's going to like, you know,
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  people like and don't like the analogy, but like move the
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  needle. What's going to do that?
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  And so I think more around maybe just doing something a bit
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  different getting and, you know, writing down what I really want.
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  This has always come out as a powerful tool that I'll do in
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  December. People with goals around just
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  getting some clarity is literally just be really out
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  there. Just get a list yourself and
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  start writing out what I want. What does that look like?
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  Because many people don't know what they want and they'll just
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  start the same patterns over and over or like you say, they'll
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  think they need new goals. And I kind of think I remember
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  being a leadership coach years ago and he said, what happens
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  when you achieve your goals? Like supposing you smash through
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  them in by June, we're just gonna sit and wait till set 10,
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  like all end of the year. And I was like, no, I'll set
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  your goals. But again, we're kind of we've
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  got these stories or we just think, you know, everybody else
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  tells us this way or you've got to have goals because everybody
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  else is like you don't if again, if you just think actually it
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  would be too overwhelming for me to do anything in January.
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  I just need to do that month and head down, then start part of it
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  in February. Just take away that pressure a
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  bit for you to be your best. I think that's understanding.
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  We know that higher awareness of how do we work really well, what
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  works for us, and there's seasons of things.
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  So I think just being really open and honest with yourself on
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  what that looks like to have a different experience to
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  something that hasn't worked. You've got to change something.
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  So again, it's maybe ask for help for some of that as well.
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  So you've made 22 questions pop into my head while you were
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  saying all that amazing Nuggets of information.
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  What do you do? If you don't hit your goals.
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  So I you're saying take the emotion away but it's hard not?
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  To. Feel bad when you're not there.
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  How do you pick yourself back up if you don't hit the goals that
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  you set? I guess you've got to look at
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  what has gone well. So again that part of
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  reflection. So every quarter for for
• 9:44
  instance, if we've taken taking that, I will spend one day out
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  of my business. And it's something I invite
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  clients specifically one to one clients to do.
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  You know, they often they're never doing it.
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  And I'll say we'll start every quarter, then we'll start to
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  every month. Like again, just build, make
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  yourself very routed and add every month.
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  And then you just don't do it and you fail a failure.
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  Just do it, you know, but do it for even if it's half a day and
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  really look at what's going well, what's not, but why it's
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  not, what's the reason behind that.
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  So if you haven't achieved a goal, when you've got context to
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  understand it, it's easier to then work out or what do I need
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  to change within it? So like there's certain things I
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  haven't achieved this year, but I'm like, but if I look at the
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  scope of the other, you know, than the other areas, I've
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  really grown there as well. So I think you've got you've got
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  to have goals that are not just monetary.
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  You've got to have goals that, you know, maybe like a family,
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  one lifestyle one. You've got to have broader
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  goals, which again, if people won't ever come and talk to me,
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  I'm more than happy to share some some ways to do this
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  because just for time essence. But think of all of the areas in
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  your life where you want to have like you wanna work on goals.
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  It's not just business, It's not just money because they're so
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  important. So like I have some family goals
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  and things, you know, I'm spending down time with my
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  fiance or things like that or, or look at actually, we have
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  more holidays and things. So I was working in the business
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  less. Of course, I'm gonna not earn as
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  much as I thought I wanted to or things, but actually I'm really
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  happy because we did that and we've achieved XYZ there.
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  So that ability to stop, get that Cara team look at broader
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  than just maybe some of the goals you've got this year right
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  now as well. I think will help you just get a
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  little bit more maybe realistic, but also look at just having,
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  you know, really looking at your expectations around things.
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  But like achieving goals beyond just work and business as well.
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  I love that. And you said take half a day
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  every 90 days or every quarter, look at your goals.
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  Is that what you would recommend people should check in quarterly
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  or should they be monthly? Again, like if you're not doing
• 11:45
  it monthly and the idea of doing a day every quarter is like,
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  well, what do I even start? You know, I'm looking at stuff
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  like you would naturally probably do it anyway more, but
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  I'll look at my accounts. All the stuff I kind of put off,
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  you know, the being on the business, that stuff.
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  I'm like, whatever happens, if the month goes completely out of
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  plan, I have to have that day. That's really important.
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  And it's a day out where I'm not distracted, I don't have clients
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  and I just really focus being on the business.
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  I look back, I'm seeing like what's going well, what's not
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  and what am I doing? Am I on track?
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  Am I not? Who do I need that can help me?
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  What do I need? But being able to just give
• 12:23
  yourself and even just sometimes just a bit of, I call it white
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  space in your diary where there isn't much planned and you just
• 12:29
  like think and reflect like, am I enjoying this?
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  Does this light me up? Is that a goal I really wanted
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  to work on or not? Or actually, could I just let
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  that goal go? Just because again, like you
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  might have had a goal doesn't mean they can't.
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  They can change and that's OK as well.
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  Like because we all evolve and we all want we'll have different
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  expectations or, you know, life can completely change direction.
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  So I think the ability to then take that pressure off yourself
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  is so important as well. Because if you've got the
• 12:57
  emotional side kicking in, and I talk a lot about these people,
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  like you just can't think clearly.
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  You don't know what you need to do or focus on and then you just
• 13:04
  can't move forward. You're constantly in that like,
• 13:07
  of course, like a treacle, you know, you don't know what to do
• 13:09
  next. It's hard, you don't like it.
• 13:11
  Then you're getting in that pattern all the time to break
• 13:13
  that really hard. And sometimes to have these kind
• 13:16
  of intervals just really helps you to get that again, that
• 13:19
  focus of what am I working? Is this working for me or not?
• 13:22
  And I think who can help you comes a lot into things.
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  I think we don't ask for help enough.
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  And I think that's really important when you're goal
• 13:30
  setting. I'm always thinking with the
• 13:31
  goals I've got, like who's a key person in that that's going to
• 13:35
  get me there sooner rather than later.
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  And what does that look like? And I think that's the art
• 13:41
  sometimes in doing less better, not having massively huge goals,
• 13:47
  the ones that also scare you a bit, but you can go actually
• 13:51
  right now these are the few things I need to do to achieve
• 13:54
  that. I love that so much.
• 13:56
  So for the listeners and watchers of this podcast who
• 13:59
  need help goal setting, how can people get in touch with you and
• 14:02
  how can you help them? So I major platforms are
• 14:06
  LinkedIn nasty pots or Instagram Nasty pots strategist reach out
• 14:11
  and say you've listened to this episode because it will
• 14:13
  instantly give us context to know about you and your business
• 14:16
  a bit more. So it's not a cold conversation.
• 14:19
  I don't like cold conversations. And then let's just pick up
• 14:22
  again, something you're wanting to get clear on for next year.
• 14:25
  That maybe is the thing that's on your mind with maybe it's not
• 14:29
  going well this year that you want to change next year or you
• 14:32
  know, like you really want to hit the ground running or you're
• 14:34
  like actually January's completely out for me.
• 14:36
  I want to start this in February, but everybody else is,
• 14:38
  you know, kind of different to that.
• 14:40
  Just help me out and and just be honest about what's on your
• 14:42
  mind. I think that's the core.
• 14:45
  Amazing. Well, that brings us to the end
• 14:46
  of another episode of the Three BS Podcast.
• 14:48
  Thank you so much for your time, Natalie.
• 14:50
  It's been so helpful. I'm so ready for 2020. 6 now.
• 14:54
  Amazing. No, thank you.
• 14:56
  Like rating reviews, podcast wherever you're watching or
• 14:59
  listen to it so we can help more business owners build better
• 15:01
  businesses. And I will see you next week for
• 15:03
  the next episode. Bye.
• 15:06
  And that brings us to the end of another episode of The Three BS
• 15:09
  Podcast. I hope you found it useful and
• 15:11
  that you're walking away with some motivation.
• 15:13
  Inspiration or education to help you.
• 15:15
  Build a Better Business. Don't forget to subscribe, leave
• 15:19
  a review and of course, connect with us on social media for more
• 15:21
  insights, tips and behind the scenes content.
• 15:23
  Your next step in building a Better Business is just a click
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  away. I can't wait to connect with you
• 15:28
  and I'll see you on the next episode.
• 15:30
  Bye.