Ep #343: How Do You Start the Year?

Stacey Brown Randall: Hey there, and welcome to episode 343 of the Roadmap to Referrals podcast, a show that proves you can generate referrals without asking or manipulation.

I’m your host, Stacey Brown Randall. I’m a card-carrying member of the Business Failure Club, have taught my referrals without asking methodology and strategies to clients in more than 14 countries around the world. And my mission is to help you unleash a referral explosion by leveraging the science of referrals and respecting your relationships.

Well, welcome to 2025. I think it’s really important I start out this episode by dropping some truth. Which is, this is not the episode that was planned to kick off the new year. I had an entirely different episode planned, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan. It doesn’t really matter how hard you try.

If you’re a long-time listener of this podcast, or actually if you just listened to episodes in December, you know that I talked about this podcast moving to a video podcast. So you’ll be able to watch this podcast on YouTube with the videos, or of course, continue to listen, audio version, through your favorite podcast listening app.

And in January, we were going to kick off a video-based podcast. And that has not happened. Because as most of you know, if you know me well, or maybe you’ve just been in my orbit for a while, you know me and tech, we are just not like peanut butter and jelly. We do not get along.

And so it didn’t work. And I’m going to need to get some help to get the video portion of the podcast ready to go, but we will have a video edition to this podcast coming at some point in the next few weeks.

I’m not even going to put a date on it because I just need to give myself some space because I literally had to send an email to my assistant and to my podcast editor where the subject line was, I just wrote, I surrender.

Like I just, I just told them, I was like, I can’t figure it out. I’m going to need some more time. Um, and it’s going to be fine, but this is not the episode I had planned because the first episode of 2025 was supposed to be a video.

Well, it was supposed to include video. It’s not like the audio is going away, right? It was supposed to include video, and it was going to be different. And I was like ready to go. I mean, you know, really for some of you out there listening, you know, Oh, that must mean she did her hair and makeup. I did, because I was ready.

I was ready to start the year and add video to this podcast, but that’s not happening and that’s okay, which means I’m also delaying what that episode was until I’m ready to do video. And we’re just going to push the schedule back, the editorial calendar of the podcast back this year, which is fine.

And I have a different episode I wanted to start with because I just feel like it’s really important to be real. Most people are like, start of the new year, let’s do things right, let’s get going, let’s do this, let’s do that, right? Like all these things.

And of course, I am completely against New Year’s resolutions, mostly just because they make me feel bad about myself, because I never stick to them.

And so for me, I know starts of the year are sometimes areas where I’m like, actually, let’s just act like it hasn’t started. Like the new year is here, but it’s like not a thing. That sometimes is the best way for me to ease into my new year.

Because I feel like sometimes we put so much pressure on the beginning of something. It’s the beginning of the year, right? Like it’s just like, I think I’m still in like holiday mode. Like I want to ease into my year versus like shooting out like a rocket. Like I just like to ease into the year.

So, this episode, because we’re dropping some truth here about being honest about my horrible ability to manage tech, at least the first time around, eventually I know I will become a pro. I always do. I am capable of figuring things out.

That is one of my things, and so I will do it. But I just wanted to share some other thoughts that were kind of on my heart that were specific to the start of the year.

I once had a client, this was years ago, back in the day when I was a productivity and business coach, who used to take the first two weeks of January off. And she was probably, I don’t know exactly how much older than me she is.

She was at least 10 years older than me. She may have been 15 years older than me. It didn’t matter. She didn’t look it. She looks younger than me. But she used to take like the first two weeks off and she and her husband would like go on vacation the first two weeks of the year.

And I remember for the longest time thinking that is ludicrous. Like that’s when you get going. That’s when there’s all this excitement. That’s when there’s all this motivation and anticipation and you’re supposed to get after it, right?

You’re supposed to get on the hustle, like you’re supposed to do the things. And I remember thinking like, she is crazy. She is losing out on the two most valuable weeks of the year, that first of the year, right? Where things are happening and everyone’s like, boom, back to work, here we go.

And now that was probably like, what, 20- or 30-year-old Stacey? Now 40-year-old Stacey is like, oh my gosh, she was totally onto something. I think taking the first couple of weeks off of the year is the perfect way to ease into the year. I think it’s awesome.

So in the spirit of easing into the year and easing into the first episode for this podcast, I wanted to share something that I also am sharing on social media as well.

So you may see this on LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook that I think is really important for people to recognize about business ownership and being a business owner in general.

And so this is just something that’s been on my heart and I’ve been wanting to share it. So I’m going to share it now for you guys, and let me know what you think.

I would love to know what you think as I go through this thought that I had and that I felt was important to share with people out there who may be like a little wary of the start of the new year because of all the pressure that is sometimes put on us at the beginning of a new year.

Or maybe you’re reflecting back on last year on 2024 and it didn’t look the way you wanted it to look and that’s okay too. So I want to share these thoughts with you.

But before I do that, I have been teasing on the podcast about something really cool coming up. So can we just take a pause real quick and let’s do that first and then I’ll come back and share what I think we all need to think about as we’re heading into the new year.

So let me just share real quickly about something really cool that’s happening in my business.

Stacey Brown Randall: Hey, pardon the interruption. How would you like to spend two days with me to build and implement your multi-layered referral strategy? Two days.

The Referral Accelerator is a small group, in-person workshop where we will design your fully functioning referral system to grow your business with referrals without asking, without manipulating, without incentivizing, without being gimmicky or overly promotional.

Which means you’re gonna spend two full days in Charlotte, North Carolina with yours truly, with me. You’re gonna get everything you need to build your multi-layered referral strategy. I’m talking like the workbooks, the templates, the scripts. but all the things, right? You’re gonna get everything you need.

There will be no videos to watch. Okay, maybe a little bit with the pre-work, but when you show up, I’m gonna teach everything to you that you need to know, and then we’re gonna go into workshop time, and you’re gonna build everything, and we’re gonna do this multiple times over two days together.

There are no video trainings to watch. You are going to learn and build as you go. The Referral Accelerator is coming up in February, and I want you to take advantage of it. Depending on when you’re listening to this episode, you may even be able to snag our early bird pricing, which ends on January 8, 2025.

The Referral Accelerator is the most affordable shortcut to getting your referral machine up and running, done in a small group setting. Check it all out at StaceyBrownRandall.com/referral-accelerator.

Stacey Brown Randall: Okay, thank you for letting me talk to you a little bit about this really cool thing we have going on in my business, which is the Referral Accelerator. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there.

Spots have already been selling when we did the launch of this back at the beginning of the year on January 3^rd. Some seats are already taken. There’s a limited number to go around. So if you want to join me in Charlotte and do that, please do.

Okay, so here’s what I wanted to share with you today as we ease in, as I ease into this year and share with you on the podcast before we get back, of course, to all the other things we’re gonna talk about, about referrals throughout the next 51 weeks of the year.

Did you know that I chased a specific revenue goal for nine years? Nine freaking years before it happened.

Now that revenue number, that goal, that number that I chased for all those years is probably a small revenue number in comparison to most businesses, but I’m not here to compare myself to you.

But that number had eluded me for, let’s be honest, nine years. It kind of feels like forever. But why did it finally happen? A, why did it take so long? And B, what changed that made it finally happen?

Well, I attribute three things to why I finally hit the revenue number that had eluded me for so long. And I hope these help you.

Number one, I stopped putting down a revenue number as my yearly goal and instead focused on a number of clients served goal. Now, OK, yes, of course, the number of clients served certainly equals the certain revenue number, but the small shift of not having a goal that was the revenue number allowed me to stop obsessing over hitting the number.

I just focused on the number of clients I wanted within each of my programs. That’s all I focused on. Of course, the math all adds up on the back end. This is not like voodoo, like I’m hiding behind it. I know the numbers add up on the back end, but that’s not what I was worried about.

That’s not what I was focused on. I wasn’t looking at the monthly revenue every month and adding it up as we went and being like, how close am I? How close am I? Nope. It was like, how close am I to the people that I get to help? That I get to serve.

And I’m doing the same thing this year, right? I have goals set for the programs that I have. And like, I would just want to hit those goals. Ah, guess what? Yes, you’re right. That means the number takes care of itself. The revenue number on the back end definitely takes care of itself. But that’s what I’m focused on.

Okay, the second thing as to why I think I finally hit my revenue number is the year before I hit it, I joined a mastermind community. The friendships and the different ways of thinking helped me finally start shifting how I think and what, more importantly, what I believe about myself, about business, about what’s possible, all the things.

My mindset did a massive, massive shift. And in that massive shift of my mindset, some business things were already in place to have an amazing year. But really stepping into that mastermind helped me start to believe what was possible.

I read books I’d never considered before, and I opened up to concepts that 20-year-old Stacey would have been like, that is some voodoo stuff that I just scoffed at. Oh, how much wiser we get with age, right?

And I know some of you are out there, and you’re the 20-year-old business owner, and you’re like, I already got all that locked and loaded. You are so much further ahead of me, and I’m so proud of you. And I wish I could have been friends with you when I was 20, and you could help me get there faster, too. But it just took me longer. That’s OK. It is OK.

That mastermind community, though, really put me in relationship with people, with expectations and accountability, yes, but in relationship with people who just thought, I’m going to be honest, they just thought better than I did. And they just thought what was possible was truly possible. And I think I needed that.

I was more of like a white knuckler, like everything I’m going to get, I’m going to get because I’m going to squeeze this table super, super hard, and I’m going to force my way to it. I’m going to force my way to make it happen.

And while that would always cause me to fall short, right? It didn’t mean I didn’t have some success. Like sometimes I fell short by not very much, but I never got there. And I sure as heck never got there with any level of ease.

And so that mastermind community really allowed me to just be a little bit more open to the woo part of life. And that has certainly, certainly helped.

And the third thing that I attribute to why I finally hit that specific revenue number is that my kids got older. The simple fact that my children could be in the house, independent of needing me around gave me space.

And every year they get older and they need me a little bit less and less. And I know for some of you hearing that as a parent, you’re like, oh, it’s so sad when your kids don’t need you anymore. And I am the mother who’s like, oh my gosh, I’ve been waiting for this forever.

And I know I talk openly on this podcast about I’m so ready for the empty nest life. I’m so ready. It doesn’t mean I don’t love my children. I don’t love spending time with them.

But, you know, kids are exhausting. I don’t really care what age they are. And teenagers, you know, they’re just a different breed all in themselves. Like, give me a toddler any day of the week, please.

And I love my children. deeply, desperately love my children. But the truth is, as they got older and they needed me less, I leaned into that with my business and enjoyed it. And I’m enjoying the fact that now they’re starting to drive and driving, and they really need me less.

And they’re doing things for me like, oh, I’ll go to the store for you, mom. Or I’ll go pick up my sister, mom. Like, bless you, child. So things are just easier. Right?

I mean, it does mean there’s not a lot of chaos still in our house, right? We have, you know, my daughter right now is in two plays. My son plays on the high school baseball team. Like I have another son that works a lot. Like there’s a lot happening. There’s a lot going on.

But they just got older, and it is different. And I have enjoyed it. And I’m sure when they finally do leave the house, I will be sad. But right now, I don’t see it that way. I mean, I do a little bit.

But my point is, these three things is why I attribute that I finally hit a specific revenue number that I had been chasing for nine freaking years.

I shifted my focus. I grew with my mindset. And my life stage changed.

So if you find yourself here the first week of the new year, or whenever you’re listening to this episode, but if you find yourself here in the first week of the new year, the first month of the new year, and there’s all this pressure because it’s a new year, and you’ve got a mix of anticipation and weariness, please know you’re normal.

New year starts are awesome, but you can do them however you want. You can ease into the year, or you can shoot out like a rocket. Just do what’s right for you.

Because the truth is, some things that you need to change, you control. And you can make those changes, and you should do that. For me, that was my number one, right? And number two.

So I shifted how I looked at my goal. No more revenue number, but a focus on a number of clients served. And the second one, of course, is I worked on my mindset. And I grew a lot over the last few years in that area.

And then recognizing some things you don’t control. I can’t put my kids at any life stage I want them at. They go in order year after year after year. So some things you control and some things you don’t.

But here’s a little last piece of encouragement for you. What I have loved most about this shift within myself over the last couple of years is how working on those three things and those three things changing is the gift that keeps on giving.

That year that I finally hit my big revenue number, the very next year, I hit that revenue number again earlier in the year and then did 50% more. While it wasn’t easy, there was ease.

Sometimes what you need most in your business is to work on yourself. Sometimes what you need most in your business is to stop the leaky faucet and fix the things that aren’t working. And sometimes You need all of the above, and that’s okay.

I hope you have an amazing start to 2025, and I hope it is a year full of referrals for you. The show notes page for this episode can be found at StaceyBrownRandall.com/343. And Stacey, of course, has an E.

Definitely make sure you check out the link to the Referral Accelerator. If you want to come hang with me in Charlotte in February for two days and knock out your referral strategy for the rest of the entire year.

We’re back with another great episode next week created with you and your needs in mind. Until then, you know what to do, my friend. Take control of your referrals and build a referable business. Bye for now.