How To Create a 2026 Plan That Sticks

So, by the time this episode comes out, we will be very quickly approaching the next year, our new year, right? And a lot of the times, I think that we go into new years with a fresh perspective, maybe we have some new, fresh goals, and some motivation to make a change and make a difference for ourselves, and maybe finally show up and do the damn thing that we've always wanted to do, whatever that may look like for you. But then, life happens, right? We get into our day-to-day, we get exhausted again, and we lose all that focus and fire and inspiration an- and- and clarity that we gained from planning out the next year, right?

And by, you know, even the end of January an- and into February, you're just, like, completely lost again and you're distracted and you don't have that same fire. And, you know, I had to do the task, the lovely task which I absolutely love getting to do every year, of planning what our next in-person event, uh, for our members were going to be of Modern Stylist Movement, so that way we can get out of, uh, behind our computers and our computer screens on Zoom and actually come together and meet. And I was thinking about how every time we have these in-person events, a lot of people will say, "This w- this came at the perfect time. Like, I was just feeling not really great, not really focused, and this completely set me on the right track."

And everybody leaves in-person events just fired up, excited, inspired, all of those feelings that we may have when we do the planner or when we plan that next year like I just shared, right? And I was thinking to myself, how can I make this event, and that feeling, and those results that it creates for people, how can we extend that throughout the entire year, right? So, this event for now is just for our MSM members, but I wanted to give you all a behind the scenes of it and share with you how- how I came up with it and how we're going about it, because it was really inspired by my own experience this past year, where I had set my year up for great success and I ended up having a great year. But it all started in my planning and doing the planning th- in a different way than I've never done it before.

And so, with this in-person event, we're calling it, uh, Modern Stylist Experience 2026: On Track, we are setting you up for a in-person event, but it's an all-year-round experience. And so we're all coming together on a Zoom call and we're gonna go through a digital, um, uh, year plan workshop basically, and we're all going to plan out our year and our projects and our goals ahead of time. But it's not gonna be the same old figure out our numbers and figure out the projects that are, uh, important for us to be able to hit those goals. Of course that's gonna be a part of it, but we're going to add a very important aspect to the entire thing that is going to make it so this actually works, that this actually sticks.

And I'm gonna share with you actually what those three important aspects are that made my past year so successful, which is why I'm bringing it to our Modern Stylist Movement members, and now you today get a little bit of a taste of that in this podcast episode. So, I think the first part of this is creating the plan that we need instead of the one that feels comfortable or one that may be unattainable even. I think that we're always been- we've always been told with goal-setting that we should be shooting for the stars, and if we don't hit those goals, then, oh well, you had a large goal that, you know, motivated you and that you wanted to get to that ma- that pushed you even further. And so that's a win within itself.

But I do believe that there is such a thing as overshooting, and I think that overshooting can just completely demotivate us. I think that it can really defeat us and I think that it can even burn us out as well too And so, the way that Jody put it for us before we got on this podcast recording today was sometimes people overestimate what they can do in a year, but underestimate what could have happened if they would have done the consistent small things on a consistent basis, right, sustainably throughout the entire year. And I think that's so true, because if you set the fact that you wanna get this crazy 10K month within your first quarter and you just have absolutely no way that you'll be able to do that, right, then there's no formulaic way that you can work backwards from that goal to figure out how you're actually gonna tangibly get that done, right? If you don't have the prices, if you don't have the availability or room to be able to raise your prices that much or to even sell that amount of retail with the amount of clients you have, it's not gonna work, right?

So we need to make sure that those goals are realistic. And then we also need to make sure that the goals that you set and the different numbers that you're trying to shoot for or the tangible projects and things that you're trying to accomplish are actually what the business needs. It's very easy for us to feel like we want to do this one thing because we've always wanted to do it, right, or it's what we feel like we need to do, or we avoid doing something that we know the business needs because it feels so uncomfortable, right, when in reality your job as a CEO is to give the business what it needs to survive and thrive and grow, right? And so, in our planning workshop, what I'm really looking forward to doing is helping people diagnose exactly where they need to be showing up even if it's not comfortable and doing big shifts in projects that may not feel very good For example, I signed myself up for a massive task this year and it has been terrible.

I probably, every single time I come on a call with Jody when we're about to do this recordings, she asks me how I am and I probably bring this one thing up every single time that I talk to her . 'cause it is such a pain in my ass. I absolutely know that the hard work that I'm putting in is going to be very worth it for the business and it's something that the business needed. So it's definitely not something that I wanted to do.

It's something that I was always like, "I'll do that next year. I'll do that another time. That's, like, the 10-year goal." I said at the beginning of this year I needed to do something differently.

I wanted to do something that was- that- that I wanted to give the business exactly what it needed. It was time for the business to get the attention and love it deserves, even if it requires sacrifice.And so... Go ahead.

And this wasn't a week of sacrifice. This was months and months of sustained effort on the same task. Exactly. Literally that, yes.

So it wasn't just like a, "Okay, this is gonna be really uncomfortable for two weeks and burn me out and it's gonna be over." Mm-hmm. It's like this is something that I had to work at very often, plan into my schedule, and it's been a very long process. But it's gonna be so worth it.

And I think that that's why this year, in review, has been extremely successful for me, is because all of the things that I knew I needed to do for the business this year, even if I didn't want to, I planned them out and I've been accomplishing them and I'm seeing the results of that. And it's been really beautiful. And not avoiding them, and knowing that they're going to accomplish what the business needs, it has been, it's felt really good. It's felt really good.

And the great thing is, is that you can, if you're planning these things ahead, then you can plan them out in a way that is going to be sustainable for you, that's not gonna burn you out, and that is going to get them done in the chunks that are actually realistic for you. And going back to we need to make sure that we are realistic with this planning, instead of going crazy outside of the universe thinking that we're Superman, 'cause we're absolutely not, right? Or Superwoman. Totally.

And I think a lot of the time too, when we take that approach, when we take that approach of thinking that we have to get it done super, super fast, and then we realize it's a bigger project, it can almost sometimes, if you don't approach it with the right mindset, be like, "Well never mind then. That's too big of a task-" Really big. "... and I- I can't do it."

100% yes. Thank you so much. Such a great point. And so we wanna create a plan that's sustainable and that is, that y- you can stay consistent with, and then plan ahead for how we can stay consistent with it.

And so going back to that feeling of fire and, like, motivation and clarity and, like, ready to take on the world that a lot of our students receive when they come to our in-person events and they leave with, I was thinking, "How can we make this an all-year-round experience?" And I wanna build that into our plan, because that's exactly what I did with- for myself this year. So I knew that I was gonna have to be doing some new things that weren't comfortable for me, that I've never tried before, that I was scared to do, and I was like, "I wanna do them in a way that I'm going to be excited about it." Because we've all- probably all been there, especially my community that are n- my...

Shout out to my neurodivergent girlies out there. Like, we really out here. The struggle is real. And we also have this beautiful gift of, like, hyperfocus, and I think this applies to any human, whether you're, have ADHD or not.

But hyperfocus is when you are really inspired about a project, right? So you'll want to stay up until 3:00 AM and you'll want, it's all you can think about. And when you're done with your clients, you open up your computer and you maybe start going all in on it, right? And you do really badass work.

Like, it's really good work because you're so excited about it. And so what I did at the beginning of my year when I planned out everything, I was like, "How can I make sure that I'm building in inspiration and motivation and excitement around these things to make it so I have that natural motivation?" So for example, this year was the very first year that we ran our client experience glow up party, which was like a three-day, multi-day experience where I went over what were the trends for client experience in 2025 and, uh, shared really fun and new, exciting ideas. And it was so much fun for me because I had planned ahead for it for a long time, and I knew what the theme was going to be, and I knew that I was going to be sharing new stuff, so I had to do some new research.

Like, that was all really exciting. But it all had a purpose, right? This was not just fun stuff for the sake of it. I wasn't just running this- this three-day thing that took a lot of work just- just 'cause.

And I think that that's oftentimes what can happen, is we get, we get distracted by the stuff that feels good and fun instead of taking the stuff that may be boring and really stressful and takes a lot of work, but then figuring out how we can make that fun, right? How we can make that inspiring. So you'll approach those boring things that you don't want to do but will make the biggest difference for you, and approach it from an inspired and energetic space. And I'm really looking forward to walking our students through building out this plan, doing the things that they may be avoiding, but building some sort of fun into it in one way or another.

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the big differentiator there, right? Is the, it's not, like... Yes, you want business to be fun, but, like, there are still things, like we talked about it in, a couple episodes ago.

Like, you always have to pay your taxes, right? There are always gonna be things in business that you have to do and- in order to move the business forward and hit your goals. And so I love the idea of instead of just being like, "Okay, I have to do this. I have to find the discipline.

I have to find the motivation," which sometimes happens, like, finding a way to actually make it an enjoyable thing that you look forward to while still advancing your goals and still advancing the health of the business. So I think that's a really cool distinction to make, and it's- it's been cool to watch you do that this year as well. Thanks, dude. I appreciate that.

I'm gonna give a, I'm gonna give, like, a personal life example, 'cause you know, we're talking about the new year goals. And- Yeah. All too often it's, like, fitness goals, right? So, uh, for a lot of people, right?

I'm gonna give you a great example. Like, f- I'm a big... I love running. I, like, genuinely enjoy running.

I- I find it shocking how many people don't like running. Like, whenever I say that I love- I like it too. Yeah. I love running.

I'm so here for it. Yeah. It's crazy. I just, like, I love that I don't have to think.

I just love that I can just, I just, I'm just move my body. I don't have to worry about my form, you know what I mean? Like, I just like to- Totally. just go.

Anyway.So I think, like, you know, to make running fun for me, 'cause after a while it gets boring and the discipline becomes harder and harder and harder to, like, get up, you know, I, uh, to make it fun for me, I, like, choose my routes of Philly that I would like to see every day, you know? Like, I... So then I get excited, uh, to explore this new, like, street that I've never explored before.

So an example of how you can take something that you might not want to do, that does take discipline, but make something about it exciting and fun and new, so that way it's a little bit easier for you to naturally show up for it and do it with your whole ass, right? Yeah. So just a little bit of an example. Now, the last little piece of this formula is accountability and community supporting me along the way.

So for me, accountability comes from two places. Of course, my closest business besties. I can't rely on my personal friends and my family to hold me accountable to shit in my business 'cause they just don't get it, you know? But my business besties, like Jodie here, my employees, and also, like, my, uh, my best friend, uh, Zach, like all my people who help me with my business, right?

And we help each other 'cause we all are in the same boat, right? Those people I'm constantly leaning on for accountability, for helping me get out of my own head, for helping me figure out how I can make this new thing fun and exciting. For example, Jodie helps me a lot with the podcast, and recently I was like, "Jodie, I want to do something new. I'm so, I, I want to do something fun and exciting, so, like, let's figure out how to do that."

And so she helped me do that, right? And I would... And two, our brains together is like fucking magic. You guys, I would pay...

If I was you, I would pay to sit in the room when me and Jodie are masterminding together 'cause it's very fun. May- maybe I'm biased, obviously, but- No, I think you're right, 100%. Right? I think we do really great things together.

But you can't, you can't do that alone. I mean, especially for you solopreneurs out there, like, stop trying to do everything alone, right? I mean, it's really lonely. You don't get expansive ideas, and then also you don't have that accountability built in, you know?

Like, when me and Jodie say that we have an idea and we're gonna accomplish it, like, I need to make sure that I accomplish it and I hold up my end of the deal, you know? And that's very, very helpful for me, actually following through with the shit and getting it done when it needs to get done. And that's the other really great thing about planning your year ahead, particularly all of your projects, is that you know what's coming up, what you need to get done months ahead. So you can already have it done in preparation for when it needs to be...

when it needs to actually go out, right? Um, and I think that that's been really great for me this year, especially as somebody who has ADHD. Knowing that something's coming up, working on it the, the two months before or whatever it may be, um, has been really, really helpful for me, and making sure that I have enough time so I'm not feeling scrambled, stressed out, and I just say, "No, never mind, I'm not doing it anymore." You know what I mean?

Yeah. Um, but another piece of accountability, this is a hot tip for y'all and a little bit behind the scenes, is telling your clients that you're gonna do something. So if you want to do something for the holidays, like a holiday special or something like that, right, emailing ahead of the time, before you have even figured out the whole entire holiday thing- Mm-hmm. emailing your clients being like, "Yo, we're doing this for the holidays.

Well, you're not getting out of it now." You know what I mean? So sometimes with my students, I will email you guys and I'll come up with this initiative and I'll be like, "Yo, you're getting this," because I'm like, "I need the accountability," right? And that's just how it works for my brain, and it helps to get your clients involved so that way you're not so lonely, right, in figuring this stuff out.

You get some, you see some momentum, you see the excitement, and you get some ideas and you can workshop some things with your people, and then that way you can do it even better and you have more excitement about it because you see the return of the initial momentum that you have when you put it out there a little bit and you tease it. So with our event, with MSE 26, because we're gonna have this as an all-year-round experience, of course we're gonna have our in-person experience in Denver in the middle of the year, but all year round, we're gonna have these separate digital spaces in which we all just meet, just us. And we are going to have little exercises in which we feed motivation and energy and accountability from each other to make sure that we are staying on track all year. And it feels good when we have to show up to the stuff that doesn't feel good, and we get right back on the horse when we've maybe gotten off of it for a little bit or gotten off track as we're going throughout the year.

My last thing is, well, two that I wanna share here, is we also are gonna be recalibrating our goals throughout the year. I absolutely had to do that multiple times- Right. this year. Right?

So it's not just about setting your year up for success. It's also checking back in on those goals and those projects. So with our mastermind students, for example, we're doing this on a quarterly basis. We're like, "Do we need to move the goal?

Are we already killing the goal? Do we want to make it higher? Is the goal seeming a little bit unattainable because of un- unforeseen circumstances? Do we need to lower it?

What projects, uh, are new that we've come up with that may help us get to the goal faster?" Right? Like, there's... You do need to pause and you need to recalibrate and you need to be flexible with the plan as well too, because it's unrealistic to just stick to the one thing.

And so a lot of the times we'll do this beginning-of-year planning and be like, "Yep, that's my plan for the year," and no wonder three months later, we're completely off track, because it's just unrealistic at that point. I mean, I have no idea what the fuck's gonna happen in my next three months, right? Especially in the world that we live in today. And so I think that this year-round experience is gonna be really great because we're gonna be consistently checking in on those things and making adjustments as we need, and we're gonna have a community that we can always check in on with each other to ask each other, like, "Okay, this is not looking the same as it was, so what do you guys think I should do instead?"

So I'm really, really excited about it. We have a lot of people signed up thus far. I'm excited to see my people in person, of course, but I'm excited to be working with my people on an even more intimate level, especially in this way, where I feel like a lot of people need it the most all year round. It's gonna be so good.

I love that. One of my favorite quotes, I don't think I've ever told you this before, is, "Be stubborn about your goals, but flexible about your methods." And I think even just that mindset shift of recalibrating your goals, or shifting the goalpost a little bit, or maybe just, like, approaching in a different way, is worth listening to this episode alone. Because I think that so often it's like, "Oh, that didn't happen exactly the way I thought it.

I failed. Therefore, let's give up," right? It's, that's so much healthier of an approach. And I think that just having that flexibility, 'cause it's hard to do that stuff by yourself.

It's hard to look at, like, how you can, you know, rework things. So I think having that accountability and just that mindset shift of the group is gonna be amazing. Yeah. And, you know, I always struggled with, like, when I have to figure out, like, a three-year vision or a 10-year vision, right?

When I've, when I've been challenged in, like business classes, planning classes- Yeah. goal-setting classes before. It's always so difficult 'cause I'm like, "I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna want in three years. I don't know what the business landscape is gonna look like in three years."

You know? But giving yourself the permission to dream and challenge yourself, so that way you do have a little bit of a direction ahead of time, I think is very valuable. And you can always change what that looks like later as your landscape changes, as your environment changes, and as you change 'cause you're a human being and you're dynamic, and your circumstances are dynamic. So, it's not like locking you into something that you have to achieve and accomplish and do everything rigidly.

It's so that way you have some direction so you can stay focused and set, and be set up for success. My, one of the biggest lessons that I have learned this year, it is absolutely, it will save you so much time to spend time getting prepared. I used to feel like if I was ever just spending time getting organized, I'm like, "I could just be doing this thing right now instead of, like, planning out how I'm gonna do it," right? But God, this year I have taken so much more time to get organized, and it has been such a game-changer.

And I get that thing done so much faster. It's actually kind of crazy. I was n- I was so resistant to that for so long, but, like, truly, you definitely get the things done a lot faster when you're actually prepared for it. So it's very worth spending the time.

100%. And it sets you up better for next time too, which is always a good way to spend time. Very much so. Love that.

So, my friend, thank you so much for tuning into the Modern Hairstylist podcast. Go ahead and plan your year for success. Create the plan that you need, not the one that feels comfortable. Plan attainable, sustainable goals for yourself that actually you know you can accomplish, that you can formulaically work backwards from, and actually know how you'll get there.

Instead of just sending, sp- uh, setting some crazy random number that won't be attainable for you because you just will be left burnt-out and upset about it, right? And make sure that you try to set up a plan ahead of time for how you will do these things in a way that feels good and you're excited to show up for them. So try to build inspiration and motivation into the things that require discipline and require you showing up even when you don't feel like it, or even when you're tired, and trying to find accountability and community to support you along the way so you're not doing this all alone. All right?

Thank you so much for tuning in. So much love to you. Happy New Year. Peace out, girl scout.

Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2025 Hunter Donia LLC.