2016 Review
For me, 2016 was the year of surrender.
Very little went according to plan. Each time I thought I knew where I was going and what I could expect life (and business!) just didn’t go that way.
2016 pushed me to let go, to surrender and to be curious and open.
2016 also pushed me to invoke my warrior goddess and stand up for things in my personal life that I didn’t want to take into or accept in the next nine-year cycle.
I’m a firm believer that the magic is in the mess and that you (my tribe) learn far more from my challenging times than from my epic successes.
That is why I want to honestly and authentically share this with you even if that means my ego takes a little hit (there, there ego you’ll be OK!).
But first I know many of us found 2016 challenging on many levels.
I truly believe that 2016 was a year to shake up the online world and determine who was really serious and passionate about their work. It cleared out the industry of people who were not serious and not willing to build strong foundations of integrity and consistency and persistence.
Yes, it shook us up. Yes, a lot shifted and changed. Yes, we need be open to new approaches that are so much more than a new Facebook ads or email marketing strategy. It goes much deeper than that. There is a whole paradigm shift going on and we are entering a whole new phase and maturation of the online business world (I’ll talk more about that in another blog!).
So if you are still here, in the entrepreneurial arena, I am so proud of you.
Not all years in business will be freaking awesome. Business is not linear. Whilst we might be led to believe that our growth should be bigger and bigger each year and that if it isn’t it means something is seriously wrong – that’s just not the case.
Plateau’s and even dips are perfectly natural and they are often followed by big growth spurts after we reset our foundations and get realigned.
So if 2016 wasn’t your most amazing year in business, don’t let it mean anything about you or your business and know that 2017 can and will be freaking amazing.
My 2016 Theme Word
Ease (bad word choice! I don’t think I experienced ease on ANY level!).
Overview of 2016
I didn’t experience growth in 2016…well not financial growth!
My business actually declined by about 10%. Most of this was due to a lower than anticipated launch for the e-Course Launch Formula.
But the numbers don’t tell the story of what really went on in 2016.
I created a high-quality entry level product the e-Course Idea Generator which has had over 100 people through and I also created, wrote, launched and delivered a brand new flagship program Launch Mastery (which I am exceedingly proud of and can’t wait to grow in 2017). I also created a brand new live workshop and online program Expansive and Expansive Online.
And this was done around two launches of the e-Course Launch Formula whilst also running a full mastermind program.
I also went through what many would refer to as a kundalini awakening.
I first realised that something was going on because I was getting profuse sweating constantly, I’d break out in a sweat anywhere such as under an air-conditioning vent. It made no sense at all!
I ruled out pre-menopause and other hormonal issues and had a battery of health tests. Combined with the emotional upheaval I was going through it was suggested I was in fact experiencing a kundalini awakening.
It was an intense time where I felt lost, confused, unmotivated (very unusual for me!) and I just wanted to sit on the couch and watch reality TV.
I honestly thought I was depressed but I had nothing, in particular, to be depressed about!
The Yoga Lunchbox describes the process as:
A Kundalini Awakening also brings up all the unconscious stuff, and all the shadow stuff. Life can get really, really tough. There can be all kinds of intense emotions. Anything you’ve denied, stuffed away, rejected, forgotten about… it’s all got to be dealt with.
I sought out some energy healing and realised that there was a hell of a lot going on underneath the surface that was integrating and whilst I felt very ‘in the dark’ a lot of important deep work was going on.
This went on for about 5 months and I finally came out of this time with a download for the Launch Mastery program and my motivation returned.
I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that if I had of had a big launch for the e-Course Launch Formula in May (as anticipated) that Launch Mastery would not have had the opportunity to be birthed.
I actually needed this time of uncertainty to bring forth something on a deeper level.
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I actually needed this time of uncertainty to bring forth my deeper soul work.
Often times, when it feels like things are falling apart the reality is that things are simply realigning for the better and giving us space for what we really need to be focused on.
I pursued my deep yearning to have a stronger spiritual grounding by signing up for an amazing online program and continuing to grow my spiritual practice through guided meditations, crystal work and channeling messages and developing my intuition with oracle cards.
2016 felt pretty stuck for me. It was an international 9 year in numerology as well as a personal 9 year (you can find out more about that here) and it wasn’t really until I learnt to let go and surrender and hand it over to the divine that things started to change.
In many ways 2016 brought me to my knees and I attracted clients who were experiencing the same.
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In many ways 2016 brought me to my knees and I attracted clients who were experiencing the same. Through this, my heart chakra was blown wide open (and doing Reiki 1 helped this along!) and I learnt to hold space for myself and my clients on a whole new level.
I felt a perceptible energy shift in mid-November when I was due to move into a more hopeful and promising one year and just before Christmas I downloaded a whole new business built around a URL I had purchased earlier in the year.
It is not my intention to birth this new business in 2017. It feels to me like I need a stabilising and grounded year before taking on this big new project but none the less having that vision become clear after nearly 12 months of feeling like I was wondering around in the dark is comforting!
If I’m totally honest 2016 knocked my confidence around and I had to do a lot of forgiveness work and letting go of a lot of disappointments and emotional baggage that built up during the year so that I can embrace the new energy of 2017 with an open and optimistic heart.
Best Moments
Hiring an amazing Marketing Assistant who improved my systems and set-up amazing templates (sad to see you go Sam to pursue your own dreams but you leave my marketing and communication systems in a much better way!)
Shooting some amazing brand images for Launch Mastery on the beach near my home (complete with long silk dress, fur coat and crystals!)
Launching my new program Launch Mastery and having the courage to be brave with the branding, concept and copy and receiving amazing feedback about the program and beautiful brand
Flying Business Class to San-Francisco with Air NZ
Attending Emerging Women Conference in San-Francisco
Being listed as one of the 50 must-follow women entrepreneurs in 2017 on the Huffington Post
Running the amazing Expansive Workshops in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney and soon Gold Coast!
Big Lessons
Don’t change a strategy if it has always worked for you because you think that is what you “should” do
I’m a “lifey”, I’ll be doing this when I’m 80, so there are going to be some *blip* years along the way
Success and Goals are so relative, my disappointing year is someone else’s FREAKING AMAZING year so ummm #gratitude!
Soul work doesn’t always translate to immediate abundance, just because you need to do this work on a soul level doesn’t mean it won’t take time and work to grow.
Once again creating more than one new major product = crazy!
It’s OK to be in a transition and to be moving further into your soul work. You don’t have to work it all out straight away and it doesn’t mean you should burn everything down and rebrand just because you are changing on the inside. Give it space to work out what it really is – let it gestate.
Adrenal Fatigue take 2 – sometimes it takes us more than once to learn our self-care lesson!
True abundance is not a number and it is not even growth or meeting goals, true abundance comes from within and finding a sense of gratitude, peace and pleasure in the day to day.
Busting Through Blocks
Clearly, there are some blocks around moving to my next income level which I totally plan to work through in 2017!
I have blocks around being able to grow my business and my e-Program participants without burning out. I’ve been working through the block that my energy is linked to my revenue and my number of clients and this will continue to be a focus in 2017 – a critical shift required for sustainable growth.
I now run a company and this means I need to create a support team around me that I trust and that my clients trust as well. This is critical to my growth and it is not the Kathryn Hocking show anymore, I need to let others shine. This is a big part of why my brand will likely change in 2018.
*interestingly my “lessons” and “blocks” are similar to last year so it is taking a little while to work through these!
My “Team” in 2016
The people I work with on a day-to-day basis to run my business and programs are:
Community Manager
Marketing Assistant (new in 2016 and an open position for 2017)
Tech Support Manager
Customer Service Manager & Personal Assistant
Event Manager
Book-Keeper
Accountant
Graphic Designer
The people I worked with on a project basis during the year were:
FB ads Manager/Launch Manager
Remarketing Specialist
Trademarks Specialist
Lawyer
Copywriter
Web designer
Success Secrets in 2016
Finding a Marketing Assistant who took charge of my blog and newsletter and ensured that we got back to weekly blog and newsletter communications again
Continuing to develop team systems to make on-boarding and training staff easier
Moving most of our business projects into Asana
Focusing on my CEO duties
Building my spiritual practice to help me create a strong foundation of trust and faith
Developing and relying more on (and trusting!) my intuition
Learning to let go and surrender and hand it over to the divine and asking the key questions “If not this then what? If not now then when? Show me what you’d have me do”
A husband who has seen it all before and who can pump me up and remind me of my truth when I go into fear!
Biggest Challenges
Cash Flow – this has been really hard with a launch that was less than expected. I’ve realised that this is one of the things that really prevents business growth and I need to focus on it better in 2017.
Finding Freedom in my business and balancing the business delivery with the spaciousness I crave
Navigating this transition phase. I know what 2018 and 2019 looks like but I am not quite there yet. 2016 was about “coming out” – starting to shift my image, my writing, my teaching and myself into a more soulful and balanced approach merging the feminine & masculine and strategy & soul. 2017 is a year of building my learning, knowledge and confidence in this new direction I want to take without burning down all I have created (I wrote about navigating this transition here).
Month by Month
January
Our year started beautifully with a family trip to Palm Cove, Northern Queensland to a beautiful resort which was a great way to end the epic year that 2015 was.
But the peace was not to last with news soon after getting back that my mother-in-law had a ticking time bomb in the form of a fatal heart attack waiting to happen. She was rushed into hospital to surgery and had complications so we spent much of January caring for her elderly parents who also had health issues and caring for her.
Whilst it was a horrible time it also showed us how lucky we were that she was smart enough to investigate some very innocuous symptoms and we started the year feeling a bit shocked but also very grateful.
February
In February my oldest girl started school, I said no to a Mastermind I really wanted to join so that I could be there to support her through her first few weeks at school and she took to it like a duck to water. She absolutely loved it and was begging to go to before school and after school care as well even though I created my business so I could pick her up every day! #irony
March
In March I ran my first workshop for the Ultimate e-Course Mastermind and I was reminded once again what it feels like to be in the flow doing your zone of genius work. The second year running this program felt so much more easeful (so maybe that’s where my word of the year came in!) and I was able to really relax into it and enjoy the workshops.
April
In April we were surprised to get over 350 scholarship entrries for our e-Course Launch Formula Scholarship. We were amazed to see so many amazing entries and we can’t wait to run it again in 2017 in February!
May
In May I took a leap and enrolled in Reiki 1 with Sara Brooke. I didn’t really know why I was doing it or what I intended to gain from it but I followed my soul yearnings and travelled to Melbourne two weekends in a row to participate in Reiki 1. Whilst for me I didn’t feel an immediate shift looking back I can see how 2016 was all about opening my heart chakra (the purpose of Reiki 1).
I also launched the e-Course Launch Formula in May and it was for me a disappointing launch (you can read about that here and here) but it was still a $130k launch with over $40k in evergreen sales later in the year so seriously #perspective #gratitude.
June
In June I ran my amazing retreat in Palm Cove as part of my Mastermind. I seriously love this retreat so much that I have decided to make it the focus of the Mastermind in 2017 and make it a longer event. We had so so much fun and so many amazing guest speakers including Marnie McDermott, Sarah Wilder, Samantha Hannah, Jenny Hassam and Rachel McDonald.
July
In July I worked with my designer and amazing friend Ellissa Jayne on the branding for Launch Mastery. I was astounded by how perfect it was and I had so much fun going big, bold and creative with this brand working with a styling and colour strategist Sam Hannah, Copywriter Jess Larsen and Ellissa to get it just perfect! It was really scary to show up in quite a different way from previous brands and whilst this scared me silly it also was totally exhilarating!
August
In August I released my first low-level entry product (I like to do things differently and go premium first!). We had 70 sales in our first launch of the e-Course Idea Generator and have since sold it to over 130 customers which I think is a fantastic result!
September
In September my husband and I took a much-needed break to stay at the Byron at Byron. We had a gorgeous 3 nights there without our kids and I loved visiting the Crystal Castle and just having a big old relax before…
Launching the very first round of my new flagship program (and soul project!) Launch Mastery!
I totally underestimated the work to create, write and launch a flagship program and I struggled during the launch with dividing my time between creation of the content and the marketing activities required to have a big launch.
As is always a case with a first product there were mindset issues galore and I learnt so much in this first launch especially about the messaging and how to communicate the experience and benefits. It was a $17k launch which is low for me but in the end I was very grateful to have a small group of amazing entrepreneurs to work with and test the content out on. I can’t wait to go bigger with this program in 2017 (enrolling in July!).
October
In October after Launching my new program I flew out to attend the Emerging Women event in San-Francisco. This was an absolutely amazing event and it was so critical to my year. I was profoundly moved by many of the speakers at this event and I it was so awesome travelling there in business class! (how can I ever go back to economy!!)
In late October on a Sunday afternoon whim I created my first live workshop outside of my Mastermind – Expansive 2017. The first workshop in Adelaide sold out in less than 24 hours and I went on to run it in Sydney, Melbourne and soon the Gold Coast!
I also partnered with a girlfriend and amazing entrepreneur Mel Schilling to pitch a project to a major entrepreneurial association. We are still waiting to see what comes of it in 2017 but we both feel this is the start of a longer-term collaboration which is exciting!
November
In November I ran my first Expansive Workshop and I was busy writing and recording content for Launch Mastery (despite all best intentions it was written on the go with tight timeframes!). I also opened up applications for my 2017 Mastermind which you can read about here.
December
December was spent running my Sydney and Melbourne Expansive Workshops, talking to Mastermind applicants and writing more content for Launch Mastery. I also opened up a virtual version of my Expansive Workshop called Expansive Online with the first workshop running virtually on the 13th January.
Looking forward to 2017:
I’m very clear about what 2017 holds for me and what it doesn’t hold.
Theme Words
Primary Word: Spacious
Supporting Words: Expansive, Freedom, Learning
Goals:
Earn a total of $750k+ revenue
Total of $500k in revenue for the e-Course Launch Formula
Support amazing entrepreneurs in the Ultimate e-Course Mastermind to reach new heights in their e-Course business
A $50k launch for Launch Mastery
Continue to develop my spiritual practice and energetic healing skills
Significantly improve my overall health and well-being
Get my financial health into shape with better tax and cash flow management
Start to vision a new brand and business to be launched in 2018…
So What is My Focus in 2017?
I have multiple focuses in 2017 but they are all very integrated.
Allowing my existing business products to support me to grow my business – give them the attention they deserve to continue to flourish
Grow the e-Course Launch Formula into a 1,000+ strong community
Continue the consistency in my blogging and newsletter than has been built in 2017
Continue to grow my mastery in Launch Strategy with a particular focus on launch mindset and alignment
Expanding my energetic healing skills to further support my soul clients into the future
Working with Mastermind clients who are true soul clients where I can grow into my true potential as a soul leader
Give myself space to just “be” so that my body doesn’t feel the need to get sick to give me that space
In 2017 You Can Expect to See Me:
Running my Ultimate e-Course Mastermind for the LAST time (there will be a new mastermind of some sort in 2017 but it will be quite different!)
Launching the e-Course Launch Formula in March (and possibly again later in the year)
Launching Launch Mastery in July
Creating a number of brand new free opt-ins to help you in your e-Course and Launching journey!
Studying for my energy healing practitionership so that I can bring a more holistic approach to the way I work with my 1:1 and group program clients (and possibly travelling to Bali for practitionership training)
Participating in Nisha Moodley’s Freedom Mastermind with trips to Santa Fe and Tulum, Mexico
Focusing on my health and well-being including one week day off each week for self-care and rest
Resuming cardio exercise after a year spent successfully building my core (and reducing back pain) with Pilates
I won’t be:
Creating any new programs!
Overloading my year with commitments – spaciousness and freedom is key!
Rebranding!
Are you ready to harness the expansive energy of 2017?
If you are ready to make 2017 the year when you embrace infinite abundance work with me in the Ultimate e-Course Mastermind!
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