I used to hate the term ‘CEO Day’.

Because I felt it was one of those fancy terms female entrepreneurs bandied about while working from the beach, driving around in their sports car and/or soaking in a bubble bath with pink scented candles etc). Yuck.

But the concept of a ‘CEO Day’ isn't actually a bad one. Because it’s simply about taking the time out for strategy - for working on your business - rather than in it. 

Which is a good thing, right? 

And if you haven’t blocked out time in your calendar to create your business and content strategy for 2023 yet (aka a CEO day)...make sure you do. Because it will set you up for success in your business in 2023 and beyond. 

In this episode of the Courageous Content Podcast, you’ll learn how to design a CEO day for your business (and why it matters). 

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What’s the difference between a content strategy and a content plan (and why it matters) (podcast)

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IMPORTANT: THIS TRANSCRIPT IS AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED. WE GIVE IT A QUICK CHECK THROUGH BUT WE DON’T CORRECT EVERYTHING AS IT’S INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND PARTS YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO AGAIN - NOT AS AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT. SO THERE MIGHT BE A FEW QUIRKY WORDS/PHRASES HERE!

I used to hate the term CEO day because I felt it was one of those fancy terms female entrepreneurs banded about while working from the beach, apparently driving around in their sports car and soaking in a bubble bars with pink scented candles around the side. Yuck. But while we've seen a lot of rubbish in the online space over the past few years, the concept of a CEO day isn't actually a bad one because it's simply about taking the time out to plan and strategize for your business about working on your business rather than in it, which is a good thing.

Right. I'm Janet Murray. I'm a content and online business strategist, and I'm also are the creator of the courageous Content Planner and Content kit, along with a whole host of content kits that will save you time

and trouble in your. In this episode of the Courageous Content Podcast, I'll talk about CEO days, what they are, and how you can design one for your business.

So first off, What is a CEO day? Well, if you haven't heard the term, it's basically just a fancy term for taking some time out of your business to plan and strategize. Some people take themself off somewhere, so they might go off to a hotel or a cafe or a quiet space in their house where they can think and plan and strategize, but it really is.

Taking time out of your business to think about what you're going to be doing in the next year, the next quarter, and really

looking at the bigger picture in your business. Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? How much do you want to earn? That's a really good question to start with. And then working out the steps you need to take to get there and creating your roadmap.

I'll talk more in just a sec about how that applies specifically to content, which is my specialist area. But first off, why did I dislike that term? To start off as well, I felt it was one of those terms that was banded around on the internet that was a bit smoke and mirrors, and it came across like CEO days where some kind of fancy thing.

Only can do if you have a six or seven figure business or you're part of a squillion dollar mastermind. And actually the truth is that we all need at

least one CEO day a quarter. And by the way, it doesn't even have to be a day. It can just be a few hours. , and we need this regardless of whether we have a brand new business, a part-time business, a side hustle business, or we've been at it for years because that needs to plan to strategize, to look at where you want to go and how you're going to get there.

That never, ever goes away. But it is often the first thing that we put down when we're busy, when we're overwhelmed, when we're juggling a lot of things in our business and also in life. It's the kind of thing that we often put off until tomorrow, and when we do put it off until tomorrow or next week or next month, can actually have quite a big

impact on the bottom line of our business.

Which is why it's a great habit to establish from the moment that you start your business from day one. So how often should you take a CEO day? Well, I recommend my clients take one CEO day a quarter. Although I may not call it like that. I'm still not a massive fan of the term to work on their business and content strategy.

It doesn't even have to be a whole day. A few hours can be more than enough parti. When you're just starting out in business, it's just about setting aside that time to plan forward, to think big, to think strategically, but I do recommend spending longer on your Q four CEO day, so I recommend taking that

time to plan forward in your business.

Once a quarter, so end of February, beginning of March, planning for q2, end of May, beginning of June, planning for q3, end of August, beginning of September, planning for q4, and then end of November, beginning of December. That's where I think you should take that. Day or that bigger chunk of time to create your annual plan.

And I talked more about this in my episode on the difference between a content plan and a content strategy. If you haven't listened to that one yet, and we'll link to that in the show notes, but this is so important when it comes to content because you can't plan and create content, or certainly you can't do it effect.

If you don't have a content strategy, if you haven't

sat down and thought, what is it that I'm trying to achieve here in my business and when, what is the best route for me to take to get them By route, I mean what type of content? What platforms am I going to use? And of course, you can't do that kind of thinking if you don't have a business strategy, if you're not clear on what you're gonna be selling, when you're gonna be selling it.

Things like what your income goals are and taking that. To plan for the following year and taking longer, looking further ahead. I think it's really, really vital to do that in the last part of the year. So if you haven't done that yet, there's still time. This episode is due to go out in mid ish December.

But please, please, please take that time to sit down

and plan right across the next year. It doesn't have to be massively detailed, but just having a clear sense of what your focus is going to be in each quarter, it is going to make it so much easier to plan content, and your content is going to be so much more effective because you actually know why you're doing it and what your purpose is.

I'd like to say I go into this in much more detail on that episode, on the difference between a content plan and a content. So how do you design a CEO day? Well, how you design it is really up to you. But this is what I recommend to my clients. So number one, start by creating or refining your annual content strategy so you are super clear on your business and income goals.

And if you

haven't already, then do make sure that you download my annual content strategy templates, sharing it free with podcast listeners. And there is a link in the show notes. Any problems getting your hands on that? Then just email my team on Janet, Janet murray.co uk, or message us on Instagram. I'm at Janet Murray uk.

So once you've created that annual strategy, the strategy that ties into your overall business strategy and my template will help you to think about your overall business goals, your income goals, that really important. Then you can move on to your quarterly plan. So when you're sitting down to do your CEO day in December, if you haven't done yours already, then this will be the time as well as doing that

big picture planning for the whole of 2023 to look more closely at q1.

So what are you gonna be doing in January, February, and. If you have a blog, a podcast, or some kind of regular content that you publish, which I absolutely recommend that you do, that you are publishing evergreen content on at least one platform that goes on your website that will be there forever and will help your customers or clients find you forever.

This is the point when you start to think about. What kind of podcasts or what kind of blogs you need to be publishing during that period in order to achieve your goals and asking yourself tough questions like, if I want to publish a book or launch an online course in March, what kind of

content do I need to be publishing in January to get the best results from that launch?

And I have got another podcast episode coming up on this. But when it comes to launching new products or services, the term launch is actually really an unhelpful one. And I, for one, I'm gonna be talking about campaigns going forward. But a launch isn't just something that you. Rock up and do for a week, even though it's often painted that way in the online space.

If you're looking to launch an online course in March, for example, or a book or a new podcast, you need to be planting the seeds way before that time. It needs to be a campaign, a content campaign. That will start at least 90 days before that launch, if not further ahead. When you are

publishing strategic content that's going to help you to get your ideal customers and clients interested in your product or service, or your new podcast or whatever it might be before it actually happens where you are doing very strategic things in your content like.

Publishing highly targeted lead magnets with the aim of setting a very specific product or service, building that audience, nurturing that audience, getting people excited about that product or service before it goes on sale, building wait lists, and when you're planning further ahead, when you're being much more strategic in your planning.

All of that is so much easier. So once you've done that, thinking about what your focus is going to be in terms of the products and services that you sell, you can create a content strategy for the

coming quarter, which outlines the key topics you need to cover in your content to make sure that you achieve your objectives and also crucially how you're going to get there.

And this is so important because it stops you from making mistakes. For example, starting a YouTube. Because everybody else seems to be doing it, but may actually take you away from your business goals and your income goals if you haven't really figured out why you're doing it. So at this stage, you're also thinking, well, what have I got already?

Do I need to create new content? Do I have any content that I can reuse or repurpose? Is this the right time for me to be starting on a new content platform or would it be better to stick with the audience that I've already. Not saying I have any of the answers for these

questions because I don't know the specifics of your business or the products or services that you're selling, but these are definitely the right questions to be asking, and when you take that time to have a CEO day or even a CEO afternoon or morning, when you give yourself.

The space to think, to plan, to strategize like this, that's when the magic starts to happen because you start to see patterns. You start to see solutions. You start to see content you already have that could be repurposed, or you start to question whether you really need to start something new. Because really your aim should always be to find the quickest and easiest.

Root to your goals, which if you run a business, will typically be around sales, not always, but typically will be around sales,

and to provide the shortest journey, both for yourself and also for your customers or clients. So I hope you found that helpful, and it's been a reminder of how important it is to take that time to plan for 2023 and to get those CEO days, even if you don't want to call it that, onto your calendar for 2023.

complete in less than an hour.

An ebook, which will show you how to get your content strategy in place and make sure that you stick to it along with more than a thousand to fill in the gaps. Content templates for social media posts, blogs, email newsletters, and other essential business content, which will show. How to create engaging content as you are actually doing it, and we'll get you off the blank page so you're not sitting there staring at a blank screen wondering how to start, finish, and what to put in the middle.

Of course, you get a copy of my physical planner, but the kits also includes a digital version that you can use on a tablet or iPad, and you can save 30 pounds on your courageous content panel and kit with the code December 30. It's an

exclusive code for podcast listeners, so if you haven't already, do make sure you invest in your 2023 Courageous content planner and content kit because it will make this process so much easier for you.

And I will link to the planet and kit in the show notes along with that exclusive discount code. As ever. I do love hearing from you, so if you enjoyed this episode, if you've got any follow up questions, then the best way to connect with me is on Instagram. I'm @janmurrayuk. Any questions about my products or services, email me at janet@janetmurray.co.uk and my team will be happy to help.