The Bold + Beautiful Business Planning

 The new 2018 Erin Condren Life Planner is bold + beautiful. Your business planning should be bold + beautiful also. It’s no secret that I am an Erin Condren gal. Didn’t know? Well the cat is definitely out of the bag. My name is Kimber and I am a planner addict. *sigh*

One day some goddess introduced me to Erin Condren...thank you who ever you may be. I do know you offered me $10 off my first purchase and for that I say thank you. No worries, I have that same code for your first purchase...just click here and create an account. Check your email that you used then boom...$10 savings. 

Last year was the first year I used an 18 month calendar. You know a calendar that begins in July and lasts until the following December. Just didn’t see the need, but I have since seen the light. 

I received the new Erin Condren 18 month Life Planner with a ‘Painted Petals’ cover and rose gold coil. The colors are bold + vibrant + beautiful. [There's a video showcasing the colors at the end of this post]

The watercolors are so rich, that it feels as if it’s a true piece of artwork. No exaggeration. Aaaand I’m not even artsy. The paper used this year is thick. Thicker than a snickers. 

Girl, I’m all for quality paper. It feels like a smooth card stock, but it turns easily on the coils.

2017/2018 note is on left + 2016/2017 on right

The page before the month begins has been updated and I absolutely love this change. There are four circles. Use these circles to pinpoint your goals for the upcoming month. Whether it be money goals, weight goals, health goals, or home goals. Set your goals, so that you can slay your year.

Underneath these circles or our newly appointed “goal area,” you can map out how you will reach these goals in this coming month. Then there is a long rectangular shape, where you can write out affirmations or personal quotes for the upcoming month. Being a woman + an adult is hard sometimes, and you should always motivate + inspire yourself.

And as always the beginning of every month the Life Planner has quotes to help you get into action. The quote page takes on the deep watercolors and color theme for that month.

The layout that I have is vertical with the three boxes per day.

Vertical layout design

This layout is perfect for scheduling a combination of things. I have seen people dedicate the boxes to:

• home, work, and personal things
• morning, afternoon, night
• work, home, dinner/workout
• To do list, appointments, gratitude statement/word

The opportunities for the use is endless. We have so many things to track of. I currently use a vertical Life Planner for social media planning.

First box: What I plan on posting that day

Second box: Any social to do’s [commenting on other posts, contacting someone I found on social, checking out a new social tool, etc.]

Third box: Anything cool I saw and want to remember to check out another day.

Underneath the daily boxes are four short lines. I’ve seen these used for:

• meals that are eaten throughout the day
• workouts
• gratitude
• daily summaries/memory keeping

I write down my money goal on the top line, the money earned from the day before on the second line, and on the third line I’ll write down the actual earned for the day. Tracking your profits is super important.

The box in the right corner on the left page, I use to write my social stats for the week. You can use this box to notate:

• a theme for the week
• gratitude
• A quote you found or love
• The most important task/appointment that you have this week

Underneath the box are lines. Typically this is where weekly to do’s are placed before I delegate what day, they will get done. For instance: whom to email, call, DM [since I use this for social], appointments to schedule.

Other details:

Cute vellum overlay when you open the Lifeplanner

The inside covers are dry erase boards. Braindump and then wipe it away

.Notes section in the back of the planner has four lined pages, four dot grid pages, and four coloring pages.

The second lined page is extra thick as it has the tab ‘Notes.’ Due to the thickness on this page, you could use a marker with I’m sure minimal if not no shadowing from the marker. The other pages have hardly any shadowing using gel pens

There’s a planner page for the WHOLE year of 2019 with four lines underneath each month for pre-planning your greatness.

Stickers are included as every year, but these new stickers are gorgeous. Very pretty and shiny. They aren’t too glam that you feel like you won’t want to use them and will hoard them. [Yes, beautiful + smart + successful women hoard stickers. And I may or may not be one of them]

You will want to plan with these to help you stay focused on your goals, dreams, and action plan toward the best life...and even the daunting task of cleaning the bathrooms each week.

The keep it together folder is in the back holding the matching Perpetual Calendar. The Perpetual Calendar is like a bonus mini calendar you can use year after year. You can use it to:

Remember birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations that always occur on the same date every year.

A mini launch calendar to map out what you have going on each month as a mini reference.

To manage your budget based on bills that you have each month that come on the same day.

The accessories this year are so cute with the ongoing Painted Petals theme. I originally thought they were colorful raindrops.

I guess I’m still mourning the death of Prince. *hums Purple Reign*

Two weeks ago my friend told me she got a running fanny pack and I laughed loudly out loud. Then Erin Condren comes out with this planny pack.

Attach it over your planner and it serves as a closure band to keep your secrets safe and papers in tact. Fill the pouch with your fave pens and planner accessories. There's a slot that you can slide in your phone also. Perfect for on the go meetings. 

The new long sticky notepad is perfect for adding on to to do lists. It is long enough that it covers the note side in the monthly view as well as the boxes in the vertical planners and hourly planners. The sticky is sticky for half of the paper, so you can still write underneath what you stick it on. 

First thought, if you have an appointment on a certain day and don't want to forget things you want to ask or mention, use this as a brilliant reminder. 

 The insertable sticky note dashboard have remained my fave. I write quick notes to myself and ideas. Usually it's incredibly easy to forget a million dollar idea...not with these babies. 

Luxe Business Planning

Planners make me happy. They do. They are right up there next to sparkly unicorns and new shoes. Seriously.

On June 1st Erin Condren introduces her new line of life planners. I was sucked into the glam planning world in 2015. Previously I just went to target and picked up a plain Jane planner. The traditional planners were a bit too profesh for me. One day some goddess introduced me to Erin Condren...thank you who ever you may be.

I do know you offered me $10 off my first purchase and for that I say thank you. No worries, I have that same code for your first purchase...just click here and create an account. Check your email that you used then boom...$10 savings.

Erin Condren peeps were gracious enough to send me some goodies before the launch to show my lady friends. I opted for the luxe planner because I'm fancy. The cover is a vegan faux leather. It's not removable, but why would you want to take off such lusciousness. To touch it's very soft and thick. The color is a deep plum purple which in person is just gorgeous. The coil is rose gold [matches the foil lettering perfectly] and very easy to move the paper through. 

The updated paper is thick and has a nice feel. Paper quality is important, when you have important things to do! I opted for the neutral theme (black and white) and its simplicity is everything! It adds an extra bit of sophistication.

I have a business planner, a personal planner, a social media planner, a project planner, fitness planner and a ^i know I'm forgetting one^ planner. So I was just going to wait until January.

This planner starts in July. Only $5 more for the 18 month option [July start] . I've never started a calendar in July before and initially told myself I would just wait until January. That was until the Luxe Life Planner came.

18 month planning nice to meet you...I'm Kimber!

Previously I thought of 18 month calendars as something for the super [borderline obsessive] productive and "that" mom no one ever wants to admit to being. I digress...

I typically plan for business in quarters.

Q1 Jan 1-March 31st

Q2 April 1- June 30th

Q3 July 1 - September 30th

Q4 Oct 1 - December 31st

One big goal per quarter.

That means I have three months to break that goal down and make it attainable. Really pimp my productivity.

BIG Goals require BIG plans!

18 month calendars give you the opportunity to tackle Q3, Q4, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 all in one book.

Doesn't sound like much until you are staring at the possibilities of your growth and success straight ahead. Growing to 6 and 7 figures does not happen by simply winging it. There has to be strategy and planning involved. In 5 minutes I can break down a business...5 minutes yo! That's my zone of excellence, but that alone didn't make me successful...strategy and planning did.

And if you enjoy life and being social as much as you enjoy work...planning makes it all possible.

At this point in my life my friends are marrying, having babies on purpose, turning 30, renewing vows, turning 40, divorcing, having more babies and just throwing amazing parties all over the world. Not to mention the social and school calendar of my babes.

This means I need to be able to take a real good look at my various work projects and these social events far in advance to make it work.

I usually don't start planning for the next year until October/November. Now I have broken the planner up into quarters, separated by these beautiful book marks.

I know how many clients I can work with individually per month and quarter. Depending on the other things going on in the quarter these numbers are adjusted. Quarterly planning helps me to know when I can release products and run groups. Planning is for bosses.

The month at a glance is the big picture for the month. A clear picture of everything that is going down and what objectives need to be met by what date in addition to the day to day work and life activities. You cannot negate the life. Seriously, it will pass you by, if all you do is work.

In the beginning of the life planner there is a section that says: "your greatest success is believing in yourself" with coordinating boxes. 12 success goals and a spot to break them down right in the front of your planner.

Save the best for last, my favorite accessory, which was updated is the insertable sticky note dashboard. I write quick notes to myself and ideas. It's incredibly easy to forget a million dollar idea...not with these babies. 

 Check out the video below to flip through the new EC Luxe Planner.

xo,

Kimber