@Clare Goodall asked me to cross post this. Hope it helps someone! Alice's tea party is chaos because nobody wrote down how to pour tea, where to sit, or what to do when the Hatter asks a riddle. Everyone improvises. Mess ensues. The moment you document it, everything changes. Your business scales. Your brain gets a day off. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) aren't bureaucracy—they're your business's DNA. When you don't document, every task gets done differently by different people. Errors multiply. Training takes forever. You become the bottleneck. The moment you document the process, three things happen: consistency improves, new people ramp 10x faster, and you can automate (because now the computer knows what you know). HINT 1: Do this task after everything you do this week to create an SOP. Or better yet screen record for an hour, then upload your video into Gemini (if you have the paid version, I think the free version only will look at 15 minutes at a time), and say analyze this video and then give it the build me steps in the prompt below.) PROMPT: Help me turn one recurring task into an SOP. Ask me these questions one at a time: - What is the task. - What do I currently do? (AKA my current process) Then build me: 1. Streamlined Steps (remove what doesn't matter) 2. Decision Points (where choices happen) 3. Automation Opportunities (where tech can take over) 4. One-Page SOP (the doc I give a new person) 5. Quick Win (what should I automate first?) What's ONE task you do every week that, if it were documented and delegated, would free up hours of your time? That's your first SOP target. When it's in your head, it's your problem. When it's on paper, it's your system. ✓

I am adding a zoom link as I cannot find the screen share button. Thanks all. Clare Goodall is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Clare Goodall's Zoom Meeting Time: Jan 5, 2026 07:07 PM London Join Zoom Meeting https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75208392169?pwd=daRZY1JThm1Er14uh3bTdkfW3Cf0fa.1 Meeting ID: 752 0839 2169 Passcode: 4Eg5Jx

I wanted to quickly talk you through how I use this annual planning sheet and, more importantly, how I think ahead when planning products for my Etsy shop. This is just a simple Google Sheet — I made it quickly — but now it’s filled in, you’ll get the idea of how powerful this kind of planning can be. 🗓️ Starting with Key Dates The first thing I’ve done on the planning sheet is add in key dates. These are the main dates for the UK and USA, simply because the USA is my biggest customer base. If there are extra dates that are important for your country or niche, you can absolutely add those in too. I’ve filled this out for the whole year, right through to December, because Etsy (and retail in general) tends to work in quarters: - Q4 is always the biggest — the run up to Christmas - Q1 is usually the spring quarter…and so on. ⏳ Why I Plan So Far Ahead One thing I really want to stress is that I try to plan ahead, because realistically I don’t have endless time. I’m running my Etsy shop alongside a full time job, so planning gives me breathing space. Last year, I made a pumpkin spice themed product. It was ready early — and instead of waiting until autumn, I listed it in late July or August, even though pumpkins and Halloween don’t really peak until October. And honestly? That early listing made all the difference. 🍂 The Domino Effect of Listing Early Because the product was already in my shop: - it started getting traffic before the trend peaked - people saw it before they were actively searching for it - by the time September came around, buyers had already found and bought it At first I got one sale… then another… and then it created a domino effect with more and more sales following. That’s why I don’t plan for “right now”. I plan for what’s coming next. 🔮 Thinking in “Next Three Months” Instead of focusing on the current month, I’m always thinking: - the next month - the next two months - or ideally the next three months

In this upcoming live session, I’ll share my annual planning Google Sheet — a simple but powerful tool you can come back to every year. Here is the link - https://www.skool.com/etsy-digital-creators-hub-9602/classroom/3aedd5ad?md=b73c4d058e7d45d58523c9c47efba544 We’ll go through Quarter 1 step by step, and I’ll show you how I personally plan my time in a way that fits around real life (not hustle). We’ll also look closely at seasonal trends, alongside the big events and key moments coming up throughout the year, so you can plan ahead instead of feeling rushed or behind. I’ve added the date to the calendar so we can meet live and work through this together. After the session, the recording will be posted in the community as the final lesson in the Shattered to Structured series.

Today’s reflection is about learning, not criticism ✍️ ✨ Even Better ifs… What three things would you like improve this year in your shop? Which one is the most important to you and your business right now. Use the template: Three things I want to improve are … The most important one is … because … Remember it doesn’t need to be a long list. Just being aware is enough right now 💜