Reflecting on the New Year + Tips to Thrive in 2025

Wed Jan 01 2025

In this New Year’s episode of Social Media Decoded, Michelle Thames shares tips to help entrepreneurs, professionals, and side hustlers thrive in 2025, from setting SMART goals to building your personal brand. Plus, Michelle announces her upcoming 2025 Passions to Profit Tour and invites listeners to help decide where she should visit.

Summary

Social Media Decoded: Episode Summary – Reflecting on the New Year + Tips to Thrive in 2025

Release Date: January 1, 2025

Host: Michelle Thames
Podcast: Social Media Decoded
Description: Empowering creatives, influencers, business owners, and entrepreneurs to simplify social media and thrive online with actionable strategies and expert insights.

Introduction: Kicking Off 2025 with Intention

In the premiere episode of 2025, Michelle Thames welcomes listeners to a fresh start aimed at inspiring and empowering them for the year ahead. Emphasizing the potential that 2025 holds, Michelle sets the tone for a year of growth, clarity, and alignment.

"Success doesn't happen by accident. It is the result of consistent intentional action."
– Michelle Thames [05:10]

Reflection on 2024: Learning and Setting Intentions

Michelle begins by encouraging listeners to reflect on the past year, regardless of whether it was successful or challenging. She shares her personal achievements, such as maintaining gym consistency, deepening client relationships, expanding her services, and traveling more. Michelle also candidly discusses the struggles she faces, like waking up early, and her determination to improve in 2025.

"I woke up today and said wow, I feel like 2025 is just so much potential in this year."
– Michelle Thames [02:15]

Glow Up Goals: Vision Board Party Announcement

To help listeners set and achieve their goals, Michelle announces the Glow Up Goals Vision Board Party, scheduled for January 7th at 7 PM CST. This free, two-hour virtual event will guide participants through creating vision boards and developing actionable strategies to bring their goals to life. Featuring guest speakers, networking opportunities, and breakout rooms, the event promises to be a dynamic start to the new year.

"Get your pens and notepads ready because you already know gems will be dropped."
– Michelle Thames [03:45]

Top Tips for Thriving in 2025

Michelle shares her top five strategies to help listeners thrive in the new year, each designed to foster consistency, efficiency, and personal growth.

1. Set SMART Goals

Michelle emphasizes the importance of setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals to provide clear direction and measurable outcomes.

"Instead of just saying I want to grow my business, say I want to increase my revenue by 20% in Q1, focusing on my email marketing and client retention."
– Michelle Thames [05:50]

Pro Tip: Break down these goals into smaller, actionable steps and review them monthly to ensure progress stays on track.

2. Prioritize Consistency Over Perfection

Perfection can be paralyzing, but consistency builds momentum. Michelle advises showing up regularly with quality content rather than waiting for everything to be flawless.

"It's better to show up consistently with good content than to wait for perfection."
– Michelle Thames [07:20]

3. Leverage Tools and Automations

Maximize efficiency by utilizing social media and business tools. Michelle highlights platforms like Later for scheduling posts and ConvertKit for email campaigns, enabling entrepreneurs to work smarter, not harder.

"I like to stick with my people. ConvertKit, if you’re listening, thank you for making being an amazing platform."
– Michelle Thames [09:00]

4. Focus on Personal Brand

Building a personal brand enhances visibility and creates new opportunities. Michelle encourages everyone, whether entrepreneurs or professionals within organizations, to cultivate their personal brand through consistent sharing of experiences on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

"Personal brands aren't just for business owners. Everyone needs a personal brand."
– Michelle Thames [10:15]

5. Invest in Community and Support

Surrounding oneself with a supportive community is crucial for sustained growth. Michelle highlights the value of mastermind groups, coaches, networking communities, and engaging with the Social Media Decoded community.

"You do not have to do any of this alone. Surround yourself with people who inspire and support you."
– Michelle Thames [11:40]

Exciting Announcement: Social Media Decoded Tour 2025

Michelle reveals her plans to embark on a Social Media Decoded Tour in 2025, traveling to multiple cities to connect with her community through live events, workshops, and networking opportunities. These events will focus on strategies to grow businesses, increase visibility, and monetize passions, catering to both full-time entrepreneurs and those managing side hustles.

"I am officially going on tour, y'all, in 2025. I want your input to help me decide where I should go."
– Michelle Thames [12:30]

Call to Action: Michelle urges listeners to participate by filling out a quick form available in the show notes or by messaging her on Instagram. The tour is slated to begin in April, and listener input will shape the itinerary.

Listener Engagement and Shoutouts

Michelle takes a moment to acknowledge and thank her listeners, giving shoutouts to active members of her community:

Asia J – UGC Content Creator
Alicia Peach Property Ventures – Property Developer

"Shout out to Asia J and Alicia Peach Property Ventures for being amazing listeners!"
– Michelle Thames [13:20]

Conclusion: Embrace Growth and Take Action

In her closing remarks, Michelle encourages listeners to embrace intentional and focused actions throughout 2025. She recommends the book Atomic Habits for building effective habits and underscores the importance of taking small steps that lead to significant results.

"Every small step you take adds up to big results over time. You got this."
– Michelle Thames [14:00]

Final Encouragement: Michelle invites listeners to share the episode with friends, leave reviews on Apple or Spotify, and subscribe to ensure they never miss an episode. She expresses her gratitude and excitement for a year filled with growth, success, and new opportunities.

"Here's to a year filled with growth, success, and new opportunities. Until next time, let's make 2025 our best year yet."
– Michelle Thames

Key Takeaways:

Reflect and Set Intentions: Use the new year to evaluate past achievements and challenges, setting clear goals for the future.
Implement SMART Goals: Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives for better clarity and success.
Consistency is Crucial: Prioritize regular, quality output over waiting for perfection to maintain momentum.
Utilize Tools Wisely: Leverage automation and scheduling tools to enhance efficiency and focus on growth.
Build a Personal Brand: Enhance visibility and create opportunities by consistently showcasing your expertise and experiences.
Engage with Community: Surround yourself with supportive individuals and communities to foster continuous growth and motivation.
Participate in Events: Join upcoming events like the Glow Up Goals Vision Board Party and the Social Media Decoded Tour to gain insights and connect with like-minded individuals.

Recommended Resource:

Atomic Habits by James Clear – A book on building effective habits for personal and professional growth.

Connect with Michelle Thames:

Instagram: @MichelleL.Thames
LinkedIn: Michelle Thames
Podcast Website: Social Media Decoded

Prepare to make 2025 your most successful year yet by implementing these strategies and staying connected with Michelle and the Social Media Decoded community!

Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (0:27)

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C (1:01)

Everyone and welcome back to the Social Media Decoded Podcast. The number one podcast to help you understand social media better so that you grow your business, get more clients and monetize. And I'm your host, Michelle Thames. And today we are kicking off 2025 with a fresh episode designed to inspire and empower you for the year ahead. You already know that's how I get down. Happy new year. Happy 2025. Can you believe it? We're in 2025. Whether you full time entrepreneur balancing the 9 to 5 or growing your side hustle, this episode is all about starting the year strong and thriving in 2025, my friend. Okay, I'll be sharing my top tips to set yourself up for success this year. Practical strategies that anyone can use to stay consistent, build momentum and reach your goals. Plus, I have a really exciting announcement about something big. Big that I am planning this year. A tour and yep, that's right. You heard me. A tour friend. And I'm hitting the road in 2025 and I want your input to help me decide where I should go. Okay? So stay tuned for that. Now get your pens and notepads ready because you already know gems will be dropped. Let's get into it now. I feel like the new year is definitely a time for fresh beginnings. And 2025 already feels like a year filled with like I woke up today and I said yes, I record this episode. It's on. Is we today 2025. Okay. I woke up today and said wow, I feel like 2025 is just so much potential in this year. Whether last year was your best year yet, or was a challenging one. Now is the time to reflect and set intentions for what's next. And let me just say I. I am hosting a vision board party. It's called Glow Up Goals. Okay. If you haven't already signed up and you want to sign up, you can. Okay. It is happening on January 7th at 7pm Central Standard Time. You can click down below in the show notes to grab your ticket if you have not already. It's absolutely free. Join us. Going to be a two hour party. We're going to put together our vision boards. But not only that, how we gonna make it actually come to life? The tips and strategies. I have a guest speaker. We're gonna have some networking, it's gonna have some breakout rooms. So come. Okay, if this sounds like something for you, now let's talk about why reflection matters. Before setting new goals, take a moment to reflect on what worked, what didn't, and, and what you want to carry forward into the new year. What goals did you accomplish in 2024? What habits or systems helped you the most? What challenges taught you valuable lessons? Now I will say definitely I accomplished my goals of being consistent in the gym. I accomplished my goals of going deeper with my clients, of traveling more, of expanding my services and what I do in my business. I've, I've done a lot of those things and I think that the, the habits and systems that help me is definitely organization. My Google Calendar, waking up at 4:45 has been, it's been a struggle, but I've been doing it okay. I'm going to get better with that in 2025. It's a goal of mine. And there were challenges. I had so many challenges that taught me so many valuable lessons that I plan to definitely not let that happen again. Right. And just learn and grow and move forward from that. So we really want to set the tone for 2025. That's what I plan to do. Today I'm sitting down planning with my husband. It's time to plan and just look at all of 2025 and see what the year is like. What, what do we want to focus on? So this year let's focus on growth, clarity and alignment. Remember, success doesn't happen by accident. It is the result of consistent intentional action. I don't know who told anybody that. It was just like, oh, you're just going to be successful. You could just do whatever. No, no, no, no, no, no. Success is the result of consistent intentional action. Period. Period. I want you to take that. That's a bar. Okay, now let's dive into my top tips for thriving in 2025. No matter where you're starting from, these strategies will definitely help you move forward with confidence and clarity. Now, number one, you already should know this if you've listened to this podcast. I always say we have to set smart goals. Your goals definitely need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Instead of you just saying I want to grow my business, say I want to increase my revenue by 20% in Q1, focusing on my email marketing and client retention. Oh, that sound real good. I might. I'm gonna, I'm. I'm. Let's write that down. Okay, here's a pro tip. I really like to break my goals into smaller, actionable steps and review them monthly to stay on track. So break them into smaller, actionable steps and then review them on a monthly basis. The second thing I want us to do is prioritize consistency over perfection. It's never going to be perfect, friend. It's better to show up consistently with good content, good content than to wait for perfection. Whether it's posting on social media, engaging with your audience, or working on your craft, consistency builds momentum 100%. The third thing I want us to do is leverage tools and automations. Because I work smart and not hard. Friend and social you, we all need to use tools to save time and streamline your work. For example, there are tools like later for scheduling social media or ConvertKit for email campaigns. These can free up your time to focus on growth. You can schedule your email campaigns. I know a lot of people use Constant Contact Klaviyo, ConvertKit. Whatever it is that you use, they all work. I use ConvertKit. I really like it. I've been using it since the start. So yeah, a lot of the tools that I use, I've been using since the start. It's kind of hard for me to just, you know, jump from tool to tool because why am I jumping from tool to tool? If it works, it works. And each of these platforms always, always comes out with new thing like they're going to be, they want to be cutting edge so they're always going to keep innovating. So I like to stick with my people. So convertkit, if you listening, I've been. Oh, I've been a customer since the beginning of my business and you all have been amazing. I haven't had any problems with ConvertKit. I use it every day. I've sent out thousands of emails through ConvertKit. So thank you ConvertKit, for making being an amazing Amazing platform. And let's partner 2025. If you listening or anyone you know is listening to this or if you work for ConvertKit and you're listening to this, definitely a brand that I would love to partner with 2025, getting back in my brand deal bags. Okay. All right. Leveraging tools. So make sure that we leverage that so that we free up our time. Now this is the next thing I want us to do. Focus on our personal brand. Yep. In 2025, visibility is everything. And whether you're entrepreneur or professional, building your personal brand helps you stand out and create new opportunities. Personal brands aren't just for business owners. They're for everybody. Everybody needs a personal brand. If you work in an organization and you're someone, someone people should know and you are, you need a personal brand. So that's you. So if you're listening, you're like, yep, Michelle, I'm, I'm, I'm definitely going to start my personal brand in 2025. I hear you. You got to. Okay, here's approach tip. Share your experience consistency on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube to grow your authority. I've been on LinkedIn and it's been a great time over there. Come on over and follow me. Search me, Michelle Thames and let's, let's chat over on LinkedIn. I've been loving LinkedIn and I'm definitely going hard on LinkedIn and YouTube in 2025. It's time I started on YouTube and I have not been consistent, but it is time. It is time. Okay. And the fifth thing I want us to do is invest in community and support. You do not have to do any of this alone. Surround yourself with people who inspire and support you, whether that's a mastermind group, a coach, or a local networking community or even this podcast. You have me here. I have a community. We do networking events. We do co working sessions. I have a, a community program. So come. Okay. You don't have to do this alone. If you're listening to this podcast, you're like, michelle, I didn't even know you had any of these communities. It's okay. It's never too late to come and join me. It's never too late to follow me on Instagram at Michelle L. Thames in 2025. Let's connect. I love when you all send me DMS about how you love this podcast. Do you know how much that makes my day? Do you know how much that makes my day? It makes my day. I'm so grateful when you all do that. And shout out to. I just had some amazing, amazing listeners reach out and I'm just so thankful. I'm so super thankful for you for reaching out. So shout out to Asia J. Shout out to Asia J. Y'all go follow Asia J at Asia J U G C okay. A I S I A J A Y U G C thank you so much for reaching out. She is a UGC content creator. And shout out to Alicia Peach Property Ventures for definitely sending me a DM and being a listener of the podcast. Go and follow Alicia at A L Y S H A underscore Peach Property Ventures. She's a property developer and she is amazing and she knows a lot about investing in real estate. So go and follow her too. So thank you so much to the community. Okay, now, now for the exciting part. Oh. I am officially going on Tour, y'all, in 2025 and this year I'll be traveling to multiple cities to connect with you the listene my community. So through live events and workshops and networking opportunities. And so the events that I will be doing will be focusing on strategies to help you grow your business, to get visible, monetize your passions. Whether you have a 9 to 5, you're working a side hustle. These events are for you, okay? For the multi passionate entrepreneur just like myself. Okay, you're going to leave inspired, motivated and ready to take your business to the next level level. And here's where I need your help. I want to make sure that I visit the cities where you are. I've created a quick form where you can let me know your city and what kind of event you love to attend. Okay? So head to the show notes to fill it out. It takes less than two minutes. Or you can DM me on Instagram at Michelle L. Themes and I will send you the link. Your input is going to help me shape this tour. Okay, I plan to start the tour around April. So we got some time and so let me know, let me know. Fill out the form for me friend, please and thank you. I appreciate you for being a listener on the social media decoded podcast. Now 2025 is here and it's time to go after your goals with intention and focus. Remember, every small step you take adds up to big results over time. A good book to read is the Atomic Habits. Great book. Okay. Whether you're growing your business or building your career or balancing it all with the side hustle, you got this. Okay? You got this. Now do not forget to complete the tour form and let me know where I should visit and if this episode gave you inspiration or clarity, please share with a friend, leave a review on Apple or Spotify, and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Okay, here's to a year filled with growth, success, success and new opportunities. Until next time, let's make 2025 our best year yet. Thank you all so much for tuning in, and I will talk to y'all in the next one.