155 - Laryssa and Liz Talk Goal Setting for 2026: Aligned Intentions, Realistic Plans, and Staying Motivated

Summary

Success With Jewelry – Episode 155 Summary

Episode Title: Laryssa and Liz Talk Goal Setting for 2026: Aligned Intentions, Realistic Plans, and Staying Motivated

Release Date: January 5, 2026
Hosts: Laryssa Wirstiuk and Liz Kantner

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Overview

In this lively New Year episode, Laryssa and Liz dive into the art and challenge of goal setting, focusing on how to craft intentions that are truly aligned with your values, realistic to accomplish, and designed to keep you energized throughout the year. Sharing personal reflections and professional strategies—both as marketers and business owners—they discuss navigating post-holiday burnout, lessons from 2025 pivots, and practical frameworks to keep progress on track. The conversation is candid, relatable, and packed with actionable insights for anyone running a creative business, especially jewelry designers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Emotional Landscape of Goal Setting

• New Year as a Reset Button:
  Both hosts appreciate the fresh start energy the new year provides. Laryssa notes, “There’s this energy...you can really shape ahead of you. It is kind of like you’re starting over, you’re starting fresh.” (04:21)
• Balancing Personal & Professional Demands:
  The holiday season is filled with both business and family chaos, which can leave little headspace for strategic business planning. Liz shares the overwhelm: “Just the number of events and, you know, magical moments and craft shows...it was a lot, but I did it.” (03:19)

2. Reflecting on Goals From 2025

• Personal Wins:
  • Laryssa: “One of my goals for 2025 was to play tennis pretty regularly...And also...conversations, Spanish practice every week, which I had never done before this year.” (07:01)
  • Liz: “My biggest 2025 goal was to get really involved in the Asheville creative community. And I think I did that...” (09:11)
• Business Focuses:
  • Laryssa aimed to be more consistent with direct sales outreach rather than sporadic effort tied to seasonality. (07:01)
  • Liz wanted to promote her business and services more consistently, moving past sporadic promotion cycles. (08:19)

3. Pivoting & Letting Go

• On Letting Go of Past Goals:
  Laryssa reflects on shifting directions: “There were definitely things in 2025 that evolved and changed...I would say 2025 in general was such a year of transition for me...we niched into email marketing and that was not something I had in my head in January 2025.” (11:04)
• Entrepreneurship Realities:
  Liz admits, “The entrepreneur’s journey...you’re like, up and down and like, spinning around...I would love to find some sort of consistency.” (11:51)
  Laryssa highlights how mood swings play a role: “One week I’ll be, like, having a meltdown...and then the next week, I’ll be like, I got this.” (12:38)

4. Specific Goals for 2026

• Laryssa:
  Staying consistent with business outreach, and continuing personal habits like tennis and Spanish.
• Liz:
  • Promote business more frequently and consistently (across all seasons). “It’s hard because you have to be so repetitive. Sometimes it’s like, why—I feel like I’m saying the same thing over and over again.” (08:19)
  • Show up more on social media, including showing her own face.
  • Explore and nurture her creativity, inspired by Laryssa’s proud creative identity. “I want to explore that in myself because I don’t see myself as a creative person, even though I think I am.” (10:11)

5. Podcast Goals & Community Engagement

• After a Major Rebrand:
  • The podcast recently underwent a rebranding, and now the hosts want to “recalibrate.” (13:18)
• Fostering Listener Community:
  Liz: “I really want to engage the followers more and the listeners...it would be amazing to just have a little bit more listener feedback.” (13:34)
• Cross-Promotion & Guests :
  Laryssa suggests revisiting the idea of cross-promoting with their own communities and bringing in guest experts only as topics truly require them. (14:20)
• Fun, Small Goals:
  Add intro music to the podcast—a lighter, creative task. (15:38)

6. Strategies & Tips for Healthy Goal Setting

1. Start with Clarity
   • Define goals with specificity and authenticity.
   • Liz: “Start with clarity...don’t want to pressure yourself. You want goals really rooted in your values and goals that feel authentic and make sense for your business, not something...you feel like you should have.” (16:08)
2. Make Goals Specific & Measurable
   • Laryssa: “In the past, I’d make very general goals, like, ‘I want to grow my business.’ Okay. What does that mean?” (16:52)
   • Liz: “The goal should be measurable too...doesn’t just need to be financial goals...you can have very meaningful goals as well.” (17:13)
3. Consider a Life Matrix
   • Set intentions for various aspects: intellectual, physical, spiritual, relational, financial, to maintain holistic balance. (17:28)
4. Break Down Into Repeatable Actions
   • Dismantle big goals into smaller, actionable steps—monthly or weekly.
   • Liz: “Having a big financial goal for the year isn’t super helpful. But if you break it down into months...it feels easier to digest.” (18:09)
5. Regular Check-Ins
   • Quarterly is recommended, but Laryssa admits she needs even more frequent reviews to avoid drifting. (18:48)
6. Write It Down
   • Liz’s actionable takeaway: “Like, write down your goals. Like, that is my goal. I’m going to do it as soon as we are done recording.” (19:25)
7. Track What Moves the Needle
   • Try to observe which actions make a tangible difference, even if the pathways aren’t always obvious. (19:39)
8. Let Goals Evolve
   • “You don’t need to carve them in stone...It’s important to be flexible.” (20:09)
   • Laryssa: “Sometimes we get so stuck on a goal...it’s like, no, sometimes it needs to change, sometimes it needs to evolve.” (20:11)
9. Celebrate Small Wins
   • Acknowledge and record weekly achievements, no matter how minor.
   • Liz: “On Fridays, what was my win for the week? Jot it down or say it out loud.” (20:31)
   • Laryssa: “That’s a lesson that you taught me at some point...I don’t do that enough and I’m just brutal on myself.” (20:46)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (by Timestamp)

• “There’s this energy...you can really shape ahead of you. It is kind of like you’re starting over, you’re starting fresh.”
  — Laryssa (04:21)
• “Just the number of events, you know, magical moments and craft shows...it was a lot, but I did it.”
  — Liz (03:19)
• “My biggest 2025 goal was to get really involved in the Asheville creative community. And I think I did that.”
  — Liz (09:11)
• “One week I’ll be, like, having a meltdown...and then the next week, I’ll be like, I got this.”
  — Laryssa (12:38)
• “I really want to engage the followers more and the listeners...it would be amazing to just have a little bit more listener feedback.”
  — Liz (13:34)
• “Start with clarity...you want goals really rooted in your values and goals that feel authentic and make sense for your business.”
  — Liz (16:08)
• “You can have very meaningful goals as well.”
  — Liz (17:13)
• “You don’t need to carve them in stone...It’s important to be flexible.”
  — Liz (20:09)
• “Create small wins to stay motivated. I like checking out some small wins every week.”
  — Liz (20:31)
• “That’s a lesson that you taught me at some point in the journey of this podcast because I don’t do that enough and I’m just brutal on myself.”
  — Laryssa (20:47)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:58 — Introduction to goal setting episode and its importance after the holidays
• 03:19 — Navigating the overwhelm of December and post-holiday downtime
• 07:01 — Personal and business goals for 2025 reviewed
• 08:19 — Liz’s push for more sustained business promotion & Liz’s social media intentions
• 10:11 — Liz’s personal desire to explore her own creativity
• 11:04 — Letting go of and adjusting goals during business pivots
• 13:18 — Podcast rebrand and shifting community strategy for 2026
• 16:08 — Step-by-step tips for goal setting that sticks
• 19:25 — Importance of writing down goals; practical accountability for 2026
• 20:31 — Celebrating small wins and self-kindness in the journey

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In Summary

Laryssa and Liz use their real-life experiences as both jewelry industry marketers and business owners to illustrate the heart and hurdles of goal setting. Their advice is grounded in practical reality—emphasizing clarity, measurability, and flexibility—while never losing sight of the emotional swings and surprise pivots that come with entrepreneurship. Their approach turns the daunting process of annual planning into a dynamic, life-enriching practice.

If you're looking for grounded, expert advice on setting and actually reaching your goals (while staying sane), this episode offers both inspiration and actionable wisdom for the year ahead.

Transcript

[Liz]

Welcome to the Success With Jewelry Podcast. Your go to source for real conversations about business marketing and what it actually takes to succeed as a jewelry brand.

[Larissa]

Today I'm Larissa, the strategist, systems queen and the one who finds joy in turning big marketing challenges into step by step plans that actually work. Email marketing and generating revenue through it is a specialty of my agency, Joy.

[Liz]

Joya and I'm Liz, your creative compass and advocate for designers doing things differently. I live for brilliant brand storytelling, beautiful visuals and helping designers confidently show up and shine. I founded the Stay Gold Collective to create community and support for independent jewelry brands.

[Larissa]

Together we bring you nearly two decades of jewelry marketing experience and on this podcast we're pulling back the curtain on everything we've learned. Whether you're just starting out or scaling to your next big milestone, you'll get honest insights, helpful tips and maybe a few giggles along the way.

[Liz]

This is episode 155. Happy New Year. It's 2026. Today we're talking about goals. I can't believe it. But today we're talking about goals. Our own goals, our goals for the podcast and what it actually looks like to set intentions that feel aligned, realistic and supportive of your jewelry business. We're diving into how we approach goal setting individually with what we hope to create and grow with success with jewelry and strategies we've learned that help keep goals doable rather than overwhelming. If you've ever set a big goal and then felt stuck, lost momentum, or didn't know where to begin, this episode will help you rethink the process in a way that feels grounded and sustainable.

[Larissa]

Let's get into it. Can't believe we got to 2026. Good work.

[Liz]

We did it. We made it through the holiday season and we're here with a new year and time to start all over again.

[Larissa]

Yeah, but I think you mentioned in a recent episode, Liz, that you like the reset because it kind of makes you feel like more motivated to rethink things and start over and have like a clean slate.

[Liz]

I'm hoping it the fresh start helps me feel good about selling again like my own services. We'll get into to my goals a bit more. But I think that the holidays you get very consumed by your client work and obviously like your client successes and that final push towards the end of the year and all the things that pop up in that. So it is nice to kind of be able to like one put together an exciting new strategy for clients.

[Larissa]

But also your own stuff too. Mm, yeah, definitely. And I think a lot of what? One thing a lot of people leave out of this equation, the end of the year is, like, there's so much personal stuff happening, too. I mean, maybe you have a lot of family stuff going on, or you just have a lot of feelings about the holidays, or it's just, like, a busy time of year. And it's so hard to balance this, like, business chaos, business transition with all, like, the personal things at the same time.

[Liz]

It's so busy. Just the number of events and, you know, magical moments and craft shows and things that I had to go through and go to in December. It was a lot, but I did it, and it was enjoyable. But it's just a lot of things, and it's not a bad thing. It just makes it harder to think, have the brain space to think about business.

[Larissa]

Absolutely. Yeah. So important episode today.

[Liz]

Yeah. So we're talking about goals, obviously, because it's the new year and we're back, and we need to think forward. We need to have a plan. But so, in general, Larissa, how do you typically relate to goal setting?

[Larissa]

I love the same way as you. I love the new year as, like, a clean slate and a chance to, like, sit down and do my goals. Like, it's a time. I think we all need a time to, like, feel hopeful.

[Liz]

And, like, the new year.

[Larissa]

Now, the new year is a good time for that. I don't know. There's, like, this energy. There's this, like, time and space that you can really shape ahead of you. And it is kind of like you're starting over, you're starting fresh. And for me, that mindset does help me get excited and hopeful and, like, more visionary or whatever you want to call it. Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah, I. I feel that, definitely.

[Larissa]

But also, I think that it's so.

[Liz]

Tough in January to be thinking about, like, renewal. I was talking to my therapist about this, but just winter for me. And I know you are in a warm and sunny place, so it's less of an issue. But it is so dark and cold. I'm wondering how long I can leave my holiday lights up because it brings that small bit of joy when it's so dark.

[Larissa]

But I have been there. I mean, I've lived that life, so I know. I know what that's like. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Do you find, though, maybe this is just me, and I don't know if this applies to other people, but there tends to be, like, a lull, like, a quiet at the beginning of January because a lot of people, like, aren't Quite ready to go back to work. And I think that's the part that makes me feel like I have the brain space to, like, think about things.

[Liz]

I think same. I agree with that. I feel like at a certain point in January and sometimes even February, people are like, we gotta get a. We don't have a plan. We gotta get a plan like, Liz, help me. Um, but for the first bit, it does kind of feel like a little bit slower. And this year, I won't be doing any trade shows in February, which is unique from the past few years. So there's less of that push and that. That rush as well.

[Larissa]

That's so true. I didn't think about that because the past few years, your January was a lot of planning just for that. So you'll have.

[Liz]

And I'm not going to Tucson. I know a lot of designers have either Tucson or a February trade show on the horizon right now. And that's a push. You gotta. You gotta be on it. Be outreaching. You have to be outreaching right now. But if you're not doing those things, then there is this kind of time that you can take to reflect and set goals moving forward on your business for everyone else. Maybe it's after you get through some of these big things you have planned.

[Larissa]

Absolutely.

[Liz]

So, Larissa, do you have or are you willing to share some of your goals for this year?

[Larissa]

Yes. Do you want them to be personal, business or both? Because I'm thinking off the fly, like, what I want to share. Okay. More personally, one of my goals for 2025 was to play tennis pretty regularly. So, like, at least once a week, either meet up with, like, my tennis friend or play with Jordan, who's gotten into tennis. And also because I knew I wanted to travel more to, like, Spanish speaking countries, I was really trying to commit to, like, doing conversations, Spanish practice every week, which I had never done before this year. So those were two personal ones. And then for business. Well, what did I want to do? A big goal for me for my business was to commit more to, like, direct sales outreach and more consistently. So like always in past years, um, I would kind of do it on and off. Like, based on how busy the time of year was, I would do, like, cold outreach. And I just wanted to be more consistent with it this year. Like, make sure every week I was hitting, like, a certain number of touch points for my business.

[Liz]

Those are great.

[Larissa]

I want to.

[Liz]

One of my big. My main business goal for this year is to promote my business more frequently. Like, consistently have a plan to do that. I feel like I haven't done that in years past. Recently, I've kind of gone through phases of like, oh, in March, I'm promoting the things that you can we. How we can work together and the services I provide but then, like, skip the whole summer and then come back to it. And I just want to be really consistent. And it's hard because it's so. You have to be so repetitive. And sometimes it's like, why I feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over again. Another big goal for myself is to. To show my face on social media again.

[Larissa]

Yeah. Are these goals for 2026 or these were from 2025 that you were working on? What were your 2025 goals?

[Liz]

So some of this. I think my biggest 2025 goal was to get really involved in the Asheville creative community. And I think I did that, like, just to get more, like, lean more deeply into local. And I want to continue that as well. But really for 2026, I think it's focusing again on my business and promoting.

[Larissa]

The services I offer. Yeah. Very cool. Do you break that down into smaller chunks? Like, do you have, like. Okay, this week, every week, I want to do like, xyz.

[Liz]

I do have some things rolling around in my head.

[Larissa]

Yeah.

[Liz]

But I need to write them down.

[Larissa]

I need to be.

[Liz]

I am very professional, but I need to be that way in marketing my own business. I need to treat my own business the way I treat my clients businesses. So that makes sense. No, I don't, but I. I'm going to.

[Larissa]

But it's so early in the year. You have time, you.

[Liz]

I have time. I guess I have time. And then personally, I really have been. And this is a nugget of an idea. I don't have, like, a strong personal goal that I could put out there just yet, but from our interviews, when you so confidently described yourself as a creative person, I want to explore that in myself because I don't see myself as a creative person, even though I think I am. So I want to explore creativity for myself.

[Larissa]

I really like that. That's awesome. I think that's cool. We should all be on a personal exploration.

[Liz]

Yes. Are there any goals that you've let.

[Larissa]

Go of intentionally or accidentally?

[Liz]

Intentionally?

[Larissa]

Wow, that's a really good question. I don't know if there are any I've fully let go of, but there were definitely things in 2025 that evolved and changed. Like, as the year took shape and changed, I would say 2025 in general was such A year of transition for me, because, like, halfway through with my business, we niched into, like, email marketing, and that was not something I had in my head in January 2025. So, obviously, there were a lot of things I had to, like, pivot and sh. Um, and it's cool to let yourself be like, surprised in that way, too, because, like, who knows what's gonna happen?

[Liz]

It's such a. I. I've been feeling it. Towards the end of last year, I was feeling it really hard. Just the, you know, the entrepreneur's journey of the, like, crazy graph where you're, like, up and down and, like, spinning around, and it's like, that's all in this morning. That's how you felt, or that's, like, the roller coaster you went on. And I've been feeling that so hard. I would love to find some sort of consistency, like, be, you know, and find some sort of balance for myself, because I agree, 2025 was a pivot for me a little bit, too, and it was just a wild year. I mean, I'm hoping 2026 is a bit more straightforward.

[Larissa]

I don't know. I can relate to what you're saying about, like, the roller coaster, because for me, I mean, maybe it's just, like, hormonal or something. It could be one week I'll be, like, having a meltdown and think everything's just, like, awful and whatever, and then the next week, I'll be like, I got this. Like, I'm good. Like, I'm focused.

[Liz]

Yeah. Yep, Definitely. It's part of the journey. So for the podcast. For our podcast, what. What are we. What are our goals for our podcast this year?

[Larissa]

Well, we recently rebranded, which was very cool. That was such a big. I mean, it wasn't crazy challenge, but it was such a big project. I think that we haven't really recalibrated after that to, like, okay, now what are we gonna, like, do?

[Liz]

It's. What's our next thing? I really want to show up. I really want to engage the followers more and the listeners. I. I think that. Yeah, I feel like we've said this before, but how can. And we have some activity, like our insiders, they'll chat with us, and I love that, and I love hearing their feedback. But we have a great online presence, and I would love to engage every. And we have a great listener base. All of you listening.

[Larissa]

Thank you.

[Liz]

But I'd love to, like, chat with you more, hear from you more, or engage you more, because, you know, it's very much just, you And I talking to each other, which, of course, that's the podcast that we're doing, which is great, but it would be amazing to just have a little bit more listener feedback.

[Larissa]

Yes. There was also a early conversation that we had. I can't remember if it was in the summer or earlier than that, about doing more cross promotion with, like, our own communities too. And, I mean, I. I had to pivot in other ways, and a lot of that personally, for me, got put on hold, so we never revisited it. But maybe for 2026, that's another thing to. To come back to.

[Liz]

Yeah, I totally forgot about that whole strategy conversation we had.

[Larissa]

A lot of things happened since then, and I have not been ready to revisit it either, so.

[Liz]

Yeah. But otherwise, I think kind of just keep. We're gonna keep trying to put out great content and have great conversations. Yeah. And maybe bring in guests. I think we've kind of decided we're gonna not lean on guests as much or do as many guest interviews, but, you know, when the right ones come along, we'll definitely do that. Or we have an idea for a topic where we need a different expert to come join us. We'll definitely do that. And then I think another goal we should have is to add some music to our little intro.

[Larissa]

Yes. We've talked about this as well.

[Liz]

We have. I think that we should put that.

[Larissa]

On our list when you mentioned guests. So if you're not an insider in today's insider episode, I'm going to tell a story about someone that pitched me to be a guest on this podcast that we've actually talked about on this podcast. So I'll tell you in the insider episode, Liz.

[Liz]

Oh, man.

[Larissa]

Intrigue.

[Liz]

So much intrigue.

[Larissa]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So I'm excited for that. But before then, let's get into some tips for goal setting. So, yeah, everyone listening can walk away with some actionable information. But first off, and I feel like this is a tip I need to take, but start with clarity, so get really clear about what those goals are. And I think I. I have clarity in, like, a broad brushstroke, but I don't think I have clarity into your point, Larissa. Of, like, those, like, smaller actions I need to take. But you don't want to pressure yourself. You want goals really rooted in your values and goals that feel authentic and make sense for your business, not something that's, like, you feel like you should have this type of goal. Yes.

[Larissa]

They should be really, really specific, too. I would, in the past, make, like, very general goals, like I want to grow my business. Okay. What does that mean? Like that could mean so many things. So nailing down like a number, a time frame, whatever. A specific outcome.

[Liz]

Yeah. The goal should be measurable too. So there's something that you can kind of track and check back in on. And they. It doesn't just need to be financial goals, so it doesn't just need to be numbers. You can have very meaningful goals as well.

[Larissa]

Yeah, definitely. One thing, one tip I learned once. Now I'm gonna have to try to remember this all off the top of my head, but doing kind of like this matrix where you set a goal for like intellectual, physical, like spiritual, relationship wise, like financial, blah, blah, blah. And thinking about your whole self, like as a person, not just, oh, I'm a business owner or I'm this, but trying to kind of COVID every aspect of your life with one goal because that will help you stay grounded in like work, life, balance too.

[Liz]

Mm. And breaking your goals down into simple, repeatable actions. Not like a massive idea like. And I think an example would be having a big financial goal for the year isn't super helpful. But if you break it down into months and also break it down into number of pieces you need to sell, it feels easier to digest and easier to take action to meet that goal.

[Larissa]

Definitely.

[Liz]

Also build check ins instead of waiting till the end of the year. So maybe it's quarterly. I think quarterly is a great time frame to check in with your goals.

[Larissa]

I personally have to do it way more often than that because I just like go off the rails real fast. Quarterly is, I'll look at my goal sheet and be like, wow, that fell off the rails like six weeks ago.

[Liz]

@ least you have a goal sheet again. Like everything I'm doing for my own personal business, not for my clients. My clients are very organized. But everything for my own personal business is just like living in my.

[Larissa]

Head. Which is crazy. I really remember all of that. That's impressive to me. I don't, I can't like remember these.

[Liz]

Things. Well, I mean, I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but that's like a really actionable goal for me is like write down your goals. Like that is my goal. I'm going to do it as soon as we are done.

[Larissa]

Recording. Yeah, I like.

[Liz]

That. So you also want to track what actually moves the needle in your business and what doesn't. And sometimes you don't really know. Sometimes it's a feeling. Or like, oh, it could be this thing, or this thing seems to be working. It's hard to draw an exact line these days to what efforts are moving the needle, but that is something to.

[Larissa]

Track. And then just let your goals.

[Liz]

Evolve. Even if you do write them down, you don't need to carve them in stone. So it doesn't need to be.

[Larissa]

Something that you can't.

[Liz]

Change. It's important to be.

[Larissa]

Flexible. I think that might be the most important piece of advice, because sometimes we get so stuck on a goal, especially if you're a type A and you're like, I must make this happen. And it's like, no, sometimes it needs to change, sometimes it needs to evolve. And you, like you said, need to be flexible with.

[Liz]

That. And the last thing I'll say is create small wins to stay motivated. I like checking out some small wins every week. So on Fridays, what was my win for the week? Jot it down or say it out.

[Larissa]

Loud?

[Liz]

Yeah. But yeah, thinking about small wins is.

[Larissa]

Helpful. That's a lesson that you taught me at some point in the journey of this podcast because I don't do that enough and I'm just brutal on.

[Liz]

Myself. I thought it's something I was reflecting on at the end of last year was just, why am I so hard on.

[Larissa]

Myself?

[Liz]

Yeah. So expect a weekly text from me asking you about your small.

[Larissa]

Wins. I'll be like, no, this was terrible. I did so bad this.

[Liz]

Week. Nope, won't accept it. Just talking about.

[Larissa]

Wins. Love.

[Liz]

It. All right, everyone, do you have goals for the year ahead? Let us know. Visit successwithjori.com and if you love the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a message or leave us a review. Thanks for being a part of our.