Episode 149. Hi, I’m Cheryl Lau (Part 3): Next Steps & Planning My Thought Leadership Strategy

In this 3-part series, I’ll be sharing 1) My career journey, 2) My thought leadership & business journey, and 3) My vision and plans for the next 1-3 years. This episode will specifically dive into my next steps and how I’m planning my thought leadership strategy.

In This Episode:

Who I want to be
What I want to be known for
My 2024 goals
What success looks like for me in the next 1-3 years
Where is my biggest work?
The Thought Leadership Club
Three things I hope will become a reality in the near future

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How I’m Planning My Thought Leadership Strategy

Prefer to listen to this episode on YouTube?

Today’s episode is the final part of a three-part series.

In Part 1, I shared about my career journey thus far.

In Part 2, I shared about my business, entrepreneurship, and thought leadership journey thus far.

In this episode, I’ll be sharing with you who I am working on becoming, what I’m working on becoming known for, my 2024 goals, what I will need in place to make my 2024 goals happen, what success looks like for me in the next 1-3 years and where my biggest work lies, such as the beliefs I need to let go, where are my biggest gaps or areas for improvements, and so on.

A LOT of fun stuff to talk about, so let’s dive right in.

Who I want to be

When I think about who I want to be and what kind of person I am becoming, my answer was clear as day. If you recall from Part 1 of this 3-part series, I shared with you about the values that guide my world view and how I support my clients. Essentially, they are my core values or guiding principles that shape how I see the world or make decisions.

And it was clear to me that the person I’m becoming, is still 100% going to embody these values. Because these values are so important to me, I would love to share them with you once again.

First: I believe in creating your own definition of success.

Specifically, I see this from three angles:

1) Sometimes, creating a life, career or business that you’re proud of, is not what others expect of or want from you. This means you have to stand firm when pursuing what you truly believe in and always take full responsibility for your decisions and actions.

2) It is okay if people don’t support you in the beginning. Stay committed to your vision and goals.

3) Ultimately, creating your dream life, career, and business is a choice you have to make. There’s no right or wrong. Just make a decision and move forward!

Second: There’s always another way. There are always options.

Exploring alternative paths, doing things differently, and always being open to untangling how our social conditioning has shaped our thinking, is essential to creating a life, career, and business you’re truly proud of.

When we’re able to approach our work and also the world at large from different perspectives, it opens up so many more avenues for our goals and also opportunities we never could have imagined.

Third: Being sincere, genuine, and kind. Always.

Don’t assume you know what someone should or shouldn’t do, or make blanket judgments about someone simply based on one piece of information. There’s so much we don’t know about each other.

Every person has their own set of lived experiences, values, and beliefs. Be respectful and be genuinely curious about hearing their story. There’s so much to learn about any single person and there’s even more we can learn from one another 🙂

My sincerest wish for myself is that as I continue to build my own 1-3 year dreams and I will always ground back to my values no matter what.

Now, I’d like to talk about what I want to become known for moving forward.

What I want to be known for

Right now, I have the vision to amplify my message of: “You can build a body of work to create opportunities in the next 1-3 years.”

My body of work created opportunities I never would have expected for myself. It has attracted clients, speaking opportunities, press opportunities, friendships and connections, a podcast award, as well as my now full-time career as a coach.

Even more than that, building a body of work has not only given me career options when I needed them the most, it also allowed me to build a business, career, and life that I’m deeply proud of.

When I think about this as the vision I’m working towards, first, it’s important to me that I myself have a substantial body of work of my own. It’s already been a few years in the making, and I’m not planning to slow down anytime soon.

Second, I also see that there’s a number of skills and “muscles,” so to speak, that I want to build.

My plan is that over the next year or so, I will be making even more progress on the following:

The skill of consistently outputting quality pieces of content
The skill of presenting ideas in a way that my audience might not have considered before
The habit of writing daily
The skill of writing about topics from fresh new angles
The confidence to post on platforms I might be shy on (e.g. LinkedIn)
Making conscientious efforts to increase my visibility online
The resilience to keep going even if some content “flops”
The resilience to keep going even if someone disagrees or has something to say about my work
The audacity to keep going even if I’m doubting my own credentials and qualifications
The commitment to continuously uplevel my skill sets (e.g. further professional training, certifications, practicing and putting in the reps day after day, etc.)
The skill of stretching my own creativity and challenging myself to be more creative and expressive

These are the skillsets, mindsets, habits, or muscles I want to strengthen because I truly believe that building a body of work is an ongoing process. It doesn’t stop just because you posted 12 weekly podcast episodes in a row, right?

You also have to decide to start building your body of work today. The longer you put off putting in your thought leadership reps, the longer you’re delaying really awesome opportunities. The more you’re slowing down the compounding effect that could have been happening with each piece of content you create.

Overall, I want to be able to eventually show that because I’ve spent literally years curating a body of work, networking with leaders from all walks of life, building my own repertoire of skills and knowledge.

My goal is that, in 1-3 years time, I’ll be able to become a resource hub for helping people build thought leadership and their body of work.

Some other concepts or philosophies that I really believe in, which tie into this message of how you can build a body of work to create opportunities in the next 1-3 years, includes the following:

Thought leadership is a journey. You can’t become a thought leader overnight. You don’t immediately earn this title just because you got XYZ achievement.
You have to first decide to become a thought leader, and then continue to put in time and effort to actually build a body of work to start becoming a thought leader. Keep going until you fully see yourself as a thought leader.
Ultimately, I believe that thought leadership isn’t predicated on the quantity or prestige of your credentials. It’s about your thoughts and whether you build a compelling body of work with those brilliant thoughts, ideas, stories, etc.

Another thing I’ll be working on in the next few years in order to become known for this message is that I will continue to build my portfolio of amazing client case studies where I’ve supported each client in building a body of work, stepping into the identity of a thought leader, and attracting really cool opportunities because of their body of work.

My clients will come from all walks of life and have a range of professional backgrounds and experiences. The common thread among them is that they’re all building a thought leader career. This is also precisely why I launched The Thought Leader Club program this year in 2023, and I’m committed to continue supporting aspiring thought leaders through The Thought Leader Club for years to come.

Another way I will work towards my vision of becoming known for my message is that I will continue to grow my podcast, grow its reputation around the world, and build it into a go-to resource that people will recommend to their friends.

Essentially, I want my body of work to become a world-renowned resource for aspiring thought leaders.

This is the higher-level, overarching vision I have.

Now, I want to zone into what I see for 2024 and what I plan to work on in 2024 to make my 1-3 year dreams happen.

My 2024 goals

Goal 1: Get my podcast monthly downloads back to 1000-1200 per month.

It fell to 400-800 over the past 4 months → Get it to 1300+ per month by the end of 2024

Goal 2: Welcome 4-8 peeps for each of the next cohorts of The Thought Leader Club.

I’m planning to run a cohort from March to July 2024, and July to November 2024.

Other goals that are important to me

Making time on a monthly basis to draw/paint and read
Creating time and space for “Thinking Time / Pen & Paper Time” in my calendar every week
Adjusting my diet so I stop getting so much food comas → More energy and ideally lose weight
Travel to see family overseas and not stress out over “I need to be working”
I make dedicated efforts every month to grow my audience size on podcast, YouTube, email, and LinkedIn

For the first goal of growing my podcast monthly downloads, I will continue doing the following:

1 audio podcast on Spotify, iTunes, etc, a week
Which also means 1 YouTube video a week
Continue turning all existing episode scripts into both LinkedIn newsletters and blog posts on my website
Creating shorter LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram videos from the main video
An email on Wednesday to promote the new episode that came out on Monday

Also on my to do list for 2024 :

Optimize my Spotify show page
Review my show’s SEO (search engine optimization)
Create promo materials for future guests to use
Create more behind the scenes content (i.e. What I do as a podcaster, on Instagram, LinkedIn, email)
Enhancing my email newsletters
Create more “trendy” podcast video content
Pitch my podcast
I share how I plan to grow my podcast in 2024 in Episode 153: How I Plan to Grow My Podcast in 2024

For my second goal, which is to enrol 4-8 peeps in each upcoming cohort of The Thought Leader Club in 2024, my plan includes the following:

Start by writing emails (ex: 31 days of sales emails in January 2024) and practice my writing and marketing skills via email first → Then repurpose the emails into Instagram and LinkedIn content.
Plan out my podcast content for January and February 2024 so that it creates an experience that prompts people to join Thought Leader Club (March 2024 cohort).
Deliver an amazing first round of Thought Leader Club (November 2023 cohort) and do my best to ensure that everyone enjoys their experiences and learn the necessary skills or tools that will set them up for success.
For every launch or every few months, I need to do an evaluation of my launch and past few months’ content.

This is what I will zone in for 2024.

Now, let’s zoom out from my 2024 goals and take a look at the bigger, longer term vision. Specifically, what success looks like for me in the next 1-3 years.

What success looks like for me in the next 1-3 years

Generally speaking, success for me will look like

Seeing both internal and external evidence that I am doing something good in this world
Feeling proud of being someone who created these successes
Being proud of both the lifestyle and career I’ve built

More specific indicators of success for me in 2024 include:

Receiving a genuinely positive testimonial from each client who goes through The Thought Leader Club Program.
Each of the clients I sign on are truly a great fit, and we maintain a strong, positive relationship both during and after working together.
I make dedicated efforts every month to grow my audience size on the podcast, Instagram, email, and LinkedIn. I am posting consistently on each platform every week (or biweekly or monthly).
I like how I look.
I eat at pasta bars and go to cocktail bars on a weekly basis.
I am growing my body of work and building my thought leadership. My body of work is continuously growing in not just size and quantity, but also in terms of its depth and caliber.

As for the next 3 or so years, here’s what I’m thinking :

I can see The Thought Leader Club as being my flagship offer, but I feel like there’s something else too. Perhaps an e-book? A membership? I’m not sure at the moment. But I think there’s something there.
I can also see myself continuing to uplevel my skill sets via further education or training. Or perhaps it’s self studying via books and courses. I don’t exactly know what I want to be learning, but I want to immerse myself in a learning environment.
I want to continue writing academic papers with my ex-PhD supervisor. This is a skillset I love to use.
I want to produce my own reports and “research” without having to do a whole ass PhD. I also want to hire someone to analyze my data because I don’t want to do data analysis.
I will develop concepts and become known for a few of those concepts (i.e. Cheryl THEORY).
I want to start a monthly or quarterly blog. For example, I love reading https://stackedhomes.com/editorial/
I am regularly featured in the press, being invited to speak on stages, being invited to guest on podcasts, etc.
I am known not just for the work I do within my business, but also for my non-profit initiatives.
I learn from experts so I can curate quality information from outside of the coaching and marketing space.
I speak with more people from all walks of life and expertise so I can broaden my scope of awareness and knowledge, and hence level up my content skills.
I will be very aware of my diet and how I’m taking care of my body → Because honestly, having food comas every single day isn’t helpful at all. And also taking care of myself will help me quickly ground back to baseline if any shitty things come up.

I also have some other big dreams which, at the moment, feel far-fetched and I don’t know how I’ll make it happen. But I am keeping them within sight and am going to continue being open to opportunities that might pave way for them.

These dreams include:

Writing and publishing a book
Getting my podcast to rank on the podcast charts
Going from being a self-produced solopreneur podcast to a professionally produced podcast show. For example, I can record the podcast at a local podcast studio with all the fancy equipment, and have someone edit my video podcast so it’s more visually engaging to watch. My vision is to create a high-quality experience for my audience.

Where is my biggest work?

While I do have some big ass dreams and aspirations for the next 1-3 years, there’s undeniable “internal” or “identity” work that I have to do, besides just taking action and making a plan, that is necessary and will make the journey ahead easier.

At the moment, I can identify several thought patterns or beliefs that are coming up for me, that will likely take some time for me to work through, unbind and unwind from. It’s still a work in progress at the time of me recording this episode, but I think it will be fun to share them with you so you can get a peek into my thought process.

First, I occasionally struggle with thoughts like “People in a traditional career are doing better than me” or “so-and-so entrepreneur is doing better than me or making more money than me”.

In other words, I tend to use comparisons with both entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to negatively judge myself, my success, and my progress and make it feel like I’m behind in some way or that I’m not as good as others.

When I thought about what my work looks like here, I have a few ideas:

1) I can spend more time with the people I’m impacting.

For example, maybe I can do some pen and paper time to create new tools for my clients, or review a coaching call with a client to think about what further coaching I can offer the particular client. Alternatively, I could engage in more conversations with my audience members and try to see the world from their perspective.

2) I can also spend more time creating because more often than not, I’m very proud of what I create.

But of course, these are very external action-focused solutions.

Internally, there’s work to be done when it comes to how I see myself and my work.

Hopefully, I can share my growth and progress with this identity work soon, but for now, this is something I’m still exploring for myself. I’ll definitely report back on how it’s going when I see a shift.

Another area of work for me, especially in the next 1-3 years, is definitely how I also occasionally grapple with the thought of “Can my business really sustain me for years to come? Will I really be able to make enough money every year? Maybe I’m not making enough money.”

Here, I need to first sit my ass down and get clear on what my necessary baseline income is.

Although my business is generating a very comfortable income and allowing me to have a comfortable lifestyle, it is still important for me to actually sit down and look at my finances, which is something I avoid. This will help me with budgeting, general future planning, and also to identify where I need to make any spending adjustments in 2024.

My work here also includes recognizing that I am doing well, and that I am making sufficient income while living my dream lifestyle and having the optimal work-life schedule for myself. Because sometimes, I forget that I really am in such a great position, especially when I consider what the alternative is, which is being in a corporation and looking at what the typical start salary is.

I honestly don’t realize that, more often than not, depending on one’s field, they’re probably looking at like, I don’t know, a 2.5K increase per year, unless they get promoted or switch jobs. Or how it might take, who knows, like 5 years, to get to, let’s say, an 80K salary.

When it comes to thoughts of feeling like maybe I’m not making enough money, I have to recognize that I truly am in such a happy position, let alone a privileged position.

Particularly because I am married to a partner who has a stable corporate job and we have no children or dependents. Most of all, when I look at my husband and the hour he works, I’m just like, “No. Fuck that.” Lol.

But I do want to also acknowledge that if ever need be, I’m very, very, very open to getting a job. I know that if my business gets to a point where it can no longer support me, then I will have no problem looking for work.

That said, I am not going to shut down my business. I will proudly go back to side hustling because the work that I do in my business, on my podcast, matters so much to me.

The thing is, my current business, my current work/career, my current lifestyle, the impact I create both through my coaching and through my podcast, all of this was only possible because I’m now known for my unique thought leadership.

I’ve built a body of work that compels best-fit clients to work with me, and I’ve ultimately built a business and career that I’m so, so proud of. It matters to me, but it also matters to me that I help others do the same for themselves.

The Thought Leadership Club

This is why I really, really mean it when I say that I’d love to have you join me inside the next round of The Thought Leader Club – A 4-month weekly 1:1 and community program.

This is THE room to:

Start putting in the reps to create your thought leader career.
Build a body of work that lets you become known for your unique thought leadership, your story, and how amazing you are at what you do.
And ultimately set yourself up for making your 1-3 year dreams a reality.

Your thought leadership and body of work are what differentiates you from everyone else doing the exact same thing as you. And the thing is, you already know that you’re meant to be known for something.

Right now, you’re craving to show up bigger and bolder, both online and offline, in order to make a name for yourself, confidently speak on topics that matter to you, and attract clients and opportunities from all over the world.

When you look ahead at the next 1-3 years, you know there’s a “Next Level” version of you that wants to be seen and recognized, there is a version of you that is cooly confident, creative, and playful AF, speaks articulately with conviction, and is damn good at what you do,

People are captivated by your story
They love being in your audience and hearing your perspectives and ideas
They know that you’re THE person they NEED to work with, right now

Overall, you already know what you want to create and who you want to become in the next 1-3 years.

To do that, you know you’re going to need to start building the belief that your 1-3 year dreams ARE possible, developing the identity of someone who makes those dreams happen and taking aligned action to set yourself up for success.

The journey ahead will also require you to have the audacity to believe in your dreams and to start sparkling both online and offline.

Maybe your 1-3 year dreams are to attract really cool speaking opportunities or to set yourself up for a successful book launch or to sign best-fit clients for your coaching program or services. Or perhaps to grow an award-winning podcast, or facilitate workshops for organizations you care about or climb the corporate ladder… Or something else! Whatever it is you want to build, The Thought Leader Club is THE room to help you do exactly that.

Inside The Thought Leader Club, you will have a specific set of tools and frameworks as well as both 1:1 and group coaching, structure, and accountability to make this happen.

Your next step is to book a discovery call to chat about you joining us inside the Thought Leader Club. You can schedule a discovery call by first filling out a short application form on (www.cheryltheory.com/program). After you submit the form, you’ll get a link to book a discovery call.

Three things I hope will become a reality in the near future

Now that we are nearing the end of today’s conversation, I thought it’d be fun to share three more miscellaneous, non-work things about me that I really hope will become a reality in the near future:

1) I want to own a HUGE piece of artwork (doesn’t have to be luxury or expensive, it can be an affordable second hand painting, for example) that expresses the Cheryl Theory brand and energy

2) Another long term dream of mine is that I want to host in-person pen and paper parties regularly. I want to organize conferences. I want to own a physical co-working space that serves not just coffee but also really good cocktails. Put another way, I want to create more community events for others.

3) And finally, I’d love to make earrings at home. I LOVE earrings. I love looking at erring shops on Instagram. I love watching TikTok videos of people making clay earrings at home and watching the behind-the-scenes of their home made earrings business.

I love looking at bridal earrings too. Actually, I really, really, really love the extravagance of bridal earrings, but I wish there were more non-white bridal earrings. I wish there were earrings that had the elegance and extravagance of bridal earrings, but in colors.

So, that’s why one of my secret life ambitions is to learn to create earrings at home so I can bring this idea to life.

That is all from me for today. If you’re keen, please reach out to me either on Instagram, LinkedIn, or email to share with me what your 1-3 year dreams and plans are.

I’d love to have a conversation with you and learn more about what you’re up to and how you plan to bring your vision to life. So, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Thank you so much for tuning into Part 3 of our 3-part series. I really appreciate you for taking the time to listen to this episode, and I can’t wait to see you in the next one.

Sounds good? Awesome. Let’s get to work.