Episode 71: The Heart of Business Planning with Kenny Gong

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Kenny

Hello and welcome to The Thoughtful Realtor Podcast. This is a podcast where we sit down for insights, stories, and conversations about all things real estate, running a real estate team here in California, and how we find our way as leaders and business partners. I'm Kenny Gong, one of the founders and partners of Willowmar Real Estate.

Today's episode is a one-on-one, just between you and me, all about setting up the new year for success. At the end of every year, we take our whole team through a business planning process. It's a chance to reflect on the past year and both imagine and strategize the upcoming year. And I also love creating space to think about our lives more holistically.

As a team, we're already making our way through our new year business plans, but I thought it would be fun and hopefully useful to you to share some of the major elements of how we structure our planning. A business plan is never just about business, it's about energy, relationships, and what kind of life this work is actually supporting. So today I wanna take you through the three levels we use when we plan: high level reflections, mid-level intentions, and low level execution.

So part one, high level, starting with the inner world before numbers, before strategies, before goals, we always start with how we want to live, grow, and show up. The first area we look at is what I call our core fuel. What actually energizes us? What drains us? What values do we want this business to express? Because if your business plan ignores your internal world, it will eventually work against it. This is where we name things like creativity, connection, spaciousness, integrity, and impact – not as branding words, but as design constraints. How should this business feel to operate? How should it feel to be inside of it?

From there, we move into learning and growth. What skills are calling to be developed this year? Where are we being invited to mature and what edges of ourselves need attention? We even bring in personal development frameworks because the truth is your business rarely outgrows your self leadership.

Then we center relationships and collaboration, not just clients, but team members, partners, family, friends, and community. We ask, what kind of relationships do you wanna strengthen this year? What kind of energy do I wanna bring into the rooms that I'm a part of, and what kind of leader or collaborator do I wanna be? Because connection isn't a byproduct of success. It truly, truly is the foundation of it.

We also spend time defining what an abundant year really means. Of course, there are financial goals, but we also talk about time freedom, creative fulfillment, nervous system, calm, and depth of impact. Because success that only shows up on a spreadsheet is usually hiding a cost somewhere else.

And finally, we explicitly plan for wellbeing and recharge. Health. Energy. Rest. Rhythms. We talk about the practices and boundaries that make sustainability possible because burnout is truly not a business model that we wanna be a part of. All of this eventually gets distilled into a very simple personal "why". Not a mission statement, but an anchor. The reason this work matters, the reason the hard days are worth it.

Part two: mid-level, from values to direction. Once we have a foundation that is clear, we move into strategy. This is where reflection becomes focus. We ask questions like, "What single skill, habit, or mindset if developed would most elevate this year? Where did our best clients come from this last year, and how can we intentionally grow those sources instead of chasing new ones, the shiny objects? What consistent weekly actions truly move the business forward? What feels messy or heavy? And what systems would truly bring relief? What big projects are asking to be built and what rooms or trainings would stretch us?"

From there, we identify just a couple of big intentions for the year. Not a massive list, not 20 goals, but a small number of directional commitments that everything else can align behind. This layer gives the year a sort of skeleton and spine. It clarifies what we're really saying yes to and what we're willing to stop doing and say no to.

And then part three: the low level, turning intention into rhythm. Only after that do we move into execution. This is where our accountability scorecards come in, the metrics, the quarterly goals. We design accountability around feedback, not pressure. We ask what few behaviors, if done consistently, would make this quarter successful regardless of outcomes. What can we track weekly that keeps us grounded and proactive and honest with ourselves? And we shape our first quarter goals to be very clear and very realistic using our annual intentions, our numbers, and our actual capacity as reference points. This is where intention becomes lived reality, not through one big push, but through small repeatable actions.

So one of the biggest lessons that planning has taught me is this, the quality of your year is rarely determined by one big decision. It's shaped by the questions you ask, the standards you set, and the rhythms that you return to. Your business plan doesn't need to feel rigid. It doesn't need to feel heavy. It could be a living document, a mirror, a compass.

So as you step into this new year, whether you're building a real estate business, whether you're in a different kind of career, or whether you're even starting a new chapter, I'd invite you to reflect on a few things. What actually gives you life? What season are you in, and what kind of person do you wanna be while doing this work? From there, strategy becomes clear, and execution becomes also clear as well.

And with that, we've reached the end of this short and sweet one-on-one episode. Let us know how you're setting up your new year for success, and also if you would be curious to see our business plan as a document to work from. We are happy to share.

You can find us on Instagram @willowmar__, that is W-I-L-L-O-W-M-A-R under underscore, and you can DM us directly. And if you haven't already, please hit that subscribe button and leave us a review. We love reading each one of your reviews and always appreciate when you also share the love.

Thank you so much for listening, and until next time, bye.