📣 Hey there !

Here’s What You Missed in Our November 28 Strategy Meeting…

If you weren’t able to join us live — this was one of those sessions that made everyone rethink their systems, workflows, pricing AND how they’re stepping into 2026.

It was part strategic planning, part comedy hour, part tech therapy… and absolutely worth sharing with you.

Here are the biggest takeaways (and the moments we’re still laughing about).

🚀 1. 2026 Starts Now — Not January

We kicked things off with a full Event Ecosystem Planning audit:

your tech, tools, templates, automations and workflows.

Because if your foundation is shaky, your events will be too.

Everyone agreed:

No more “new year, new chaos.” We’re simplifying BEFORE January hits.

Reflect: What’s one thing you can organize now that your future self will high-five you for?

⚙️ 2. Tools & Automations Need a Reality Check

We reviewed CRMs, email platforms, registration tools, and workflows to see what’s actually working — and what’s just… sitting there.

And in case you need a laugh:

Elle’s AI assistant Frederick is apparently “too direct” with people who aren’t prospects.

(Gotta admire the confidence.)

Reflect: Are the tools you’re paying for actually doing anything for you?

✨ 3. Simplicity Wins — Overcomplication Is a Silent Profit Killer

A simple 3-step automation usually beats a 19-step “masterpiece.”

We realized a LOT of unnecessary complexity has crept into our systems.

Christopher summed it up:

“Most of our problems are self-inflicted.”

Ouch. True.

Reflect: What’s one workflow you could simplify this month?

📁 4. Templates Are the Real Time-Savers

We talked asset libraries:

emails, speaker materials, registration pages, graphics — the whole ecosystem.

If you build them once, you use them forever.

If you never build them… you keep starting from scratch. (Ask us how we know.)

Reflect: What template would save you HOURS if you built it this week?

🗓️ 5. Planning 2026 Early = A Massive Competitive Advantage

From event dates to promo windows to content cycles, we outlined why top-tier entrepreneurs map the entire year before January.

Ericka already completed her 2026 calendar in October.

Christopher has January emails done.

Elle’s going quarterly structure for the first time ever.

Reflect: What would your business look like if you entered January with total clarity?

💸 6. Value Leaks & Pricing — Big Lessons Here

Elle explained her new financial advisory model and introduced the “loss gap funnel” —

that space between being technically cleared and actually ready.

In sports, this costs millions.

In our businesses, it costs impact + income.

We also dove into value-based pricing — charging for outcomes, expertise, and SPEED, not hours on the clock.

Reflect: Where is YOUR business leaking value?

🔁 7. Repurposing: The Most Repetitive Task That Needs Automation

Everyone admitted the same truth:

repurposing is the thing we do the most… and automate the least.

Ericka stressed the non-negotiable:

If you don’t have transcripts, you don’t have content.

Reflect: How strong is your repurposing system?

📌 What’s Next? Our Group Commitments

Here’s what we’re doing — feel free to borrow these for your own business:

✔ Full tech/tool audits before 2026

✔ Template library buildout

✔ Q1 planning finished BEFORE January

✔ Simplifying any workflow that gives “spaghetti energy”

✔ Setting event calendars early

✔ Automating repurposing once and for all

✨ Final Thought

This meeting reminded us that clarity is a choice.

Systems are a choice.

Structure is a choice.

And walking into 2026 with a plan?

That’s the easiest way to create momentum, reduce chaos, and stay profitable all year long.

What’s one strategic shift YOU’RE making before the new year?

Hit reply and tell me — I’d love to celebrate it with you. 💛

Well, that's it for November / My Birthday Month. See you in December.

*Keep Moving Forward !

Ericka Bates

Talk Virtual

The Virtual Summiteers Peer Group