We have arrived at the newest edition of the Kindred Planner – the 2025 Kindred Planner. Almost.

The fifth version of the Kindred Planner, and (in my totally unbiased opinion) the best yet. Why? Because every year, I have learned something new about the business and this product. I have learned what has and hasn’t worked, the sticky points and the aspects that should never go away.

Why will it be the best yet? Because you help me make it the best. With every feedback, review, and comment shared, I better know what the community beyond myself needs or is missing.

So in honor of this fifth version and of September’s end of month question of looking back at our stories, let’s look at five key moments of each past planner.

one – the 2019-2020 Academic Kindred Planner

Yep, once upon a time there was an academic Kindred Planner to help our friends who are permanently on that September to August yearly rhythm. It was printed locally in Boston, at a shop I could visit in person, had perfect binding (so it blended nicely with your books), and was pure white (for all those creative to decorate on). It also did not stay open when you wrote inside of it and for the non-neutral people, was a little dull.

Lesson: give the proofs a solid test run before sending all versions to print.

two – the 2020 Kindred Planner

Needless to say, the not able to lay flat, was a problem. So I quickly pivoted to a spiraled version for the 2020 Kindred Planner and that has stuck ever since. Color was added to the cover and complimented the simple gold foiled title on the planner cover.

This was also the first time the Kindred Planners went to a market – the IF Gathering in Dallas (thanks to a kind friend who put in a good word for me and the event coordinator). Full of women who rallied alongside each other, it was an overall incredible experience. It was also wildly overwhelming. I distinctly remember cry calling a friend at the venue because I felt frozen with imposter syndrome. My team and I rallied through and sold so many planners. We also had many more left that I had to ship home to Boston, read: $$$$$$

Lesson: dream big and take things slow – those two are not mutually exclusive. Also, people like the Kindred Planner.

three – the Simple Kindred Planner

To be perfectly honest, the Simple Planner was a trial solution to the problem of having dated products. AKA products that have an expiration or shelf life, which if not sold out would end up living on my basement shelves for many years.

They have* all the same components of the dated Kindred Planners in how they were designed to incorporate reflection alongside planning. However, incorporated a more task list weekly design, which for all the long to-do list type people, was perfect.

Yet, they did not do as well as I had expected. I thought having an undated planner would give the non-planner people a low-risk opportunity to try out a planner because they could pick it up whenever they needed. But this also meant people could hold onto the same undated planner for years. Good for the planet, not great for sales.

Lesson: focus on the target audience, maybe I’m just a “for planner people” brand.

*have or more like had as we’re almost sold out of the Simple Kindred Planner without plans to restock

four – the 2023 Kindred Planner

This is the year we sold out. Unexpectedly. And it was a great feeling. Actually, better than great. It was freeing. I loved the accomplishment I felt and the freedom to know I did not have to stress about trying to sell inventory quickly as January 1st rolled around. I was honored so many people picked up the planner, and many were outside my circles of influence and from outside networks.

It was also the first year I truly committed to a launch strategy, building up the anticipation for customers. We changed the covers to incorporate a more design feel and used colors that were not in the traditional Kindred color brand. It clearly worked.

Lesson: the anticipation is just as important as the launch and don’t be afraid to try new things

five – the 2024 Kindred Planner

This was the year I more or less copied and pasted what I did with 2023, but with some obvious changes to the 2024 planner (like the dates, of course.). We changed the cover colors again, did a whole launch month and joined holiday gift guides. I ordered more inventory because we sold out so fast last year.

Yet, I was not met with the same results. Granted there were some missteps with printing which delayed launch dates and market possibilities. However, I was generally left confused as to what went wrong.

This was the year that I walked away feeling like maybe this was financially not mathing anymore and a shift was needed.

Lesson: don’t get comfortable, keep learning.

And now, the 2025 Kindred Planner.

Coming into this planner launch, I knew I needed to take the lessons learned and put it into this launch:

• Order the proofs and make sure they are exactly I want them to be
• Remember people actually like this planner and move at a manageable speed – this might mean less content, but quality content
• Focus on the target audience – connect with the people who are already in the community and their networks
• Build anticipation and invite people into it – I don’t need to be secretive about what we’re doing over here.
• Try new things – and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

I’m not going to execute this perfectly, but I am excited to enter into this 2025 Kindred Planner launch. And to see this part of the Kindred & Co. story unfold.

Year 5 and Kindred Planner edition 5, here we come!

What are you excited for about this launch? And, if you’re already pumped, click here to join the launch party list where more of these behind the scenes info and sneak peeks will be emailed out each week until October 16th! 👀