Welcome back to Hothouse š±
A hopeful, practical beginning to 2026
A new year always brings a surge of intention. And thatās no bad thing.
But the designers who will make the greatest progress in 2026 will not be the ones who start loudest in January. They will be the ones with a clear vision, a workable plan, and the discipline to keep showing up - week in, week out - for all 52 weeks of the year.
That is exactly what Hothouse exists to support.
At Recipe for a Room, everything rests on one simple cycle:
Declare. Design. Deliver.
Declare what you want with clarity.
Design a plan that makes it achievable.
Deliver through steady, consistent action.
If you are here, you are already playing the long game.
Welcome back, 2026 starts hereš
1. This Week's Blog
Ahead of the Hothouse 2026 Planning Event, Iāve shared a piece on vision boards as training rather than day-dreaming - a way to prepare for growth before it arrives. If youād like to start warming up for the year ahead, this is a great place to start. Read the blog here.
2. The Hothouse Planning Event
12ā16 January 2026 | Live online | 11.00amā12.00 noon (UK)
The most successful design practices have a business plan. If you want 2026 to be more than good intentions and hopeful momentum, this is for you.
The Hothouse 2026 Planning Event is a focused, five-day live online process designed to help you create a sketch business plan that genuinely drives growth - not a dusty document, but a living, working plan youāll actually use.
Each session is different and has a clear focus:
- Day One ā Vision & Values: Clarify what youāre building and why it matters
- Day Two ā Business Model & Priorities: Decide where your time and energy really belong
- Day Three ā Money & Metrics: Get clear on targets, pricing, and what success looks like in numbers
- Day Four ā Marketing & Visibility: Define how clients will actually find and choose you
- Day Five ā The 2026 Action Plan: Turn intention into a realistic, disciplined plan of action
The sessions run live on Zoom, one hour a day, with guidance, structure, and practical exercises. You can attend live, or catch up on the replays if needed.
š How to take part:
You need to be a member of Hothouse (itās free). Join here, and click on the āEventsā tab at the top of the group to find the link to join each session. Click āgoingā to give me a rough idea of numbers.
If youād like to start 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a plan that supports both your business and your life, Iād love you to join us.
3. The Things I learned last year
My business transformed in 2025 - its second year of operations. Last week I shared the actions I took and the mindset shifts I made that helped drive that transformation. This week, I want to reflect on what I learned along the way.
Routine
This time last year, I challenged myself to write a weekly blog and newsletter. The power that comes from consistent performance is experiential. Itās like the most fantastic high, one you canāt fully understand until you do the thing, stick with it, and feel the results for yourself. Itās a sexy superpower. My hunch is that once youāve unlocked it in one area, it becomes much easier to apply elsewhere. Weāll see.
Failure
Failure is not something to fear, but something to welcome (occasionally). Once youāre exposed to it enough, it doesnāt hurt your ego in the way you imagine it will. Iād far rather attempt something difficult and fail than not try at all.
Mindset changes
During 2025 my mindset shifted in an unexpected way. At the start of the year, I was afraid of failing. By the end of it, I noticed something different: my body resisting success. I can see this in the way I sometimes hesitate to take the final actions that seal deals. Understanding why this happens is now one of my missions for the year ahead, along with learning how to fully welcome the fruits of my labour.
Choosing discomfort
This links closely to Agelessness (below). Taking action outside your comfort zone requires courage and, often, an extra burst of energy. Iāve used public accountability to force myself out of ruts more than once (and I've designed Hothouse, and my paid programmes to encourage this). But outside your comfort zone is where the magic lives. Itās where change happens. Iām a planner by nature: I plan backwards, forwards, sideways, then I jump and trust the plan.
Knowing when to outsource
At the end of last year, I spent half a day (with AI) running a full 2025 business review. The outcome surprised me. I discovered that Iām close to capacity, and that itās time to bring in expert professional services. In hindsight it seems obvious, but the clarity was invaluable. Iāve since booked a digital marketing specialist, taking this work off my plate and freeing me up to focus on what I love most.
Agelessness
Last year I planned, pushed, reviewed, tweaked, and pushed again. I worked bloody hard. I did scary things. Most of them didnāt fail. As my trust in myself grew, so did my confidence, and I started doing scarier things still. Before I knew it, my mental clock had rewound by about twenty years.
It can be harder to restart an engine that hasnāt had a proper run for a while, so itās best not to let it idle. But the truth is this: you can get back in the game at any age: with a vision, a plan, and the determination to act consistently, week after week.
4. Seven Pillars of Design Entrepreneurship - reviewing your business performance.
In Hothouse this year Iāll be cycling one at a time though the seven key operational areas of your business, stopping to examine each one in close detail. They are:
Strategic Vision and Planning
Founder presence
Financial mastery
Marketing and brand expression
Sales and client acquisition
Operations, systems, and professional practice
Design quality and client experience
Iāve yet to meet the designer who scores 10/10 across every aspect of business management, and I believe itās our duty to know where we excel and where we need to build knowledge and strength, and then to set ourselves the challenge of improving with time.
The Seven Pillars are explained in the ā2026 Planning Worksheetā which youāll find under the āFilesā tab at the top of the Hothouse Facebook group. Thereās also a quiz in the worksheet to help you discover your Achilles heelā¦if you donāt already know š¤!
5. My Week In Hothouse - New Year, New Spreadsheet
"What gets measured grows"
Iāve said goodbye to last yearās hand-drawn chart and replaced it with an Excel spreadsheet that will build, week by week, throughout the year. I hope itās readable, itās a bit of a monster. Let me know how you get on with it.
I was fond of version one, but my year-end business review made something very clear: I need to capture more data, more regularly, if I want a truly accurate picture of how the business is developing. What Iām sharing here is sheet one. Thereās a second, private sheet where I track client acquisition activity, sales conversion, and revenue by product. Iāll update both parts weekly, watch trends monthly, and review strategy quarterly.
This year my operational focus is financial mastery. Itās my weakest area, and by the end of the year I want to be as engaged by numbers as I am by strategy and planning. As part of my scoreboard, my performance here now folds into "business organisation" - taking that measurement down to 5 (from around 8 previously). I'm excited to work to push this number up - I'm gamifying my business performance - it's how I'll track my improved relationship with accounting.
I'm also measuring my mindset issue for the year (resistance to success) via 'worthiness', with a starting measurement of 6.5.
The transformation my business experienced last year - driven by planning, monitoring, and consistent performance - has filled me with enthusiasm for whatās possible in the year ahead. My service offering is now complete, Iāve protected time for business development, and Iām genuinely excited to continue working with the brilliant designers whoāve been part of the journey so far. Iāve also commissioned professional support to grow the digital side of the business, including my long-standing nemesis: Meta ads. The plan for the year is still being finalised, but most of it is now in place.
Every action I take in my business maps directly to yours. I hope to see you at the planning event, where we can unpack the methodology together.
6. How to work with me in 2026
If youād like more support as you grow your business this year, there are several ways to work with me in 2026, depending on the level of structure, input, and accountability youāre looking for.
This is the open, free heart of my work. A place for ongoing thinking, planning, and shared momentum. If you want ideas, perspective, and a steady rhythm of business reflection, Hothouse is where it begins and where many people choose to stay. This year we start with a group planning event, see item 3 above š.
Designed for newer practices or those ready to professionalise quickly. This is a practical, structured programme that helps you set up strong foundations, systems, and ways of working, so you can start trading with confidence rather than waiting for perfection. The next live class starts in September - Early Bird discount currently active.
"Recipe For Success Bootcamp" is an intensive, live programme for established designers who want to strengthen their business model, attract better clients, and improve financial performance. It combines strategy, mindset, and real-world application, with momentum built through group work and accountability. Bootcamp rides again 20 April - 22 May. There is currently an Early Bird offer, ending soon.
BOARDROOM
"Designers' Boardroom" delivers live monthly meetings for small, focused groups for designers who want ongoing strategic thinking, peer challenge, and regular review. This is for those who value perspective, structure, and being held to their own ambitions over an extended time. Message me to be added to the waitlist for the next group. This can be paid Ā£600 up front for the year, or Ā£55 per month for 12 months.
"Boardroom Bespoke" is my most exclusive programme, for a very small number of designers who want my direct, hands-on input into their business, for a whole year. This is deep, strategic work, tailored entirely to you, and designed to move the needle in a meaningful way.
7. Final Thought
Iām often asked: What on earth do you get out of Hothouse? Whatās in it for you?
The simplest answer is this: I donāt run Hothouse to convert people.
I run it because open, thoughtful work improves everything else I do, and because not all help needs to be monetised to be meaningful.
Hothouse exists so that good creatives can think more clearly, act more intentionally, and feel less alone as they build their businesses. Itās a place to practise planning, consistency, and honest reflection, without pressure to buy, upgrade, or perform.
Some people will decide they want more support, more structure, and more of my direct input into their business. When that happens, there are paid ways to work with me, and those fees allow me to do this work properly and sustainably. That feels fair and transparent to me.
But Hothouse itself isnāt a funnel in disguise. Itās a space I value. A place to show my working, share what Iām learning in real time, and help as many people as I can, without expectation.
If you ever feel inclined to repay the favour, the nicest way to do so is simply to be present in Hothouse by asking questions, joining the conversation, and, if it feels right, sharing this newsletter with other creative entrepreneurs who might enjoy and benefit from it too.
If youāre here, youāre welcome. If you stay, Iām glad. And if, at some point, you want to work more closely together, weāll have that conversation then.
Wishing you a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2026!
Julia
Founder - Hothouse
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