A personal note to start the year

New year, new me?

So much has changed.

I don’t even know where to begin.

(PS: This is a more personal newsletter to start the year off.)

This is the start of the second year where I no longer have a father. I know this may sound crazy to most people, but I think some of you may understand. Like you forget sometimes your loved one isn’t here anymore, and when you remember, you feel sad all over again. (Please tell me I’m not the only one?)

My daughter just started high school on Friday, and I am grappling with the new identity of being mom to a teenager. Being called bruh and bro. The International Baccalaureate system is completely foreign to me, as I took the Cambridge GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level examinations and spent three years at the mothership itself. These upcoming six years will be a massive learning curve. I am so proud of my daughter for achieving what she worked hard for.

My son continues to train nearly daily as a competitive swimmer, and I am just as proud of him. I recall when he was eight years old and had just started swimming. He kept getting DQ-ed (disqualified) during swim meets for random technical errors. Today he sprints in the pool like a little shark. It has been a huge learning curve for me to get educated on sports nutrition, sports physiology, competition mindset and swimming technique. If I could grant myself a wish, I would also like to excel at a competitive sport.

My 2026 mission is to serve you

The 60K+ of you who receive this newsletter are most probably here to improve yourselves professionally, and learn about LinkedIn and personal branding. You may be undergoing a career transition this year, or hoping to launch a side hustle or solopreneur business. What I am about to say next may be relevant for you.

This year, I am doubling down on my two premium offers:

• My 12-month Brand Builder Mastermind
• My inaugural 10-week Expert Ladder Advanced Bootcamp, starting soon (28 February – 9 May 2026)

All of you are welcome to join us. Email me if you have any questions.

As we step into year two of the Mastermind, I’m grateful for how this community showed up over the past 12 months.

In our inaugural year, I watched many of you sharpen your message, grow your professional visibility, and make brave baby steps that will lead to huge outcomes in work and life. That kind of progress compounds.

This year is about going deeper: creating powerful intellectual property, strengthening our niche dominance, and mastering AI without falling into generic content traps. We’re going to own our moats, create new offers, start newsletters, scale with chatbots, write books and give keynotes.

Thank you to my community for trusting me, contributing generously to your fellow cadets, and holding each other to high standards.

I’m excited for what we’ll build together this year.

Love,
Juliana your rocketship captain

New here? Join our first in-person event of 2026

If you are new here, we’re kicking off the year with a networking session + executive improv workshop led by improv expert Anna Ong.

My goal for you is to walk into any room—boardroom, pitch meeting, networking event—and command attention with presence and authority.

📅 Date: Saturday, 24 January 2026
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Venue: Central Singapore (exact location TBA)
🎟️ Capacity: Limited to 30 participants