2019 Year in Review
As I sat in my chair behind my iMac in my little home office, a wave of excitement shot through me. I was in charge of my whole day. Not only that, my whole year.
2019 would have so much to teach me, but in this moment, I felt freedom and joy at the expansiveness of the week, the work I would get to do, and the control I had over my life.
This was the feeling I had as I began my first week as a full-time, self-employed brand and website designer in January of 2019 and this feeling wouldn’t go away, but lots of lessons would be learned along the way as I navigated this entrepreneur lifestyle which is what I would love to share with you now.
Becoming a full-time business owner –while incredibly challenging– has been one the most rewarding endeavors of my life. I would love to share with you 6 things I’ve learned and implemented in my first year as a full-time entrepreneur that really made a difference and helped my business flourish:
1/ Creat some self goals
At the end of 2018, with my 2 weeks notice impending, I made goals for myself. This is a yearly practice I do, both personally and professionally, but having goals makes you feel like you’re working towards something, you have purpose and know where you’re going.
Having goals is apart of the bigger vision you have for your business. The vision is what guides you and the goals are what get you there.
Here are some of the goals I had for this year that I was able to complete:
Get featured
Hire a coach
Do more action and take in less content
Work with dream clients
Exceed my day job income
I was able to achieve these goals (and more) and each one really helped my business grow in ways that were intentional, aligned with my values and helped me feel less stressed and more in control.
I also had a theme for the year: embrace new things. While this can seem like, um don’t we have to do this on the regular? Yes, but it was a good reminder to me that my year would be filled with new challenges, new adventures, and new ways to deal with things. It encouraged me to step up, look for creative ways to problem-solve and to not be resistant to a new way of doing things.
2/ Work through the year in quarters
One of the best things I did this year was to have a planner (this year I made my own) that divided the year into quarters and where I was able to review each month and also review each quarter.
This made planning out the year much more manageable AND doable. I really felt like I I could achieve goals rather than feel like “I see the mountain top but it will take forever to get there.”
Rather I worked backwards from my goals and set them up in quarterly bite-sized pieces and was able to make a lot of progress.
3/ Hire a coach
While I didn’t pursue 1-1 mentorship, I did join a quarterly group program that focused on selling and sales. Shoutout to the amazing Anna Frandsen. I love her and her programs. Sell with Heart was a mix of community, with a 1-1 coaching call, weekly calls and action steps and getting results.
I was very motivated during this group program and wanted “the secret” to staying fully booked and I realized the key is to always be marketing, but in a way that feels great to you.
Marketing doesn’t always have to feel slimy or weird, it can actually be helpful, joyful and fun. Participating in this program lead to great growth for me and gave me the techniques and systems for staying fully booked and helped me not worry about the high peaks and low valleys of entrepreneurship so much.
4/ Build your own community
I’m an extrovert by nature so being home alone all the time can feel a bit isolating. My solution to this was to create the community I wanted. I did this by reaching out to people through Instagram (where I hang out most), initiating coffee dates, meeting local women business owners, and creating an online mastermind with some of my online friends. Doing this really helped me stay sane, connected and feel like I’m part of a community.
If you struggle to find a community, perhaps it’s up to you to build one of your own. It just takes reaching out and taking that first step. You can DO IT!
5/ Market and sell
In the first half of the year I felt the extreme dips of financial influx. But after I joined and graduated from the Sell with Heart program I knew what I needed to do was market and sell on a regular basis with a system that worked for me. Once I had that, it became easier and, dare I say, enjoyable.
While a lot of us don’t like the idea of selling, it’s kinda what you need to do to have a business. If you want to make money, you have to sell. The key is to feel great about how you go about it, have a process that works, and find ways to implement your marketing practices on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.
6/ Put profit first
While I only read a handful of business books this year, the best one I read was Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. This book really laid out how to structure your finances in a way that you’re not only paying yourself consistently but you’re able to pay yourself a “bonus” with the profit you’re making with your business.
I recommend this book to anyone who owns a business, especially those starting out who want to begin their business foundation with knowing how much to reinvest in your business, how much to pay yourself and so forth.
Do yourself a favor and read this! It will transform how you handle your business finances forever.
Monthly Recap
January
Went full-time with my business feeling like I’ve won the lottery
Shared my side-hustle to full-time journey in this blog post
February
Joined local networking events including Tuesday’s Together apart of Rising Tide and met some wonderful local business owners
Talked about a necessary piece of branding that most people forget about in this blog post
Started offering Strategy Sessions, a 1-hour coaching sessions with me to help improve your marketing and messaging
March
Wrote about my fears and surprises about working from home on the blog
My business turned 3 years old and in light of celebration I planned a giveaway through Instagram and 10% off my branding services
April
Was featured in the Worthy Community about how feeding your creativity is a form of self-love
Joined the Sell with Heart group coaching program
May
Was a guest expert in my friend’s Facebook community sharing all about branding and marketing your business
Updated my contracts and services
Took a weekend trip to LA with my husband Fawad to visit friends
June
Making giant leaps in learning about mindset the power of continuing to reach out to prospective clients in the Sell with Heart program
July
Started offering Brand Clarity Mini Sessions, a free 1/2 hour call with me to gain clarity on your branding and messaging
The very last day of July I found out I’m pregnant!
August
• Took a girls trip to Salt Lake City and enjoyed the great outdoors with a couple of my best girlfriends
• Wrote about the common struggles for a cohesive brand and the solutions on my blog
September
One of the most busy months of the year in terms of brand & website projects
Celebrated my birthday weekend by taking a couple days off to celebrate with my husband and friends
October
Featured in the Rising Tide Society 20 on the Rise in the Graphic Design category
Went on a truly wonderful baby-moon with Fawad to charming South Carolina – so relaxing and enjoyable!
November
Booked up January 2020 with brand and website projects
Co-hosted my first ever event for local women small business owners
December
Taking time to enjoy being pregnant and resting
Finishing up a couple projects, and planning for the new year
What’s next in 2020?
Something I realized is, aside from the fact that this was my first year in business as a full-time entrepreneur, this was really a year of empowerment for me and shifting my mindset from scarcity, fear and “can I really do this?” to one of abundance– in time, resources, and possibility.
This was an incredible year of growth, both personally and professionally. So what’s next?
Well, I’m thinking 2020 will look quite different.
While I still plan to run my business, take on brand and website projects and show up on my favorite social media platforms, it’s also gonna be a year of change and flow. I’m due with our little babe come April which means, a few months of maternity leave, then coming back to a new way of life.
My focus has always been my family and will continue to be as I grow into a new chapter of life as a mama. While I still have goals and hopes for things to take place, I’m very open to change, grace and allowing things to shift to how I’m feeling and how we’re doing as a family. So, we’ll see! Stay tuned!
Interested in working together in 2020? Whether you’re looking to up-level your brand or update your website (or both!) I would love to see if working together could help you catapult your business forward. Spots are limited so reach out soon!
Do you ever write a yearly review, either personally or professionally?
How has writing a yearly review helped you?
