The end of the year is obviously a time for reflection and planning for the next year, so I’m sure you’re reading a plethora of other blog posts lately about people’s goals and plans for 2016. At the risk of doing what’s expected, I do think it’s important to take time to pat yourself on the back at the end of the year and remind yourself that all your hard work is worth something. Plus, it can be pretty motivating to see how much can change in a year.
So before we talk about 2016, I want to take a second to reflect on the successes (and sometimes failures) of 2015:
Note: I don’t share any of this as a “Hey, look at all the things I’ve done in a year,” post, but rather a “Hey, look at all the things YOU can do in a year with a lot of hard work and a little bit of risk." I saw someone do this at the beginning of last year and loved it. It was someone who was super successful and I sometimes felt like she just fell into it. Then I read her post outlining her entire year of working her butt off, and my perspective flipped. She took risks, made sacrifices, and worked for every single ounce of success she had. And it motivated me to do the same.
January 2015
Finished the Baby Keepsake Journal + Bundle of Joy Collection for my shop
Redesigned all my shop imagery to stand out more on Etsy
February 2015
Interviewed on Pregnancy Perfect podcast
Started doing freelance for Whitney English, which led to a lot of other great connections
Launched new physical products, but they didn’t sell very well
Left my agency job of 5 years to pursue Paper + Oats full-time… whoa!
March 2015
Started my first branding project as a full-time entrepreneur
Booked my first clients that were not from referrals
Launched the first month of P+O Gives Back
Took a much needed vacation!
April 2015
Announced plans for my new blog and got great feedback
Started feverishly writing for said blog 😃
Decided to shift and stop producing physical products all together, focusing on digital
May 2015
Launched The Oat Bar blog and was overwhelmed by the response to my first post
Tried a loop giveaway on Instagram for the first time
Featured in a Mother’s Day giveaway with Day Designer
Hired a CPA to help me get my financial systems in order (one of the best decisions I made all year – shoutout to Amy Northard!)
Enrolled in Mariah Coz’s Your First 1K course, which started me on my journey to create INDFG
Started a designer mastermind group with two amazing ladies: Phyllis Sa and Jamie Starcevich
June 2015
Featured on the Heart Magazine blog and Kory Woodard's blog
Finished a new kit for my shop, the Home Maintenance + Repairs Kit
Started using content upgrades with my blog posts (if you’re not doing this, DO IT NOW)
Decided to shift again and scrap all my design services to focus on a new direction, digital product design + branding
Celebrated 2 years in “real” business, since relaunching Paper + Oats with printable planners (though P+O has been around for about 9 years)
July 2015
Moved to Nashville, TN!
Got to connect one-on-one with some pretty cool business ladies and influencers including Regina, Whitney, Mary, and a few others.
Attended Stationery Academy and made some lifelong friendships and connections
Co-hosted Lunch + Learn with Jamie (my first webinar experience!)
Announced the plans for my online course + timelines
Celebrated the survival of my first year of motherhood (single motherhood, at that!)
August 2015
Hosted a spontaneous, but really successful week-long giveaway for teachers
Started real work on the content of my course
September 2015
Featured on the Elle + Co Collaborative blog and the ShePercolates podcast
Had a pretty surreal night at a gorgeous cocktail party with my friend Jill and some crazy cool influencers in Nashville
Finished up writing and recording content for my course
October 2015
Featured on Heather Crabtree’s blog and Farideh Ceaser’s blog
Sponsor for the Illume Retreat
Co-hosted my first workshop with Jamie and first course bundle with her (another one is coming in January 2016!)
Super successful start to my launch period for my course - blown away!
November 2015
Finished my course launch strong and felt incredibly proud to wrap it up
Sponsor for the Creative at Heart Conference
Took some much needed time off following my course launch
December 2015
Soon-to-finish the newest kit in the shop, Online Business Planning Kit (one that’s been in the works for months)
Made some long overdue updates to existing printable kits and added the Home Sweet Home Collection
Taking more much needed time off to spend with family and friends over the holidays
Whew. That makes me a little tired. But as I look at this list and think about the changes I want to make for 2016, I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite quotes:
“A year from now, you’ll wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb
This simple phrase always gives me the kick in the pants I need to structure my business in a way that actually makes me happy and fulfilled at the end of a workday. I look at my favorite things on that list and try to figure out how to make more of those for the new year. This would usually be the part where I say, And here is my neatly organized list of goals for 2016, but I hesitate to share anything like that for one big reason. Because on my list of goals for 2015, I only completed one of the four things listed. #busted. I know, right?! That’s terrible. But it’s not because I didn’t put in a lot of work (hello, read that list above!), but because the direction of my business shifted during the year.
It's okay to change your mind
In January 2015, I had big plans to build up my physical product line, but quickly realized the return wasn’t worth the time for me — and they weren’t really selling much. This was a tough decision for me, because I looooved those products. Loved the packaging, loved the promoting, loved holding something physical in my hand that I made. But I knew it was the right choice, and had to make it.
The next shift was to focus on digital product branding rather than general business branding, and I’m SO glad I made this shift. This decision was twofold – on the one hand I was super excited to design for a very specific audience that I knew not many designers were targeting (and I knew it was desperately needed). On the other hand, I didn’t know 100% if it would pay off – it was a huge risk for me. Thankfully, it paid off pretty quickly and soon I was working with projects I really loved and the type of design work I thrive in.
Then I decided to build and sell an online course. This was a direction I was very much not expecting, but I’m so glad I took the leap. I had the idea to create a course in the back of my head as a “someday I’ll do one of those,” but decided to just go for it this year after being in Mariah’s course. Creating my course was probably one of the best decisions I made this year. And it lead me right into 2016, where I hope to build more digital products like online courses, workbooks, and even more printable kits. BUT, I’m quick to remember that something might shift again, and I’m okay to change my goals if need be.
Your turn
What was your biggest accomplishment from 2015? Did you achieve your goals you set out in the beginning or did your focus shift? What do you have planned for 2016?
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