At another threshold, I’m recalling one of my earliest lessons: Look both ways before you cross.
Looking back is the easy part. It’s a fact-based review, or at least, it should be. I can identify the facts about my business in this last year:
- Eight active clients (two major), who I love (see my last post)
- Met my goal on billable hours, stayed within my goal for administrative hours.
- Met (barely) my goal for networking/marketing hours for my business
- Delivered more than 120 hours pro bono work for charitable organizations (not meetings or fun, actually delivering my professional services)
- Saw my work for clients published in journals (medical, research, economics); wrote for local magazines, newspapers & blogs, contributed to an annual report; two articles published in an national online professional trade journal; regular contributor to four blogs
- Delivered blogs, white papers, speeches, articles, newsletters, executive presentations, social media content for clients
- Organized 30+ events for clients
- Tended my own professional development with a writer’s conference (previous year), a full-day professional seminar, webinars, regular local professional development sessions, lectures (TEDxKC, Linda Hall/UMKC etc), entrepreneurial development meetings, attended paid training programs (video, government contracting, Quickbooks)
- Personal enrichment and service: Hosted a Taiwanese Graduate Study Exchange student and a Russian professional; participated in informal mentoring
- Personal horizon-stretching: travel to Santa Fe, New York (previous year) and Sydney, Australia
- Pushing my comfort level: networking, marketing myself and my business, selling…
- Following my passions: active engagement with non-profit organizations supporting the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts; SAGA — a support group for siblings of adults with Down Syndrome; NAWBO for women entrepreneurs; IABC for professional communicators; and Rotary, an international service organization
- Survived a computer crash!
- Exercise: Ran (sadly, I report my lowest annual mileage since 1994 — 300 miles) and biked (not enough miles to count) and a bit of yoga, swimming, walking and hiking.
I can count some pleasant successes in this, my second full year in business for myself.
And I can identify some new challenges — the looking ahead part:
- Figure a better way to measure and manage my business pipeline
- Get more effective at networking/marketing my business, or,
- Figure a way to effectively scale my services, and
- Exercise more!
There are many more areas for self-improvement (which should translate to business improvement, since I am my business) … but I will include just a couple more:
- Every day, give my best effort to those who entrust me with their business
- Give thanks, love and laughter every day to the people who are closest to me
- Believe it: Today is the best day ever
Bring on the new year!
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