2018 Year End Review: What Did and Didn’t Work.

Gosh, how is it the end of 2018? For this 2018 year end review, I’m going to go over three things that DID work in my business this year, and three things that did NOT work. Ready? Let’s go.

DID WORK:

Coaching: Earlier this year I felt lost and hopeless. My business wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and I was working my tail off. I knew I needed help. Enter Lauren Carnes. I booked with her and she coached me over the summer. So dang transformative. But, here’s a big tip. Don’t expect to see changes right away. I wanted to see transformation immediately, but it took longer than that. Looking back though, I can attribute where I am today (and where I’m intentionally heading) to her coaching.

Photography: This was another large expense that was completely worth it. I worked with Laura Foote on my brand photography and I’m completely in love. This was right before my rebrand, and I wanted consistent and on-brand imagery for my new website. This was a larger expense, but I decided if I was going to do it, then it needed to be done right, so I hired a hair and makeup artist and bought tons of props. The makeup artist was incredible and she made me feel so beautiful, but I still looked like me (that was a big concern of mine). I’m about to purchase some more of the photos from Laura and I’m definitely including this in the budget for next year.

This was a larger expense, but I decided if I was going to do it, then it needed to be done right, so I hired a hair and makeup artist and bought tons of props.

Taking December off: I’ve talked about this a lot lately. This year I decided to take the month of December off from client work. I’d been so busy with client work I had never invested much time into growing my own business. Now, we’ve still got a few days left in December, but this is going really, really well so far. I definitely plan on repeating it in 2019.

In my 2018 year end review I found several things that did not work. Here are some of those things.

Not having a budget: I spoke about this recently on my email list. A few weeks ago I sat down with my CPA recently and we looked at my expenses for the year. I was SHOCKED. I did invest a lot into my business this year, but there were so many expenses that weren’t necessary. Way too much was spent on subscriptions I never used and workbooks or courses that weren’t helpful. Because I didn’t plan a budget at the beginning of the year, I handed out money like candy. That won’t happen again. One of my tasks this month is to sit down and plan my budget for 2019.

Investing in someone else’s dream: For almost all of 2018, I was working with a large corporate client. Because there are only so many hours a day I’m willing to work, I ended up spending much of that time on their work. Finally I gathered up the courage to end that relationship and I feel so free. I so look forward to what 2019 will look like now.

“If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no.”

Saying yes far too often: I said yes a lot this year. And ended up with some work that I’m not proud of. Because of that, you’ve likely never seen it. Recently Rowan Made said something that really resonated with me; “If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no.”. I couldn’t agree more. This week I said no to two clients that didn’t excite me and didn’t fit within the niche I’m trying to reach. I feel absolutely insane for saying no to them, because I can’t even remember the last time I was able to pay myself, but I’m still glad I said no. The hope is that by clearing the way for work that I really want to do, it’ll come.

I want to hear yours! What are some things that have and haven’t worked for you this year?

Sitting down and doing this intentional work of looking back on the year. was helpful in coming up with my 2019 goals. I’ll be sharing those soon!