This time last year I wrote about making sure that you stop and celebrate your successes – to make sure that you sit back and congratulate yourself on all that you have achieved during the year.
This year I decided to make the year in review a bit more personal and share some of my own successes with you.
Put my face in front of the camera
Yep. Finally did it. First it was a selfie that I posted to Instagram. Took me about 10 shots to finally be even vaguely happy with the outcome then 3 hours to actually post it. I also recorded a video Instagram story for Mums & Co. It was my first ever video and I couldn’t even watch it when it was posted to their social media accounts. I felt so embarrassed.
Next year I will be taking my face one step further to start a series of videos all about working with virtual assistants and tips for your business. Keep an eye out for that one!
Went to a live event (that meant I had to actually talk to people)
One thing that makes me feel sick is introducing myself to a stranger and making small talk. I could talk for hours to friends about myself, but put me in a room of people I don’t know and I’m way out of my comfort zone. I broke the back of this fear this year by attending an event. And do you know what? I actually enjoyed myself! I didn’t talk to every person in the room, but I was able to hold my own with the people that I connected with. I’m looking forward to doing more of this in 2018.
Showed persistence
I’m by no means a salesperson. I’m not great at blowing my own trumpet either. This year I didn’t give up on a client that went AWOL for a while. I remained in contact and ensured that when she was ready to outsource again, I was there waiting. Ordinarily I would have taken her absence as a sign of rejection and just given up. I’m proud of the fact that I persisted.
Increased my client base
My persistence also resulted in more clients! From a starting point of one client (yes – just one) at the beginning of the year, I was able to go on to help 12 small businesses with email marketing, content creation and administration.
Made connections with a network of like-minded business women
Ensuring that you have a network of people around you that share your values is such an important factor in your success. Not only are they there to help share the highs, but are a support when experiencing the lows. Social media has been extremely kind to me and I have made invaluable friendships that I would never have had the chance to experience if I didn’t have Meld.
Increased my social presence
I am a big believer that your number of followers or likes does not determine your success. However, during 2017 I was able to increase my Instagram followers by 300% and Facebook likers by 205%. Not hard to do from a low start, but an achievement nonetheless!
Added a new service to my offering
2017 saw the introduction of a new service to help small businesses with creating an email series. I have now added this to my suite of email marketing services within the last month.
Said no
It might seem strange that I consider this a success, but it has always been important to me to ensure that I still have time for my family. This meant that there were times when I had to say no to a job, or put it off for a few days so that I could attend a concert or school assembly, or even water my parents’ plants whilst they were away!
Contributed to the mortgage
I feel really proud of this achievement. I am now regularly contributing to our mortgage, which means that we are making extra repayments to get that debt down! It also means that I’m actually making money out of this business venture which is pretty exciting. I took earning money for granted back in my corporate days, but have a renewed sense of achievement now (even if I’m earning only 10% of what I used to!).
I strongly encourage you to spend ten minutes to write down at least five of your successes from this year. Then pat yourself on the back (and have a celebratory drink) for being so awesome!
