2016 in Review
I set some big goals for 2016 by participating in Amber McCue’s Planathon for the first time in November 2015. Coming from the traditional book publishing industry, I never needed a website or social media accounts, but shifting to work directly with solopreneurs and creative entrepreneurs meant making some changes. Here’s a picture of the goals section of the “goal card” I made during the Planathon.
The smartest investment I made in my business for 2016 was a business coach. (Hi, Reina!) She helped me turn these goals into plans, broken down by quarter, and held me accountable for moving the needle each week toward progress. I’m thrilled to have met all of these goals (and then some!). Let’s do a quick recap:
Launch Blog/Blog Weekly
The blog launched the first week of March 2016, and I have blogged each Wednesday since then. Thanks to content queen Hailey Dale and copywriter and content guru Abby Herman, I now batch my blog writing (and have a solid content plan for 2017 — yeah!).
Launch E-course
Book Prep Bootcamp launched in May and was so much fun. I really liked the educating aspect more than I expected, and it was so fun to watch the participants really narrow down their book topics, start researching, and work on a writing schedule. I’ll be reading a few of their finished books in 2017!
Post to Social Media Consistently
Man, was I on the struggle bus with this one! I just could not seem to get ahead. The problem, I think, was that I was shooting from the hip rather than creating an actual content plan. Enter Hailey Dale from Trunked Creative and Katie Williamsen from Katie Williamsen Web & Social Media Consulting. Both helped me with different parts of my strategy, and then things got much smoother. (Imagine that!)
Speak at 1 Conference
I presented a session at the American Copy Editors Society annual conference in Portland at the beginning of April, and it went great. It felt great to give back to the editing community and share my knowledge with my peers. (In 2017, I’m presenting two sessions!)
Read 1 Business Book per Month
One of my goals was to read more, both for business and for pleasure. (That’s how my monthly blog feature “Off the Shelf” was born, by the way,) I squeaked by with this goal, and I discovered partway through the year that I enjoy audiobooks, which is a good thing. I know many people read before bed but my eyes are so tired by then (hazard of having an editorial job where you read most of the day?) that’s unappealing to me most nights. I hope to read even more in 2017, but will definitely be consuming lots of that reading via audio.
I couldn’t be happier as far as meeting those goals, while growing my team with some smart, talented, and strong women and serving my clients well. I edited some GREAT books this year, friends! Another highlight for me was meeting my client and friend Monique Melton in person at the Savvy Experience in August. I brought my paperback copy of her book, EntrepreFriendships, and she signed it for me. What a great memory!
The year wasn’t all sunshine and roses and conquering goals, though. (Are they ever?) My biggest lesson of the year came outside of my office and reminded me how thankful I am to be an entrepreneur with the freedom to create my own schedule. My father had some serious health issues in the spring, and in July my mother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, followed by a diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia. It has thrown our family for the loop of all loops, and I am thankful every day that she is here with us and finished with radiation, and that she has been afforded relief from the pain of the neuralgia, as we wait to learn whether the tumor shrunk. I worked from my parents’ home much more often than my own office this fall, and I was thankful for that. The constant state of worry remains, but it has gotten a bit easier to manage day-to-day. This is life, right? Something happens to remind us that we are not, in fact, in control. Onward and upward.
I’ll be taking some solid time off this holiday season to spend with my family, including my annual gingerbread house party with my local nieces and nephews. We (all!) have the best time. I am looking forward to all that 2017 will bring. I’ll share some of those plans with you in January, but rest assured: 2017, I’m ready for you!
Did your 2016 go as planned? Let me know in the comments.