As a surprise to probably no one, I’m a pretty big lover of journaling. I’m not as consistent with it as I’d like to be, but anytime I have a lot on my mind and need to untangle all of it? Journal. When I feel  like so many happy things have happened recently and I want to really soak up all the grateful and joyful energy? Journal. And when I’m in a time of transition, like my birthday, the start of a new month or New Years? Definitely journal. 

So as this year is drawing to a close, naturally I’ve been taking some time to reflect on where I am and what I did to bring myself here.

Because when you take a step back to really observe how you went into the year and how you’re leaving it, you might surprise yourself with just how far you’ve come, even if it’s in the most subtle ways.

But what good would it be to write all this down in my journal, never to be seen by anyone else’s eyes? 

So we’re getting vulnerable today, friend!

This was a pretty pivotal year for my business. After copywriting for nearly two years, I finally got serious about the direction I wanted to take this thing in, and then I did everything I could to take it there. That process included some pretty high highs and some really low lows, with tears sprinkled pretty much all the way throughout. 

I told you we were getting vulnerable! 

But let’s jump straight to the good stuff, huh?

These are the best decisions I made this year:

Worked with a mentor

Hands down, this is the BEST decision I made this year. And maybe ever? It’s what allowed me to get to where I even am right now. 

Way back in March, I finally clicked “Submit” on the CTA button on Sara’s mentorship page. Sara is the owner of Between the Lines Copy, and if you haven’t heard of her, you definitely owe yourself a visit! I had been following her for awhile, and like so many others, was completely in love with her work. I’d been deliberating making the move for a while and decided that it was time to invest in myself. Like for real, for real invest in myself, and not sign up for another random course on Udemy — though those classes were valuable and had their place! I was just ready for more. 

Starting a business in a new field (I’m also a Occupational Therapy Assistant — you can learn more about that journey here!) and figuring out all of the little predicaments that inevitably pop up is challenging to do on your own. 

But with someone who’s always there for you when these things come up and helps you take the next steps in your business, it becomes ridiculously easier. 

She gave me all the technical how-to’s of which CRM and email marketing platform and website hosting site to use. How to balance my time between client work and my work. How to market my business. And honestly, every single little thing in between. 

Not to mention the emotional support! Probably half of my messages to Sara are “Was that fine? Am I fine?” 

If I didn’t work with Sara, I know for sure that I wouldn’t have built my business up the way I did. My DIY version would have been so pieced and scrapped together that, while I’m sure it would have worked, I would have spent the next few years patching everything up. 

And who has the time for that?

It’s safe to say that if I had to make this decision again, I would. Again and again and again. 

If you’re interested in working with her in a mentorship capacity, check out her Copywriter VIP Week here!

Prioritized my website over social media

So I also have Sara to thank for this decision. When I went to her asking if I should make a website or an Instagram for business, she told me to work on the website. 

Which wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.

I wanted to make a shiny, new instagram. I wanted to connect with other business-owners. I wanted to get into the conversations. And I wanted it all, like, yesterday. 

But I’m so happy that I listened to her. Yes, building and writing my website took me months. But during those months, I was fully dedicated to getting it out there, and after all that hard work, it’s up! And I’m SO proud of it! 

(I actually used to run a knitting account back in 2015, which now feels like a lifetime ago. It was mostly a knitting lifestyle account, but I also sold knitting patterns. I loved it especially because of the community aspect. But after a while, I became so stressed with rushing home to take pictures of my knitting in the best lighting or making sure I was actively posting that it just wasn’t fun anymore, so I stopped. While I miss it a little, I definitely don’t miss all that stress.)

If I had instead created an Instagram, I know for sure that I would have been so caught up in creating content, building a following, and trying to stay ahead of the algorithm that my website would have taken the backseat.

I wouldn’t have had the time to dedicate towards actually growing my business first. Which is what I really needed to do if I was going to be successful. Because having a website that’s fully yours (and not relying on a social media platform) creates a much more solid foundation and credibility. 

So now that my site is live and my business is more established, we’ll see if Instagram is in the cards for 2024! Right now, though, I’m feeling pretty okay without it.

Didn’t give up

I know, I know.  This is SO cliche’. But maybe there’s a reason those cliche’-y phrases are everywhere. Because there’s an element of truth to them. 

I think the statistic goes that about 20% of businesses fail within the first year. And after going through it myself now, I can see why.

You’re dealing with learning all new systems, a new lifestyle, juggling a very full to-do list, maybe struggling to bring in enough sales, all while pushing away that nagging thought of “Can I actually do this? Am I completely  delulu for thinking this can be something?” (pls tell me I’m not the only one thinking that…). And if you’re a mom like me, you’re doing this all with a toddler running around chaotically in the background.

But I just kept trucking along, keeping my goals in front of me. I mapped out the people I wanted to work with and all the ways that I could help them. I got systems in place to make everything run smoothly. I worked non-stop on building up my skills. After seeing so many others succeed, I knew that this was possible. 

So I just kept on going, and in 2024? I’m going to do the same!

And because we have to have some balance —

Here are a couple mistakes I made:

Said yes to anything

When I first jumped into copywriting, I worked a lot on the 3rd party site UpWork. Now while not optimal, at the time, using UpWork was a really great way for me to get some experience under my belt. 

Did I make a lot? Nope. But it did help me build up my own confidence that I could, in fact, do this.

But that was really as far as it got me. And my error was continuing to use it well after that point, instead of focusing on getting clients outside of it. So at a point when I was looking for a quick project, I logged back in and signed up for a headline project. The budget for the project was laughably low, but again, I thought it would be a great way to up my expertise. 

And maybe it was, but mostly, it was a huge headache. The client wanted more from me than what was outlined in our contract and he was asking for feedback on projects completely related to this one, and I, always the people-pleaser, provided. 

At the end of the day, the only thing I got out of it was learning not to say yes to everything. 

And now we don’t take on projects like that anymore. 

Didn’t trust myself

One thing I noticed this year was that I didn’t always trust my judgment. To be honest, this is something that I do in other areas of my life, but in the case of my business, it became even more obvious. Which I guess was a good thing, because now I’m able to switch my perspective around it.

This came up in a couple different ways:

• Going with a client’s suggestion one time when I felt a different direction would be better. I later spoke up about it and have since (thankfully!) reinforced the sentiment that my clients are hiring me for my expertise. And that’s what I owe them instead of questioning what I quite literally know to be true.

• You know how we spoke about how I didn’t give up? Well there were a lot of moments where I thought that I would. I didn’t trust that I could do this because I didn’t have the extroverted personality, because I was coming from such a different career, because there were so many other people more established than me. Because of so many other reasons. I wasn’t consistently giving myself the trust that I needed not to doubt myself.

Now that I’ve identified these situations, I’m much more aware this self talk as it comes up. This one isn’t something that’s going to change over night, but this awareness, to me, is a good stepping off point.

Here’s to the lessons in business and life that 2024 brings!

Aside from being SO grateful for growing my business this year, I’m especially grateful for how it forced me to grow as a person. 

I’m definitely not the same person I was a year ago. And I’m sure I won’t be the same person a year from now. Which I think is pretty amazing. 

Between all the chaos that the end of the year brings, try to set some time to reflect on where this year brought you. I have a feeling you’ll be feeling pretty proud!

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Hey, I’m Kristie! And besides writing website and email copy for the best businesses, I also help business-owners like you feel grounded and less chaotic. 

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