2023 in Review: Gratitude Journal

2023 in a Nut Shell

Looking back on the year as it begins to come to a close, I’ve realized that things turned out much differently than I had expected. I shouldn’t be surprised by this, really as I know my plans are not always God’s plans and so much of running a business is out of our control as business owners. We can plan, prep, and take action as much as we want but the exact results aren’t guaranteed. Changing life circumstances come into play throughout the year and, of course, so does the economy.

When I originally envisioned 2023, I thought I’d foster a business model of 50% retainer clients and 50% small business clients. I even had a goal of working in some larger partnerships with local agencies! However, looking back on the year, that certainly did not happen. While it’s not what I had planned, I’m incredibly grateful for where God has taken my business over the last 11 months and I’m excited to see where He takes it in the new year as things inevitably change (motherhood here I come)!

My clients

Ok, first let’s take a look at clients.

I mentioned above that I originally saw myself filling my schedule with 50% retainer work. This was my plan for how I would eventually set myself up for the transition into the new role of “mamapreneur”. Well, little did I know that just 2-3 months into 2023, many of the companies I was doing retainer and white label work for would undergo budget, and therefor staff, cuts. My hours were significantly reduced and by mid-year I was looking to book many more small business clients that I originally expected.

This pushed me outside of my comfort zone because it meant I needed to do much more marketing on social media. And I’m so glad I did!

What started as an uncertain, and nerve-wracking challenge (I’m an introvert if you can’t tell already) became an amazing transition in my business mindset. It pushed me to take more ownership over my business and learn how to confidently show up online. It helped my foster a community and make countless new connections (I’ll get to that in the next section).

For now, here are some of my favorite new clients I had the pleasure of working with this year!

Notable Client Wins!

And I can’t not mention that a favorite client of mine in 2022 had some BIG WINS this year! After launching in April of 2023, Calling Beauty has been featured in Vogue’s Beauty Edit multiple times and has recently won the Pure Beauty Award for Best New Beauty Brand.

New Connections

Ok, onto new connections! Besides the connections I’ve made with my wonderful clients, I’ve also connected with fellow designers, copywriters, and photographers. One in particular that I want to give a shout-out to is India Jade Photo. India McCue and I connected when I hired her to do my brand photos here in the surrounding Columbus, Ohio area. She did such an amazing job and we immediately went to grab coffee afterwards. It was a blast! India is personable, kind, and thoughtful (not to mention extremely talented)!

Needless to say we became fast friends and I later hired her to do my maternity photos.

If you’re looking for a photographer, take a look at her website! She specializes in wedding photos but also takes on couples and brands for smaller shoots.

Finding Balance

All in all, this unexpected shift in my clients and business model has pushed my to find more balance in my business which was one of my goals coming into 2023. I’m not sure I would have found the same amount of balance had it not been for the way things shifted. So, for that, I am extremely grateful. I already feel so much more prepared to foster that balance once our little baby boy comes in January.

But, what is balance, right? I know that can look so different for each business owner. For me, balance looks like not working more than 40 hours a week, not opening my laptop on the weekend, not working on vacation, and working internal business needs the time I do spend working. In 2022, it was so tempting to fill the much-needed time for internal business tasks with more client work. Now, in 2023, I can say that I’ve found a way to stagger my client workload so that I still have time to create social media graphics, write blog posts, send out my newsletter, and grab coffee with other business owners.

My business has been much more life-giving this year. I’ve been able to take multiple vacations including 1 dream vacation to Italy for my 5 year anniversary. And I didn’t work for one single minute! It was such a breath of fresh air to make that commitment to myself and see that my business did not, in fact, collapse while I was walking the streets of Rome with my husband.

Faith in Business

And lastly, but most importantly, my faith in business. It’s easy to write this with the hindsight of how this year has ended up and thank God for all that He has done to shape my year. But, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have seasons of doubt and frustration along the journey. I’m a planner. I like to control as much as possible in my life. So, of course, when God was pulling my business in a different direction, I didn’t immediately see it as the blessing I do now. And, my first reaction wasn’t always to pray about my worries either! I often grasped so tightly onto my business plan and means of controlling the outcome that I became exhausted. Then, I turned to prayer.

God has been patient with me throughout these times and I can confidently say that I’m much more conscious of that pattern in my life now. I’ve made more of a practice to pray, trust, and hold onto hope amidst struggles in business and in my personal life. I’m by no means perfect but I’m making progress.

I know as I enter this new season as a mom and business owner, that balance is going to be challenging and my business will surely look different than it does now. For now, I’m practicing letting go of my expectations and keeping a mindset of open arms for what God has planned for me, my family, and WildHive Studio in 2024. I’ll be processing that over the next month as I do my yearly visioning workshop.

Stay tuned for a blog post on that. I’ll be sharing all my tips and tricks. :)

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. I’m so grateful to all the businesses that chose to work with me this year, the connections I’ve made, and the way God has grown me through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. I hope it was helpful to hear my journey and that you, too, have grace for yourself through your own journey’s up’s and down’s.

I actually made a piece of wall art that you can download for free on my shop! It’s a morning offering prayer to start each day.