Business love and learnings 2019 - My first year as a small business owner in review
Wow! My first year full-time as a small business owner (or...small design agency owner) has flown by! I took the leap last year on 1st February 2019, and I haven’t looked back. I’ve learnt so much about my business, and about working with clients and other business and agency owners.
I want to reflect on how the year has been so that I can celebrate the moments, see what didn’t quite go to plan and why so that I can learn from it and better myself and my business this year. But it’s not all about me, I’m hoping by sharing my experiences I can inspire/help anyone else who is interested in starting their own business.
I’ve been a Designer for 15 years. Part-time business owner for about 5 years, full-time business owner for the last year...So… let’s start with...
What went well in the first year? - The business love
1 | Designed and launched 6 brands and 10 Squarespace websites
Thrilled to have designed and had the opportunity to bring so many projects as part of the KSD family. I love designing distinctive brands and Squarespace websites. It’s been a totally pleasure knowing I’ve been able to bring my clients vision alive and all alongside knowing they have really enjoyed working with my process.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Mela Jewellery (Brand identity design)
Sookio (Squarespace website)
Greedy Catering (Brand and Squarespace website)
CCL (Brand and Squarespace website)
Heidi Madsen Coaching (Brand identity design)
LW Marketing (Squarespace website)
2 | Speaking opportunities
Not one but 2 opportunities to share my knowledge of branding, design, websites, and being a business owner.
In March 2019 went into London, to the University of West London, and spoke about how I went about setting up my design business and then did a short talk on branding and Squarespace websites.
In April 2019 I spoke at the third Girl Tribe Gang (Cambridge) meet up, the talk was about “How To Create A Great User Experience For Your Website.”
It was such a great feeling (despite the initial nerves), and something I’m definitely thinking to try and do more of this year.
Thank you to Jules Brim and Kristin Brewe for bringing these opportunities to me. I loved being able to share my knowledge and expertise!
3 | Mentors
I reaped the benefits of learning numerous essential business experiences from 2 fantastic agency owners who I’ve admired for years:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again after that too), their incredible support and direction have been amazing.
I’ve been so lucky to have the best support system around me, and these 2 incredible humans have made my first year better than I could have imagined. Thank you.
4 | The loveliest clients
My clients and buddies, who trust me with their business vision and goals, are the loveliest of people. I’ve been selective as to who I would like to work with and I’m grateful that they chose me to work with as well.
They’ve all been brilliant collaborations.
5 | Repeat client work
It’s great being able to further help my clients business and support their vision as they grow their businesses. Being part of that is something really special and knowing that they continue to choose me as well is really a treat - for me!
6 | Won an award - “Website of the Year” at the 2019 SME Cambridge Business Awards
One of the best highlights of my year! An absolutely incredible feeling and epic partnership between myself, Sue Keogh, and the Sookio team.
7 | Shortlisted for a DevelopHER Award 2019 in the Eye for Design category
I’ve always been naturally creative and have an exceptional eye for detail. Paired with my ability to ask the right questions and really dig deep into a design brief to ensure the design in hand really meets the needs of the user is so important to me as a designer and business owner.
I was super pleased to have been recognised and made it onto the shortlist for a DevelopHER award.
8 | Attended numerous meetups and a few conferences
In the last year, I have made the conscious effort to “get out there” and mingle in person. Bring a real face to my business and learn in an environment that wasn’t always within my comfort zone. If anything, this has definitely been a learning curve and one that has definitely paid off as I have met so many amazing people and businesses. This leads me too...
9 | Met and found some brilliant business colleagues
Being a business owner can be a lonely place. You don’t have to do it alone and I have been fortunate enough to have found some excellent likeminded business owners, who not only keep me sane but also have been a great sounding board and support system. We are there for each other and it’s a journey we are taking together… I can’t wait to see what this year brings for us all!
You know who you are, and thank you. Special thanks to Kelly Morel, Jules Brim and Elodie Giuge.
10 | Invested in Workshops
I can’t claim to do it all or know it all, but I can claim to want to help myself and my business and I highly recommend this for all business owners. During the last year, I took the decision to invest in Workshops. I’ve learnt a great deal from the workshops and I can hand on heart say it’s been worth the investment. Thank you, Pippa Akram and Lenka Koppova for teaching me the social media essentials I wanted in my first year!
11 | Fully booked months in advance
A goal of mine as I started my first year in business was to be booked up in advance. At the end of Summer 2019, I was booked 3 months in advance, and now as I look back I’m pretty pleased that I managed that.
What I’m even more proud of is that, towards the end of Summer, I revisited that goal and wanted to be booked up 6 months in advance. As my first year in business comes to an end, I’m epically proud to say I’ve also achieved this as well. I’m currently fully booked till end of May/Middle of June 2020. It’s down to A LOT of hard work, a streamlined process and dedication to wanting this to happen.
What didn’t go so well? - The learnings!
Genuinely. I’m a bit stumped at this bit.
I struggle to think of anything “bad” as I don’t tend to see things like that. In my eyes, if it’s “bad” it’s learning to be made or had.
With that in mind, I would say...
1 | Finding time for my own business
As the year whizzed by I realised I have a list as long as my arm and then some (because for those who don’t you know me, I’m 5’2” and so my arm isn’t that long) for all the things I need and want to do for my business and IN my business. I’ve heard it before and from so many amazing business owners that the best way to tackle this is to plan it in. Put it in the dairy.
That is something I hardly ever did in my first year, and so it’s something I am going to implement for this year.
Actually, I have already actioned that as I took the first 2-3 week in January (2020) to update my already streamlined design process. I switched systems and invested in my business (financially and with regards to time) and I’ve already seen the improvement in my client’s projects - some existing bookings I have moved over and some new bookings that have come through already!
I’m definitely looking forward to ensuring I do this more as allocating time to my business is so important.
2 | Mental space
Prioritising time to breathe in between projects and give myself some time and a pat on the back is something I neglected. I wasn’t as “present” as I would like to have been, and this is something I need to learn to do. It doesn’t come as easily as one would think with me. But it’s another super important one to me.
3 | Outsourcing
Again, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s a case of learning and understanding when the right time and situation arises, that I can and probably should outsource, and…...
4 | Increase my collaboration
I’ll be honest, I’ve always collaborated - with clients, other business owners, workshops hosts, and more recently with regards to hiring another service for my own business and brand.
Being a one-woman band is not a bad thing, but I’ve learnt that increasing my collaboration is something I should consider doing more of.
I’ve got some ideas brewing for collaborations in 2020 and I’m looking forward to it! Stay tuned!!
Thank you…
… and there you go! The love and learnings of my first year as a fulltime business owner.
Thank you to everyone who has read to the end and has been a part of my journey so far.