2020 Recap, Lessons Learned
2020 Recap, Lessons Learned
Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.
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As I reflect on 2020 I share some of the top lessons that I learned during the year. 2020 was a year with a lot of negativity but the year also brought a lot of really good things like clarity, direction, and simplifying areas of life and business. I think going back and looking at a few takeaways from the year and what came of it really helps to put things into perspective for where I plan to go in 2021.
Lessons I learned in 2020:
- I learned to listen to myself. I had a lot of time for reflection and time spent in the unknown so it forced me to look at the things I can control. Sometimes we get so caught up in all the things that other people are doing that we forget to stop and ask ourselves “Is this something that I like or want to be doing?”. When everyone around us is launching something new and exciting it is easy to feel like we need to be doing that also. But, what I realized in 2020 is that I needed to slow down and really evaluate what it was that I wasn’t for myself and for my business. Ultimately, this is your life and all you have is the family and friends closest to you so do the things that make you truly happy. For me, that was doing less and understanding that sometimes less actually is more. I was able to do less of things thing I originally thought to be important and my business still grew.
- I focused on my mindset. Mindset is a huge component for business and being successful. If your mind isn’t in the right place it can begin to hinder your growth and your goals. My goal in 2020 was to simplify and at the time I didn’t think it would be possible to grow the way I wanted to while also simplifying things. But, being able to pull out of everyone else’s orbit and really hone in on the things that I really wanted and focus less on the things I thought others wanted of me. My goal was to gain more clients, but I didn’t want just any clients. I wanted ones that would work with me consistently and grow through and with me. One of the best things I was able to do at the end of the year was an audit of my business. I was able to see that through simplifying I was still able to get the clients I desired and reach my goals.
- I dropped the planning and lived in the now. It wasn’t easy for me. Not having a plan just isn’t something that I regularly do. But, in 2020 pretty much everything that I planned flew out the window which threw me for a loop and forced me to learn how to live in the now and not worry about planning everything. The best part is by doing this and living in the moment it left open the freedom I was seeking to step away from social media, the computer and take the time off. During my end of the year audit, I was able to see that my business grew 30% last year. I was able to reach my goals by controlling less than I usually would.
- I learned that spending less time on social media didn’t crush my business. This is so tricky and can feel scary. But, I dropped off. I reduced the time I spent on social media and the content I was putting out. I pulled back and was able to focus on the things I wanted the most and then go pursue after those dreams.
- I was able to explore my creativity in ways I hadn’t done before. I began to dip my toes into video and the different ways video can be used in business. Which lead me to be able to offer more and deepen the relationships that I already have.
What can you take away from 2020? Have you stopped to evaluate and audit your business or are you throwing it in the trash and moving on?
Let me know, I would love to see if this insight from my year might have helped you realize some of the positive things you might have experienced too!
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About Crystal
Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.
