Last January, I set my goals for the year as bringing in at least two new clients and increasing billing by 20%. I thought this was a realistic goal that would encourage me to continue growing my business, but I was also worried. While I hadn’t announced it at the time, I knew I was pregnant and would be giving birth to my first child in late summer. I didn’t know how pregnancy or motherhood would impact my business, and I set a separate private goal of breaking even for the year (as in, being able to pay all my scheduled bills with no extras for vacations, etc.) by the time my child was born. Since he was due in late August, that meant I had ¾ of the year to make it happen.
2019 started off SUPER slow. I went months without breaking even, dipping back into savings to pay portions of my mortgage, health insurance, and estimated taxes. I had work (one ongoing client and several smaller one-off projects), but it wasn’t enough to maintain my lifestyle. I took the opportunity to 1) hustle new business, 2) work my way through a self-created Business 101 crash course, and 3) explore different networking and business development opportunities. And then in early summer, I landed another large, long-term client who wanted me to create a digital communication strategy for their organization and serve as a mentor and resource for their junior digital communication staff. This was the break I needed, providing consistent income for several months at a large volume.
The peaks and valleys are par for the course for being a small business owner and they were complicated this year by my pregnancy, which wasn’t always easy, and adjusting to new motherhood, which was definitely a steep learning curve. I’m happy to say I finished 2018 out strong, even going so far as to turn down some clients and projects around my due date (see my previous post about how we all need better parental leave above). I’m even happier to be able to report that I hit those goals I set at the beginning of the year: I brought in 3 new clients in 2018, while retaining most of my existing client base, and I increased billing by nearly 33%.
So what are my goals for 2019? Well, I’ve relocated – I sold my house in Alexandria, VA in December and am now living in Lynchburg, VA. It’s a much smaller market and I’m going to have to work hard to establish myself here, while also maintaining and expanding my remote client base in the greater Washington, DC area. I also want a work-life balance that allows me to support my son, while also having as much time with him as possible. With that in mind (and since I don’t have stockholders clamoring for year over year growth), I see 2019 as a re-establishment year. My goal is to maintain my client base and income, while I build a new network, make connections, and establish roots here in Lynchburg. While I want to keep growing my business, I’m not ready to set ambitious number goals for client acquisition or billing when the intangibles need to be my focus in 2019. What I will do is commit to both running a successful business and being the best mom I can be this year.
Quick facts from 2018:
New Children:
Flynn
New Clients:
JB Health Consulting
National Mental Health Alliance
National Association of Letter Carriers
Returning Clients:
CPWR: Center for Construction Research and Training
MAXIMUS
Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative
US Interagency Council on Homelessness
Snapshot of Communication Activities:
Annual report
Blog posts
Case studies
Conference program book
Digital communication strategy development
Proofreading/copyediting
Social media management (crafting posts, content calendars & strategy)