What 2022 taught me about myself and business
2022 – what a year! It was a year I learned some powerful business lessons. It was a year of change, expansion and huge business growth for Your AJency. I wonder what 2023 will bring for my business? But with all the highs, there have been inevitable lows too. What this year has reminded me of is the importance of resilience as a business owner and female entrepreneur. The ability to push through and keep going, whatever challenges you are thrown and embrace EVERY opportunity.
So for my last blog of the year, I want to be honest and talk about authenticity as a female founder. Recently, more and more people have been saying “oh wow, you are smashing it”…which is amazing and I’m so grateful, but running a business, being a mum and keeping life in order including yourself and your self-care can be tough. Earlier this year, my hours were out of control. In fact, at a party earlier this year, I was described as a “workaholic”. It really shocked me that people perceived me that way and honestly, it gave me a huge wakeup call to strike a better balance. As we know Instagram often just shows the best bits and whilst I am going to talk about some huge highlights, I really want to share the lessons I learned and some of the tougher times, as there have most definitely been some.
There is beauty in the struggle. Being realistic that it is in fact, going to be hard work is one of the best things you can do as a business owner along with embracing support to help you build resilience. Ultimately these are things that will drive your success as a small business owner and that’s why I think it is more important than ever to share the good with the bad.
A year of change for my business
This year of huge change has been a process for me. Although I was excited to come home to the UK personally, when it came to Your AJency I was getting the traction and growth I had worked so hard at for the last 18 months. From a business perspective I definitely questioned whether it was the right time to be moving. However, the biggest difference is that I took on help for Your AJency and learned to change my mindset to focus on investing in my business to drive growth.
“Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference.”
I knew I needed support. I needed it to reposition myself back in the UK market. So, I started to work with a PR expert, Fiona Minett, who helped me increase my visibility. I had hit a point in Your AJency with the most social management clients I had ever had and simply couldn’t do it alone. At first I resisted to spend, but nearing burnout, I had that lightbulb moment and realised I needed to hire someone. Taking on help has been game changing. You have to believe that you have the ability to scale your business enough to make it worth the investment and that you will make that money back and some. It is about investing for where you are going and at the time, it can seem daunting but I can 100% confirm it is worth it. I have also learnt that some of the experts that I have working with me can enhance the service I offer to existing clients, so I have in turn supported these amazing women and their businesses. This is what fuels me and my brand, helping female entrepreneurs succeed and grow beyond their dreams.
The Business Highs With the Lows
There have also been some real lows moments this year, especially in July and August when we moved back to the UK. The goodbyes to friends and clients in Chicago, moving somewhere where we didn’t know anyone and all of it whilst trying to keep business going with zero childcare! It was harder than I had even anticipated. But amongst the madness of the move, I had an opportunity to speak at an event, something I had been trying to do for a long time and so just a few days after landing back I delivered a masterclass. It showed me yet again that as business owners, we have to wear so many hats all the time. I even had to record a masterclass mid-move which was tricky to say the least. But I did it! It wasn’t easy but I managed it and strived to do it as I was focusing on the future and not that exact moment in time. Something we should all bring into our practice as female entrepreneurs is giving ourselves space to reflect and recognise the wins - it’s not something a lot of us naturally do but it is so integral to your success and confidence as a female business owner and honestly, you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve come.
“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down. ”
In the moments of madness (or at least the moments that feel the most intense), it’s often where it forces me to regroup and reprioritise my business goals. Over the summer, in the chaos, I did have moments where I really questioned what I am doing, but it was in these moments that I felt pushed to focus on where I really wanted to take Your AJency. I shifted to focus more and more on mentoring as this is where I see my business growing. Offering mentoring to clients gives me more flexibility (something I was craving) and more of my time back so that I can focus on things outside of work like family, friends and time for myself!
I now have 3 inspiring mentoring clients. I love seeing them develop and achieve things they didn’t think was possible. In one case, it is all about accountability. My client is a successful business owner and an incredible single mum but often finds it difficult to take time away and actually switch off. So helping her prepare her business so that she can have guilt-free time off over Christmas without feeling like she has completely dropped everything and needs to start again in January is the absolute best feeling. It is this kind of support that shows me that mentoring is an invaluable part of business for many of us who run our own businesses.
Make It Happen
One of the highlights for Your AJency this year was a trip back to Chicago. One of my US clients told me how she wished I was there for a launch and together we made it happen! The launch itself was brilliant but what it yet again showed me was that, in real life connections and meetings are one f the most important things for me when it comes to how I manage my business. I always knew this but the trip back to Chicago just confirmed how important it is to me to have people around me and IRL connection is what fuels me. I hadn’t appreciated until I left Chicago how unique my position is. I offer digital services which of course in this day and age can all be virtual, but in Chicago I had the option to spend time with my clients and that is when I got all the little extra ideas from them, not to mention when I would create a lot of content that they were struggling to do themselves.
Another incredible business feat that Your AJency managed this year was winning “Best Global Strategic Marketing Agency in Chicago.” Alongside the hard work behind the scenes, the award was really down to the generosity of some of the amazing women I know, who took the time out to get involved with my ‘Moments to Motivate’ blog series. One of my favourite things to do is to share these incredible stories behind the women running some of the most inspiring small business. I can’t wait to share more as we go into the new year.
I am proud of where Your AJency has got to so far but this is just the beginning. I see a huge opportunity both here in the UK and in the US. For every high you see on social media, remember there is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes, and there are bound to be lows for anyone running their own business. Don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself, however easy that is to do, and always remember that every business owner will have had or is having their own challenges. Keep thinking of your goal and the future to get through those sticky moments and next year is bound to be a great year for your business.
Merry Christmas to you all from everyone at Your AJency. We can’t wait to see where next year takes us and support more female founders follow their dreams! Thank you to anyone who has supported us get to where we have got to so far! I’m taking my first week off the blog, but will be back for first week of January!