Years ago, as I approached December 31st, I can remember feeling like it was approaching closure. I’d wrap up my projects, I’d close all the books, I’d clean my desk, and I’d take some time off over the holidays with few cares.
I’m not sure what’s happened but boy. That is not the case these days. I feel like I will check out for the holidays and still be right in the middle of a million things.
Maybe it’s because I’m older.
Maybe life is more complicated.
Maybe I’ve taken on too much and am feeling overwhelmed. Did I mention we’re bringing home a puppy in January yet (see featured photo of this post).
I feel like I’m going to sprint until the day we leave for vacation and there’s no way it will all be done. There just aren’t going to be neat little bows on everything this year.
When I look back at 2024 though, it was an amazing year. Here are some of my top highlights:
- First, I rebranded. Launching Big Voice Social as the new name and look was exhilarating and is still bringing me joy everyday. I got myself on an editorial calendar that I have stuck to pretty well all year and worked to put MY brand out front with authentic content about our company and myself. This was something I struggled with before but I really focused on it and made it happen.
- I got a better understanding of my finances. I’m no MBA and suffice it to say the MBA who lives in this house asks a LOT of questions (often before I’ve had coffee) so I reached out to some advisors to help me better understand my cashflow, my P+L and my billing… all things that were causing stress. I worked with Rosa Ivey at Organize 4 Life to clean up the books and make things make sense and then Andy Ahern at AJA Financial Services to help me move my books to Quickbooks Online. To other business owners out there this may sound strange more than a decade into business ownership, but it was an area at which I have never excelled so bringing in the proper advisors and getting it right made sense right now.
- I invested in Marketing Made Simple for Small Business. This mentorship program lit a fire and helped me in the effort to put my business out front. On top of that, I am now part of an amazing group of female entrepreneurs around the country. These women are amazing. Some are just launching, some have been in business as long as I have. We bounce ideas off each other and share best practices. I am amazed at these women and honored to be a part of it. This includes going live with Lisi Metzger of L Studio Media, a similar business to mine in New York. We are loving our Instagram Lives and can’t wait to do more of them. If you missed yesterday’s it was a good one. Catch it here.
- I began putting pieces in place to launch a podcast in 2025. It’s coming. Life has gotten a little in the way but it’s coming.
And now I get to look forward to 2025:
- The podcast
- A new puppy – we are open to name ideas that go with our NYC theme of SoHo, Gramercy and TriBeCa. TriBeCa is excited to have a little sister to play with.
- My daughter enjoying a semester abroad and then hopefully landing a summer internship where she wants to be
- My son heading off to college (He’s gotten into 2 so far! More to come in January).
- Becoming empty nesters. I’m kind of excited and kind of dreading it… that’s normal, right?
- Launching a workshop with two of my local strategic partners. Watch for details on that in January. First course is planned for late February!
- Upping my game on my business marketing by continuing to learn from those who know more.
Before I let the year go though, I did mention in my Big Marketing Minute this week how to wrap up your year (even if it’s not tied with a pretty bow this time). I recommend taking some notes – yes, with a pen and paper – to learn from your content this year:
- Check your insights on each platform. I know not all platforms are great about sharing data (ahem, LinkedIn free personal profiles) but certainly Facebook and Instagram can provide you with some insights.
- What worked best for your brand? What got the highest reach? The most views? The most engagement?
- Check your google analytics. What pieces of content on your website got the most traffic?
- Determine which pieces to replay next year. Some topics are certainly evergreen. You can remix those Reels and you can repurpose your content. Have a video that performed well? Write a blogpost about it. And vice versa. And you can always rewrite a blogpost with a different set of points about the same topic. If the content is resonating with your audience, keep it going.
- Mark some benchmarks. You know I never put a lot of weight into follower counts, but it is good to note them. So mark where you are this year and see how you can watch growth next year.
- Make sure you’ve got a list of pieces of content ready to roll in January. No time like the present to start looking forward!
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