Goals for 2017

We're three weeks into the new year and I've been running full speed after a much needed break. My body feels recharged and it feels so great to be back at work!

In my previous blogpost, I promised I'd share some of my goals for 2017. I know "New Years Resolutions" are considered outdated and cheesy but I truly believe goal setting is essential. To keep things simple, I decided to make 3 to 5 yearly goals and break them down into smaller month brackets. That way, I can set realistic goals that I can actually achieve and take little steps to accomplish them. I have a few business and personal goals I hope to accomplish this year and I'd love to share some of them with you!

Working Smarter, not harder

Goal: to create an organized system for myself and further elevate my client's customer experience

I'm a solopreneur, which means I do everything from the front and the back end of the business. This could entail responding to emails, answering questions, designing, proofing, sourcing, creating contracts, and the list goes on. Now, I'm not complaining about this at all. I chose this life and I am dang grateful for it but after a few years of this, I'm learning that working smarter is SO MUCH better than working harder. One of the ways I've chosen to work smarter is creating a structure for myself so that I can be as efficient as possible. Some practical examples includes canned responses, automation, and outsourcing. Last year, we hired a CPA and a photographer and this year, I hope to bring on an intern/assistant. Having these set in place can help save time and I can invest that right back in to serving my clients.

For the month of January, my top priority was to create a custom questionnaire specifically for my wedding clients. I've noticed that there was a lot of the same questions being asked so I decided to create a page to answer everything related to Custom Wedding Stationery. This page answers all the FAQ's and goes over our step-by-step process so that my clients can have a better understanding and know what to expect.

Collaborating with Creatives

Goal: to create a community of creatives that will lift each other up & make beautiful things together

I absolutely love working with people. In fact, that's the #1 thing I miss most about having a day job! The first six months, I struggled a lot working by myself (and sometimes still do,) but one of my good friends encouraged me to put myself out there and meet with other people in the industry. Since then, I've tried to attend local networking events, participate in styled shoots and plan coffee dates (insta DM is where the magic happens.) By putting myself out there, I've befriended some wonderful and talented people along the way and I hope to continue investing in my community this year. Collaborating definitely is not limited to locals though. I would love to connect with people from all over and make pretty things together! Styled shoot is one of my favorite methods of collaborating with others and designing something I enjoy so I hope to continue to do more this year.

Home is where the Pup is

Goal: buy a home and make it our own (and give Rylie a yard)

If you caught my IG story @chasinglinen yesterday, my husband and I went to see a couple houses with our realtor! It's been a dream of ours to buy a home and it's crazy to think that it could happen soon. We've been researching for the past couple months, learning as much as we can and now, we're ready to make it happen. Ideally, we would like to find a place with a solid structure that needs some updating (& of course a yard for Rylie.) We love doing things with our hands so we definitely want to do some renovations on our property. You can say we were inspired by Chip & Joanna ;) Hopefully, we'll find the perfect little place that fits our vision and budget in the next few months. I'll be updating each step of the process so you can follow along this exciting step of our lives.

Lifestyle Blog

Goal: to share more of my life and capture moments as they happen

There are so many life moments happening each season and I would love to document them in the form of a blog. I've journaled my whole life but in recent years, I switched to blogging because you can share images along with the memories. Last year, I did 32 blog posts averaging 2.5 post per month but for this new year, I'd love to do 3+ posts per month. I've been wanting to share more of my life and personal topics like marriage, buying a home, and maybe even cooking posts! I'll definitely keep posting art and business topics as well - can't forget about those DIY posts!