I can’t quite believe we’re in the middle of January and I’m still trying to finish posts I’d started last year, one of which was intended to be a bit of a review of the year just gone. Repurposing has always been a favourite thing of mine and it works for blogs too!! So much for my “happy new year” photo!!
Like most of us, I was looking forward to a quiet time over Christmas/New Year, partly because it gave me a chance to take a breath, and spend some time organising myself, doing a bit more reno work at home (there’s still the pool to fill in and recently de-carpeted floors to sand!), maybe even some socialising and taking a couple of days off!
It was also, I thought, the perfect timing to work on a couple of websites – one for a client and also a couple of my own pet projects, catch up on some of my “favourite” admin activities .. you know take advantage of the quiet time of year … and gather myself for a whole new one.
Famous last words!
Starting on Christmas Eve, and through to today it’s certainly been a crazy mad finish to 2013 and an even crazier start to 2014…
- I went to my first Lismore Chamber of Commerce board meeting, and was subsequently elected co-Vice Chair.
- I did indeed do that client site, for Newtown Review of Books, but have yet to do the post and add it to the portfolio.
- I have nearly finished work on a a couple new clients’ websites – the bigger of these is for a group of child care centres (much work was done on New Year’s Day!) an the site will be released in the next few days.
- I have a significant number of website jobs, large and small, either just started over the Christmas break, in the wings or being quoted on. This makes me very very happy! Everything from an online store to a photographer to a church.
- Investigated the Web123 Pro Partner program – I’m thinking I’ll add that to the mix soonish and I’m excited about this one – it will give clients more choices for website setup, i.e. not restricting myself to only WordPress. After speaking with the guys at Web123 at length before Christmas, it has become apparent that I’m the only WordPress developer (nearly) signed up – I’m thinking it will give them another perspective on their products!
- Finally installed some automated invoicing software – one of those ‘admin’ jobs I’ve been wanting to do for some time and rather more complex that I’d anticipated, but it will be good once completely in place.
- Nearly finished my first eBook and subscription site for people wanting to do their websites themselves to keep costs down.
- And, I’ve had some lovely new business referrals via people I’ve never met – literally never even heard of them – and that was a real boost to my self esteem!
And just because I didn’t think I was busy enough, I bought a business! I’ve not really said much about this because the details weren’t really finalised until Christmas Eve and in fact some it is still filtering through! I will post more about this (and put some more info on the website soon) but I now offer expanded services including web hosting and domain name registration (maybe).
In a nutshell, Leumesin Design now incorporates Lismore Website Services.
It’s been a busy few weeks to say the least. There’s probably more I could add to this list but I won’t, and in fact there’s probably a similar number of things I didn’t even start.
On reflection though it’s such a turnaround from November and early December last year. After my 1 year anniversary in October, things got quiet. Very quiet. Scarily quiet. And I wondered if I was really chasing my tail trying to get Leumesin Design flying. After all, I know I’m good at what I do, but running a business isn’t just about the skill/s that you have to sell.
When I thought about it some more, I really couldn’t pinpoint why business should’ve been so quiet. I knew everyone was focussed on Christmas and holidays, and the end of the year, but surely that couldn’t have been the only reason?
Then I realised I’d forgotten to say ‘thank you’. I don’t mean thanking clients, or friends, or family, or the bank of Dad for their support, their business, and their friendship, although I probably don’t do that as often as I should, I’m talking about thanking the universe! I know that probably makes me sound like a bit of a flake, but I’m a firm believer in karma –
What goes around comes around.
Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
Be kind.
Find the good in every situation.
And I realised I’d forgotten to say thank you for the good things that happen every single day. And as soon as I started doing that again, things started to get better.
Who knows if they really are connected – maybe November is just a quiet month for web designers (it happened 2012 too) – but starting my ‘gratitude diary’ and actually focusing on the good things and writing down the things I have to be thankful for has put me in a much more peaceful and open state of mind! A bit of visualisation doesn’t hurt either!
So with appreciation and thanks to the universe, 2014 promises to be a busy, productive and successful year for me, and I hope it is for you too!
