2020 Recap: Reflections + Insights From My Design Studio
It was a wild year.
I know you don’t need one more person telling you how 2020 was.… let’s just say it’s been a season. A very long season.
Like every year, each of us has a story of how the year went.
this is mine.
I started January 2020 as a brand new mom, diving back into my business after a 3-month maternity leave. I already anticipated it being a transitional year with plenty of ups + downs, figuring out how to juggle motherhood and entrepreneurship, and how to continue to grow my business while working limited hours with my sweet Avery home with me.
I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I also was determined to not set firm expectations in advance and, instead, take it as it comes.
Honestly, 2020 was a big experiment right from the beginning.
I didn’t book any 2020 branding projects until right at the end of my maternity leave, because I didn’t know how I’d feel. I didn’t know what kind of baby I was going to have (turns out she is not a sit-quietly-while-you-work kinda kid). I didn’t know what kind of capacity I was going to have. I didn’t know how much I would even want to work. I didn’t know much.
Although it was hard to go into the year without having any strategy or specific goals, it turned out to be a beautiful thing. I got better at going with the flow and found intention in that, somehow. It allowed breathing room for our family’s schedule to evolve naturally without too many barriers and helped me stay in alignment with what I needed and what my family needed.
As I dipped my toes back into work, I didn’t want to miss anything with Avery. I knew the baby stage wouldn’t last forever and in a few years, Avery will be off to school and I'd be longing for these days! At the same time, I realized how much I really do love my business, my clients, and the work I do. It was a year of learning how to find some resemblance of “balance” between the two. I knew I could do both, but I needed to do it in a way that felt good to me. So, ultimately, that was the goal.
Of course, nobody expected what March (and the following months) brought us. I’m grateful for our family’s health and safety, and I’m thankful that my business, although impacted, actually experienced more growth than ever this year… in more ways than one.
Some reflections on 2020 and what’s coming next in 2021…
What went well
My best design work came out of this year
I continued to focus on quality over quantity and worked with a limited number of clients. It was also important to me that I took on the right clients for me — small business owners with big-hearted missions that fit my core values — and doing so with a flexible schedule that gives me the freedom to prioritize my family too. I’ve always known this is the key to producing my very best design work and this year did not disappoint. I collaborated with some of the most amazing humans and I’m so excited about all the beautiful things we created together.
Celebrating my 2020 branding clients!
I was B-U-S-Y and had my best financial year yet.
Although I lost my biggest long-term + recurring client due to the shut down (which was difficult and sad on many levels), other business owners and organizations came to me with extra time and energy to dedicate to their marketing. I’m grateful to say that these amazing clients kept me busy as ever and thanks to them (and also due to raising my rates at the beginning of the year), I had my most financially successful year so far. With all the uncertainty and my little lady in tow, it’s something I’m really proud of.
We moved and I spent lots of time with my little fam.
Although the restlessness of quarantine definitely was a thing, I’m thankful for the new beautiful home we moved into this summer and the quality time we had as a family… especially during Avery’s first year of life (I still can’t believe she’s ONE). With limited childcare over the course of the year and my husband going back to freelancing with a flexible work schedule in August, we tag teamed caring for Avery most days during the week. It was a lot and some days were stressful, but it’s not lost on me that we’re incredibly fortunate to have a healthy and growing little girl, and that she had so much one-on-one time with both of us. It has also challenged us to think about our long-term goals and dreams as a family, and what we want our day-to-day to look like as we move forward.
I reached out for help.
About halfway through the year, I listened to an episode of Ashley Gartland’s Better Than Big Podcast (tune in here!) where she asked, "What do I want my business to make possible in my life?" This question stirred something in me and I started to feel incredibly empowered and ready to make big shifts that will help bring more ease, simplicity, and resources to support my family… all while working 20-25 hours/week, so I can be both the mother and the business owner I want to be, without running myself to the ground. It’s not that things were going terribly in my business — things were working! At least from the outside. On the inside, I felt chaotic and stretched thin. It became obvious that I needed to make some changes to ensure my business was serving my life in the way it needed to in this season of life.
Although I knew I could perhaps tackle this on my own, I didn’t want to. So, after 8+ years of running my design studio, I invested in a business coach for the first time. I knew from experience that working with Ashley is game-changing (I had worked with her on a smaller scale in the past!) and there was nobody I'd rather go to for guidance, support, strategy, and accountability, to ensure I'm staying focused and not getting lost in my limiting beliefs, mindset blocks, perfectionism, people pleasing, and over-complicating of ideas.
We started working together in November and it. is. everything. We have already accomplished so much and I see myself and my business going through a transition that feels really, really good. My little boutique design studio world has been rocked in the best way. Game-changing, indeed.
Looking ahead to 2021…
2021 is going to be a big year for my little design studio.
Here is what I’m looking forward to, what you can expect from me, and how we can work together!
MY signature branding package
I’m thrilled to be now offering one Signature Branding Package and one-on-one branding experience. This package is perfect for small business owners who are ready to invest in a complete new visual identity that speaks to them and their audience in a meaningful way. You will have the opportunity to customize with any add-ons you may need and you’ll also walk away with a set of custom marketing collateral pieces (selected by you!).
I approach our time together as a true collaboration — we work together as a team and I provide you with choices throughout our process, so you walk away feeling like your fingerprints are on the design. Your brand will feel like you.
I’ll continue to take on limited clients this year as well, to ensure I’m giving each and every business owner the attention they deserve.
Learn more about my Signature Branding Package:
LETTING GO OF WEBSITE DESIGN + focusing on branding collabs
My Squarespace website design service was orignally born out of a need. My clients asked about it, they loved the idea of a “one stop shop”, and I loved offering them a seamless branding experience and making their brand styling come to life in this big exciting way. Over the years, I designed over 25 websites for my clients and honed my process, learned about website strategy, and taught myself CSS (with lots of help from my web developer hubby!) as I went.
In 2020, I sold more website packages than ever before. This service was working… from the outside. In reality, website design requires a completely different skillset than branding and the project management involved was starting to conflict with my vision for a simplified schedule. I was also able to pinpoint website design as a key factor in being stretched too thin this year.
So, after lots of careful consideration, I’ve decided to no longer offer website design starting in 2021. And friends, I feel really good about it. I’m incredibly proud of the websites I’ve designed and so happy I’ve been able to serve my clients in this way. Now, I look forward to focusing on branding — my true love! — and honing my craft even more, while partnering with some incredibly talented and creative website designers, who take what I create and build gorgeous online homes for my clients. Can’t wait for these collabs!
design days: on-going support for branding clients
I’ve always supported my branding clients with on-going design needs. I love helping them implement their new visual identity into their everyday communications, marketing, and client / customer touch points! Although in the past, it’s been tricky for me to figure out where to fit these projects into my schedule, especially since I was booking out branding + website projects 3-4 months in advance. With simplifying my schedule, I’ve found a way to serve clients better who are looking for on-going support…
Enter: Design Days! Clients book me for the day and we efficiently work through their design to-dos. This allows me to focus fully on one client’s brand for one dedicated day and knock out a ton of design work during our time together! It’s really straightforward, allows them to get on my calendar faster, and no complex timelines. Any design need they have, I’m here to help so they feel confident sharing their brand with the world and know they’re putting your best foot forward!
If you’re a past branding client and want to learn more about Design Days:
design spirit: my graphic design course!
Design Spirit is still alive and well, helping entrepreneurs hone their graphic design skills, develop a better design eye, and improve their visual marketing! I love seeing students hop into the course throughout the year and take things at their own pace. This year, I look forward to getting Design Spirit in more people’s hands and continuing to help businesses feel more confident in their marketing graphics and collateral (without hiring a graphic designer)!
A sustainable marketing plan, an affiliate program, a newsletter filled with resources and inspo (exclusive to students)… much to come!
WHEW! What a recap!
Although the year wasn’t anything like we imagined it would be, I’m thankful for the opportunities to shift my perspective and grow as a business owner, mother, wife, family member, human. Looking forward to 2021 and the healing and magic to come.