2021 Business Year in Review
Great evening all! I trust you all have had a beautiful blessed start to the year. It’s such an exciting time — the energy & momentum is picking up right before it slows back down again. I believe we’re in or entering the shadow period of Mercury Retrograde — eeeek. I know we all feel a type of way whenever this time of year rolls around again. But it’s a beneficial time for Rest, Restoration and Reflection. Self Care will be crucial during that time. We can begin preparing now by assessing our recent happenings, as well as, our last year. Personally & Professionally. In this blog, we will be discussing our Business Analysis from the past year. We’ve had so many wins and so many Lessons to learn, but overall we have every opportunity to start off this year on a beautiful note. Let’s begin the analysis:
In Quarter 1, we had some big wins. We had an extensive amount of business clientele for the first time since establishment. And we made money from more streams than ever before as well. Financially, we were still breaking even — but we weren’t exactly there yet when it came to our scaling strategies. Luckily, we were just getting into the groove of creating content and I continued to find my footing when it came to finding a part time job to invest back into my business.
In Quarter 2, we also had a lot of business! And great success in media production — we shot our first wedding ever! And started Website Development & Design services for a client. It’s been an amazing ride so far and overall, we were still seeing the same success — although we were still seeking to prepare for more.
In Quarter 3, I started balancing Uber with Entrepreneurship to invest back into the business and manage expenses. I started investing in physical fitness training and the results have been incredible! It’s amazing to see what investing back into yourself will do — I would say my business still was showing signs of growth even when it came to my Health & Wellness freelance coaching services. Although, this is when things started to get very tricky…
In Quarter 4, My life got turned upside down. I had to move out of my parents’ house suddenly. My sister and I found ourselves without shelter and without a plan. We traveled to the east coast at the end of Summer to clear our minds before coming back and starting again on making our dreams a reality; attempts at getting sparks back up in business proved to be quite difficult and challenging. At the time we were staying in an extended stay hotel with high daily rate fees that eventually we couldn’t afford or hold up on one slim income stream. We left the hotel and couched surfed at a couple relatives house until the holidays. We worked gigs and gathered the funds to start a healthy and stable financial foundation while scaling and figuring out our business plans. And this is where we are today, starting from scratch.
Overall, we made money this year! Improving from last year when we took a loss. Now we’re considered an official business and I’m more clear than ever on our strategies & offerings. I’m so proud and happy of our growth and experience over time. We have come so far — 2021 was a huge test of my commitment to my dreams. I’m glad I passed the tests and got through with more Faith & Confidence in myself than I ever have had before. I have God and my Family to thank, as well as, the Tools. Yoga, Meditation, Journaling, even just Music was getting me through the hard times. Prayer was a huge tool, and reading books/reciting affirmations.
Again, I learned a lot of valuable information over the past year. There was so much to be thankful for, and there still is so much I’m grateful to have & to receive. Here are some key takeaways from my Business Analysis:
Prepare for the unexpected: Spend Less & Save More. Watch my Grocery Spending, Restaurant Spending & Gas costs, specifically.
Rely on myself and myself only; Never get too comfortable depending on anyone else. Congratulate myself for every win, every step forward.
Forms of Stability are necessary. PT job or Side Hustles are necessary in times of low traffic & down seasons. Proper financial management will not only help us feel more empowered, but also more Stable & Secure. Cultivating Gratitude for every dollar we have & every dollar we’re able to spend, is such a healthy Financial practice that has proven valuable in my Life.
Our marketing ads are good as far as design is concerned; we need to increase the amount of times and how we market; increase improving market sources. Facebook has proven valuable & worthy of the pitch attempts that I’ve done, as well as, Instagram. I also got spiritual guidance to start putting stuff & recording for YouTube, so we will be doing that!
Our services are a little too complicated & scattered. We need to streamline and simplify certain things in order for us to look more appealing.
When it comes to Time Management, To-Do’s & Success, we have to Prioritize depending on what’s most important to the business at the moment, and according to the phases of the business as well. Managing our energy, and pointing it in the right direction that lead us to Success vs. wasting our energy and not being intentional with our direction is not a difficult decision to make, but it’s a Lesson that will eventually be Learned more by experience.
No matter how tedious things are/feel in the moment, it’s so worthwhile to stay committed & consistent and focus on finishing what we started. Whether it’s a task or work, take baby steps and focus on the present moment as long as possible. Release negative thoughts, anxieties, fear and/or tension by listening to Sound frequencies, Guided Meditations or helpful Podcasts to help refocus your Mind back on what’s important.
Being completely transparent with ourselves is what is going to keep us on the right track! It’s not about shaming or blaming ourselves for our past decisions, but it’s about all our future opportunities for us to make things right. Not only do we have these things to look forward to in the future, but we also have so much to be thankful for, again, as we look back. Here are a few things, personal & professional, that were big wins for me this past year:
This is the first year I made a net profit. Now, it’s time to set new monthly and annual goals for the coming year.
Only two months out of the year did I not make any money with Entrepreneurship; 10 months out of the year I did make a profit; and I made $1,000 net profit twice last year.
These two wins tell me that things are improving overall with the business!
I leveraged at least 4 Income streams this year; an estimated 8 — (Photography Services, Modeling, Graphic Design, Website Design & Development, Cannabis Trimming, Illustration, Uber Eats, & Holistic Health Coaching) ((Brand Ambassador is next :)))
Conquered a lot of things that were outside of my comfort zone this year, like Modeling! Modeled more than I ever have as a freelancer and appeared in a music video for the first time!
I worked out more than I ever have before; started running again and did 6-8 months of stretch training with Alexis. I’m feeling and looking stronger than ever!
I reached my goal weight this year of 145 lbs :D this was extremely hard for me at one point
Finished 3 books: (Vibrate Higher Daily by Lalah Delia, The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra)
We had 3 HeadShot Clients, 2 Brand Shoots and Our first Wedding shoot ever this year!
I got my first painting commission gig for an event pop up shop in DTLA.
There were A LOT of wins — and so many more great things I’m so happy to have accomplished this year. Another thing, I applied for about 9 Business Grants; didn’t get anything back yet but it’s a win just because I never thought I would make it this far, this soon as a business owner! It really made me feel like a CEO and I feel like one every time I’m working on my Business Plan or doing my Business Taxes & Finances. It feels amazing to jump the timeline and every day I’m getting much more comfortable in the process. I can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for us! I’m so grateful for what was, what is and what is to come!
Thank you so much for taking the time to look back with me — I hope there was something you can take away from this blog. Let me know if there’s anything you want to see, I’m always open to hearing the thoughts of the community and seeing how I can continue to show up. I look forward to continue serving you. Ase! I will talk to you all soon <333
soulfulayuh