While 2020 has thrown one challenge after another, I feel like I’m ending the year on a positive note. It’s been quite fitting that I chose “resolve” as my word of the year!

HERE’S A LOOK BACK AT MY YEAR OF RESOLVE…

Life

• I turned 25 in February!

• In July, the family was able to visit the White Lamb Cottages again. It was a much needed vacation. While the other trips I had planned were cancelled, I did take some staycations and have been much better at not working during them.

• Shelby and I started doing a date day back in the summer. Every Friday we’d order a sandwich at Windy Ridge Orchard, get my produce for the week at Four Corners Farm, and end with a Hatchland ice cream. (Check out my Instagram Reel!) Fridays became my favorite, and while all of those spots are now closed for the season, we’re trying to continue our date day practice into the winter.

• My credit score SOARED to above 800! (My goal was 730.)

• I left my job with Emshika in early October to focus on my business (which is finally back in the growth stage!).

• Shelby and I bought a 2013 Audi Q5, which we are absolutely loving. It’s the largest car we have, making grocery trips and road trips way easier. And more comfortable! Our car has sooo many features that I’m adoring. It’s also been super reliable in the snow.

• I booked at least one spa appointment a month (when it was okay to do so again), such as massage, reiki, facials, and pedicures. The relaxation and feelings of bliss have helped me get through the year and have given me something to look forward to. (My goal was once a week, but I’ve been mindful of my finances this year with all the craziness going on.)

• I read 21 books. While my goal was 33, I’m still proud of this feat. The majority of the year was super busy for me!

• I’ve been monitoring the Screen Time app on my phone and laptop, and am proud to be keeping my screen time to less than an hour a day on my phone and five hours a day on my laptop when I’m at work. (Reading is helping me reduce my screen time!)

• I’m in the process of releasing money blocks, false beliefs, and negative memories. A few things that have helped are “The Greatest Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and Denise Duffield-Thomas’ Money Bootcamp course.

• While I haven’t gotten the knack of intuitive eating yet, per my goal, I did purchase a couple of books on the subject that are on my reading list for 2021.

Resolve

• Shelby was laid off in January and still hasn’t found a job. Thanks to our saving habit and bouncing money around, we haven’t misses a single mortgage (or anything) payment. When he was making mad unemployment money in the summer, we were resolved to save a chunk of it for the future, and so we could buy a reliable winter car.

• I completely let go of offering photography, freelance writing and marketing refresh packages, and also let go of my final social media clients. While these were my biggest money makers, I resolved to focus on what I really wanted to do. Working for Emshika made up for the lower cash flow, and I’m now gaining momentum with my website design services.

• When leaving my job with Emshika, I was resolved to make sure my business would be on good footing. Within a week of putting in my notice, one of my neighbors at the Tannery asked if he could rent a quarter of my space, and mine and Shelby’s community organization (see LEAD below) is also paying rent. Between my two “tenants",” my rent/internet expense went from $800/mo. to $200/mo.! This drastically reduced my fixed expenses, so going into 2021, I’ll have a much higher profit margin.

Business

• Shelby and I founded Littleton Entertainment And Development (LEAD) in September as a way to plan more community events and boost business development in Littleton. Our first event, the Littleton Area Festival of Trees, went well, and we have two events already planned for 2021!

• I re-did my social media mini courses to reflect recent updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Canva.

• I created and launched a new - and FREE! - course, Business 101. This will help me grow my email list. I didn’t meet my subscriber goal for this year, but I’m excited how Business 101 helps me exceed my goal next year!

• While online courses weren’t 30% of my income as I had hoped, I began learning new methods on how to promote them.

• Because I let go of the services I wasn’t enjoying, I’ve taken on more website design projects which I’m better at, enjoy more, and earn a higher profit margin on. (I completed eight websites this year, whereas in 2019 I did three.)

• Since I’ve been focusing on websites, I learned so many new custom code snippets that are up leveling the look of my designs. I’ve loved implementing them on my own website too!

• I wasn’t able to pay anyone to take photos of me (my goal was to boost the amount of branding photography I have), but Shelby did take a bunch on my birthday that I’ve been using on my website and in my marketing materials.

• While my business made 25% less than it did last year, I’m still so proud of what I earned. Despite coronavirus, no longer offering my main money making services, and working a part-time job 20 hours a week, I think I did super well. Between my business income and my part-time job income, I made MORE than I did in 2019. Whoo hoo!

What were the good parts of your 2020?