Celebrating five years as a brand design business owner!

I’m in celebration mode because this month officially marks five full years in business! 🤚🏼🎉

At the end of December in 2018, I made my business official. I paid an online company a lot of money to help me make this happen because I was so scared to mess things up. I added an LLC to my name (I know, super creative!) and I was officially open for business!
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It was a big decision, but the right step towards my dream of being self-employed. For the first two years, my business was my side hustle. It wasn't until year three that I finally took the leap into full-time (after being laid off… again). 

This was my first home office set up in Connecticut.

I didn’t go to college for entrepreneurship; I went for graphic design. That means I had to figure everything out through trial and error. Needless to say, there were lots (and lots) of life lessons learned in the last five years! 😅
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If you know me at all, you know that I love to journal and so I was journaling about this milestone the other day and I made a little list of what worked and what didn’t work during my years as a (very) small business owner. I would love to share my list with you!

💖 What Worked 💖
1. Believing that this path was possible for me
2. Putting myself out there (even when it felt super awkward)
3. Seeking out mentors who offered great advice and accountability
4. Doing good work that I felt proud to deliver to clients
5. Building genuine relationships with amazing people

💔 What Didn’t Work 💔
1. Having way too much self-doubt, especially in the beginning
2. Taking on too much work because of my limiting beliefs
3. Worrying too much about typos in my social media content
4. Underestimating how long it takes me to complete tasks
5. Not hiring a bookkeeper sooner

I can confidently say that I’ve learned something new about myself every day for the past 1,825 days. 🙃 Running a business has a way of highlighting all of your strengths AND all of your weaknesses. But I’ve tried to stay curious and that has given me so many opportunities to grow.

I am so proud of what I’ve built and who I’ve become in the last five years. I’ve grown so much more confident and I’m grateful that Lennon gets to see me do what I was meant to do.
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It might sound like I’ve done it all on my own and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Your support has meant everything to me. 🥰 I am so grateful whenever you read these blog posts, engage with one of my reels, or refer someone to me. It has made ALL the difference. 

Here’s to another five years of growth, success, and bottomless cups of coffee!

​Now it’s your turn… share one of your big accomplishments from 2023 in the comments so we can celebrate together! 🎉🤗