Lessons from 2018: Scaling, Creating Connections & Personal Growth
Episode 284: Show Notes
Hey everybody! Welcome to our round up of the lessons we learned in 2018! As usual we learned a lot, if not more during this last year, so we have so much to share with all of you. You also know we love reflecting and reviewing and this podcast will basically be a fleshing out of all the important steps we took and progress we made in our business. We are hoping that you will follow along with us and do the same sort of thing with your biz! Hopefully ours will give you some ideas of how to reflect on the past year and the important points that came out of it.
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A Bird’s Eye View of 2018!
For the year of 2018 we really wanted to make use of all the things we have installed in our business during the two previous years. This meant funnels, automation, systems and all that good optimization you’re always hearing about. To this end we hired a coach in January and February of this year to help us with these scaling goals. We knew it was going to be a year full of growth and learning but neither of us knew just how much of a challenge and how intense it would be! We really had to put on our big girl pants and learn how to get things to the next stage. A lot of what this was the idea of taking what we had and scaling it to the next tier. And believe us when we say that scaling is heavy! Some of the parts make sense and we got the hang of them pretty quickly but becoming comfortable with this new flow and the way in which larger systems worked was tough at times. Scaling part of our biz was not like other big launch projects we had done in the past and so the results and rewards operated differently, which was definitely an adjustment for us. It took a lot more patience to see things through and it was nine months before we saw the results of our first big scaling exercise!
Learning to Pivot More Quickly and Hiring a CFO
As we often say, reflecting on your profit and loss stats is so important. Something that we have struggled with in the past is that these figures would take too long to come to our attention. We would only really see the numbers after more than a month and at that point it was quite late to react. This also makes it hard to measure the effects of changes we have made and for Abagail, as our numbers wiz, she needed little markers that she could review at light speed in real time to stay up to date and on top of these areas. Finding these really changed everything for her and now she feels she can get a handle on potential problems much more quickly and prevent any disasters! Connected to this is that we hired a CFO during 2018 and we have to admit we were not altogether sure what exactly her role would be at first. But after a meeting it just clicked and it all made sense. During the meeting she presented a visual outline for our business that made Emylee feel all the good feels and she also broke down our team member positions in a way that was much clearer than before. These two things alone would have justified her joining our team, so let’s just say we are super happy with the decision!
Reading Traction and the Huge Impact it Made
As we covered in a previous episodes, Traction came to us at just the right time and helped us immensely in the ways we think about our business going forward. Abagail feels like it gave her the glasses she needed to be able to see things in our business more clearly, as she often felt like it was difficult to see what was coming next after the immediate work that was happening and the foresight given by the book has changed that. The trips we took this year were also a great highlight and in particular the journey we made to California for a summit we attended with our coach which was surprising in all the right ways. It was just so nice to be in a room with people who have the same goals and interests and the relationships that were created there have been so beneficial in a multitude of ways. Some of our new friends even presented at our very own Boss Summit and these deep connections help us feel supported and secure moving forward. We have often behaved and felt like our business is an island but this year we felt the need to reach out and connect and the sharing of processes and systems has been such a huge game changer for us!
Refueling Creativity and Taking Time Off
For a long time, Abagail felt that the only way to get energized for work was to do work. She has never been big into hobbies but in the last year she found some great ways to refuel and get her creative juices flowing away from work. One of these activities was rediscovering a passion for reading and the learning and wisdom she has absorbed through this has meant a huge amount to her. Volunteering and cooking have also been great ways she has found to feel inspired and put gas back in her tank! As usual we are taking December off in its entirety but unlike last year when the time leading up to December was an absolute nightmare, this year we planned well in advance so that we did not have to cram preparation in at the last minute. This year we managed November easily and have all the things done that we need to with time to spare. We actually started prepping for December in January this year and this meant scheduling podcast recordings and spacing things out cleverly so we did not have to scramble. Let us just tell you that we feel so chill compared to this time last year and we have all this time off for the festive season! This reiterated a very important lesson for us, to take care of yourself before all else, otherwise you’re going to burn out sister!
Taking Care of Our Individual Needs
As partners we have mostly done things for our business together and this year was the first time that we started doing some things in more individual ways. Emylee took two trips with a group of biz friends and moms and it was so helpful to get away from it all and just reflect and learn and relax. She was able to recharge and the comfort and camaraderie that was present was just so great! Abagail also took a few of her own trips and these were both refreshing and exciting. She now feels like a great rhythm for her personally would be to take trips like this once a quarter! Something Abagail really internalized towards the end of the year was the idea that money does not mean everything. It is great motivator and she loves earning it but there are other important measurements and reasons to do things. Lately, Abagail has been thinking more about impact and people and these ideas are helping her and TCC as a whole to dream bigger and really consider what the purpose of the money we earn is.
Quote This
We don’t think we grasped how intense of a learning year this would be for us.
Highlights
A Bird’s Eye View of 2018! [0:04:20.8]
Scaling is a Mindfuck! [0:06:46.2]
Learning to Pivot More Quickly and Hiring a CFO. [0:11:17.2]
Reading Traction and the Huge Impact it Made. [0:16:18.8]
Attending a Summit and Meeting New People! [0:18:51.9]
Refueling Creativity and Taking Time Off [0:23:58.1]
Transitioning from a Business to A Company. [0:31:15.6]
Taking Care of Our Individual Needs! [0:35:10.9]
Clarifying and Living Your Purpose and Why. [0:39:45.3]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Goals, Scaling, Pivoting, Summits, Refueling, Purpose
