Oh my goodness, as I sat down to prepare my year end review, a look back at what this year has brought my way, I didn’t know what to think. 2015 was a very tough year for my family personally, so I looked at 2016 as a recovery get-your-footing-back kind of year. And we were able to do that. We feel happy and healthy emotionally and spiritually (physically…? well, 2016 might have added 5 pounds. We’ll remedy that this coming year!).

But now that I look back at my year in numbers, as most businesses do, I can see much clearer as to what a great year it was. Running your own business can be quite emotional and emotions always skew the picture one way or another. Numbers help you see the harsh cold reality. And fortunately, for me, the numbers have brought me joy! Thirteen new clients. THIRTEEN NEW CLIENTS! This number astounded me the most! (And ZERO that drove me crazy! — down 1 from last year 😅). A year is quite a long time, and I didn’t realize how many of those relationships were formed in this year.

• 1 restaurant
• 5 churches
• 2 not-for-profit organizations
• 2 schools
• 1 author
• 1 politician
• 1 event planner/stylist

When I think of when I started up this business in order to strike a better work-life balance, to be present in the midst of my family life and to gain some sanity in the middle of the tornado that some days can be, I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude that I have had work every day.

2017. I’ll be entering my third year of running my own freelance business. Thank you to all of you who support me with project requests, referrals and likes and comments on social media! I’m looking forward to what the new year brings!

I hope you have a happy and healthy new year! Stay safe.