Behind the Scenes | March 2022 - Business & Life Goals Review
Behind the Scenes | March 2022 - Business & Life Goals Review
Last month I mentioned that February seemed like a bit of a ”Groundhog’s Day” from last year. Well, my March was pretty much like last year too. I had the same scary news that a biopsy was needed and the same benign result, which I am so thankful for. But the stress of waking this path again with numerous doctor visits and days and weeks of unknowns, plus having the flu run through our household did quite a number on my ambitions.
Like February, I did not meet all the goals I set for myself or my business but I did keep moving forward, I had some unexpected leads and rested when I needed to. On the plus side, toward the end of the month, I started waking up early, wide awake and energetic. It’s been slightly over a year since having COVID and I’ve struggled nearly every day since to wake up refreshed. I am so thankful for this switch and the time to be awake and enjoy the quiet before the bustle of kids, school, and work begins. I’ve used this time to restart my yoga practice, breathe deeply, and enjoy the sunrise.
On the Blog, I wrote the second of an ongoing series diving deep into new features and updates for Squarespace. This one featured Auto Layouts which is especially useful for lists of services, testimonials, reviews, and team members. Items that you want to be styled the same way but easily add/delete items and rearrange them at the click of a button. I walked through all the settings and design options for each auto-layout type and shared examples of how I incorporated them into our Sisu Site Shop website.
Squarespace New Features Spotlight Series
Squarespace New Features Roundup: Fall & Winter 2021-22
Squarespace New Features Spotlight: Auto Layouts
Today I’m continuing to update you on the progress I’ve made toward the goals I’ve set for myself and my business. Sometimes these goals have been very ambitious, perhaps too much for my part-time entrepreneurial journey. As my overarching theme for the year is MOVE, I want to keep moving in my business and figure out what works for me while keeping in mind the other aspects of my life including working part-time outside the home and homeschooling our oldest three children with a delightful and challenging toddler keeping us on our toes and balancing lots of extracurricular activities for the first time.
First, I’ll dive into my business goals.
Behind the Scenes | Business Goals Update
For my business goals, I’m using the same categories as last year. They are Financial, Systems, Marketing, Products, Tracking, and Personal Development.
Financial
2022 Revenue Goal = 46k/60k/85k
Build 8/10/12 paid client sites = $32k/40k/48k
Build 1/2/3 volunteer site = 0k
Complete 12/18/24 VIP Days = $12k (12x1k) / $21k (12x1k + 6x1.5k) / $33k (12x1k + 6x1.5k + 6x2k)
Sell 10/20/30 Squarespace 7.1 Templates = 2.5k (20x$250) / 5k / 7.5k
2022-Q1 Financial Goals = 5k | Build 1 Client Site | 1 Volunteer Template | 3 VIP Days
For my financial goals, I set good/better/best goals for my business. One of my main goals is to focus on actually making sales and completing design projects. These are quite the stretch goals for me with working part-time outside the home and homeschooling our kids. At the end of the year, I will still feel successful if my business income combined with my work income equals these goals.
I did not earn any income in March, however, I had 3 unexpected leads from word of mouth and social media. I had 2 discovery calls and expect those projects to move forward sometime in Q2.
I’m continuing to work on a website design project I started last year just before we moved. I am utilizing a new system for feedback which is working really well for both of us and am happy to report the client is getting so excited about the design.
I am continuing to slowly work out the details of my VIP Day offer and to get parts of the process set up in Dubsado.
One thing I didn’t get to was finalizing my template process and building out the sales and follow-up emails in Dubsado. Hopefully, I’ll restart in April.
Systems:
Continue learning, mastering Dubsado-Workflows, Asana, Canva Pro, Flowdesk, Notion, Markup, Toggl
Finalize processes for Website Templates, Day Rate Offers, and Custom Brand & Website
Implement Dubsado Workflows
2022-Q1 = Learn Notion + Implement Workflows in Notion
I’m doing a lot of work on my own Dubsado forms and processes in an effort to be ready to implement some automations by the end of Q1.
I attended Notion’s Block by Block Virtual Conference and was quite inspired by all the sessions I attended and learned quite a bit about Martha Stewarts’ early embrace of technology. I’m planning on going through Notion’s additional tutorials and getting a grasp of all their new updates in Q2. Currently, I’m using Notion most to capture notes for all the webinars I attend and courses I am taking. This is huge. For whatever reason, I’d never had a good system for collecting all of my new knowledge and being able to find it when I wanted to revisit something. I highly recommend watching the session replays from Block by Block here. If you want to learn more about Notion you can join men and watch Notion 101.
Marketing:
Long-Term:
Blog-1x/week
Email-Build list to 500, consistently email newsletters 1x/mo + 1x emails 1x/mo.
Increase referrals by adding a $ incentive
Authority- Get Featured 6x
Short-Term:
Cold email 5x/week
SM-Post consistently to Instagram 5-6x/wk, 1x/wk to Facebook, Pinterest, and Linked In
Research local in-person options
2022-Q1 = Blog 1x week, Create a cold email template, Simplify Newsletter Template, Complete Welcome Sequence, Develop Social Media Templates, Learn how to post Stories & Reels
I really had to let go of a lot of my ambitions for marketing in March, my overarching goal became just to move forward and not worry about consistency or hitting the number of blogs or social media posts I wanted to accomplish. After having to take the majority of three weeks off, the hardest thing can be restarting.
I’m pleased that this time it was easier to restart than it has been for me in the past. I think having systems and templates in place helps tremendously as well as having a partially written blog post. I already had the idea and half of the content written so just had to organize the photos and finish the second half. Writing a tutorial-style blog post is still probably the most time-consuming as there are a lot of photos to edit, highlight and organize. I am really passionate about writing them though as I found them so incredibly helpful when I was first starting out.
I did simplify by Email Newsletter Template for the Insiders and it has made it so much easier to edit and send. I didn’t send any Newsletters in March, but I have already sent one in April! I just let social media go for the month and surprisingly still gained new followers.
After my purge, last month my email deliverability rate continues to be at 100%. I also started revising my Welcome Sequence in Flodesk. This is a much-needed task that I hadn’t got to yet since rebranding. I have completed the first three and started an #4 this week.
I did set up my Profile on the Certified Dubsado Pros website, just one more small way to put myself out there.
For short-term marketing goals, I have not started cold emailing yet, but I have several templates to customize from and am excited to start that in earnest in Q2. I reached out to someone in a peer group who mentioned having a very high success rate with her cold emails and she happily shared her template and some tips with me. Next month I hope to finalize my own and start cold emailing soon. I think my biggest hesitation is not having everything else in my process buttoned-down 100%. But I am just making excuses because I know I will always be tweaking and revising—nothing will ever be 100%. I am really working on the mindset of doing things “messy”. Meaning just take a step and it will lead you to the next. I can’t possibly know everything I need to know until I actually start doing the work.
One thing I let go of for the month was Social Media. I did not have the energy or any new content to post about so I didn’t. I still gained a number of followers even without making a single post. I did spend some time learning about reels and stories so we’ll see if it’s enough to get me started. I’ve already started posting regulars posts again in April, I think warmer days and spring, in general, helps one to be more inspired and inspiring to others.
Products & Services:
Design 3 SS-Templates for sale
Refine delivery & support options
Refine Day Rate Offers-Confident to increase the price
Refine Custom Design Offers
Continue to increase Squarespace Expertise
Learn CSS
Courses: Create 1 Mini-Course + 3 Day Challenge
Research & Consider FB Community
2022-Q1 = 1 Squarespace Template Design
I’ve continued to work on my second template and I decided on and invested in a course-building platform so I can deliver the tutorial components of the templates. I am anxious to get to work on this aspect of my templates! I will keep you updated on how it’s going and my thoughts on the platform I chose.
Track: Business Metrics
Track Income + Expenses weekly
Track Website, Email, and SM metrics monthly
I spent just over 2 hours tracking my website, email, and SM metrics. I took a little extra time looking deep into Google Analytics as the dashboard has changed since I looked at it last. I spent two hours setting up a tracking spreadsheet revising my Toggl data a few times as I forgot to stop the timer. I love that it pops up to remind you if you’ve been idle for a while. I am working on the habit of stopping the timer when I first get interrupted, which happens a lot around here.
Income and expenses are pretty easy at this point and take only a few minutes a week. Currently, I’m just using a spreadsheet to store all my data.
Personal Development:
Read 6 Business Books
Complete Courses
Standout Squarespace
Day Rate Magic
Notion for Designers
Promplates
I only was able to read the first few chapters in Atomic Habits this month but I love it so far.
I attended a Q&A for each Day Rate Magic and Standout Squarespace and completed Mod 3 for Standout Squarespace and am officially 37% through the course I also spent several hours going through a new workshop in Day Rate Magic. I also attended a few other webinars including on Squarespace & Tax Jar integration. My conclusion, taxes couldn’t be any more complicated if they tried!
I was slightly disappointed with having a second month in a row of not being well, but despite that, I continued to still move forward, while allowing my body to heal.
Behind the Scenes | Life Goals Review
In addition to reviewing all my business goals, I also wanted to continue to share how I’m doing with my life goals. I know I’m not working in a vacuum and my life has a great impact on my work and vice versa. So here’s a quick rundown of where I’m at with my life goals.
Spiritual:
Read Lincoln Devotional
Memorize Galatians
Honestly, I haven’t read the devotional or started working on memorizing Galatians yet.
Physical:
Move Daily
Increase exercise intensity and duration from 10m moderate to 40m moderate-intense by the end of the year
52 walks
Eating cleaner. More whole foods. More vegetables.
Sorting out new doctors again and going to see them
Even being sick and in recovery, for at least 8 days in Mar, I still managed to work out or walk over 1 mile on 20 out of 31 days this month. I did yoga 4 times for 94 minutes but got no other workouts in, other than rearranging my living room (that counts!). I walked over a mile 18 days for 127,689 steps total in March (2nd month in a row over 100k steps) with an average of 4119 steps/day. I find exercising the hardest thing to get back into after being sick or having any other life disruptions. I am grateful to be starting again and hopeful April will hold no sickness for our family.
I did take my kids on a few walks, once on a bike ride to the park and back, and the second, just me and my youngest out for a stroll/balance bike ride over the old bridge in town.
Eating cleaner, more whole foods, and more vegetables is a challenge especially when sick or under stress. I think this will always be “in progress” so I’m still/always working on this!
Mental:
52 Paintings
Cook something new 2x/ week
Read 24 books
6 books on education or specific topics in preparation for school -
6 books about business
6 books to read aloud to my kids
6 books my children recommend
I did one small painting in March. I like how it turned out and hoping to do more in April.
The last week of March I felt more inspired and able to plan and cook for the week. I didn’t cook anything new but did cook several times.
I finished reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and found it enjoyable. I started reading the 3rd book in the Ranger’s Apprentice Series for my kid’s choice. I missed out on my Charlotte Mason reading group for the second month while being sick so I think I’m going to let that go for now. I will keep reading her works and am so much closer to reading all 6 of her volumes. When I’m ready to start back up I will only have 1 and 1/2 to finish.
As I mentioned earlier, I started Atomic Habits and got a few chapters under my belt.
I continued reading aloud at the table after some of our meals.
Relationship:
12 dates with Ben
4 solo dates with each kid
Visit my parents 2x
Ben and I have had several semi-dates this month as we’ve gone to town many times for appointments. The last time we were able to make it to an Indian Restaurant in town. It was in an incredible building with the best front door ever. The restaurant itself was pleasant but our entrées lacked the complexity I’ve come to love in this cuisine.
I did not get to have any solo dates with the kids yet.
We did sort out plans for family coming to visit in early and mid-June as well as a larger extended family camping trip.
Adventure:
Visit 12 places in Montana I haven’t been before
Summer Road Trip—Ohio, DC, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, or Calgary
Extended family camping trip in Idaho
Our adventure for the month was canceled due to sickness, but we get another opportunity in April so I’m really hoping this works out.
I had a lovely interaction with some guests from near Calgary at the Grand Union who were wrapping up a 4-week tour of Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Zion National Parks. They made a great case to head up north for my summer road trip.
Homeschool:
Create a Notion Database to plan and track our CM inspired homeschool
Continue to refine, simplify, and enhance our homeschool experience.
Sign up for and start using All in One Homeschool’s (AIO) membership for certain subjects ✔
I still making progress in learning more about Notion but I’m not ready to try to apply it to my homeschool yet.
I have used many systems, spreadsheets, and printouts over the years to try and keep our homeschool organized and motivated. This month I was reminded of some advice Sally Clarkston passed on in a blog post many years back. A friend advised her to simply just get a lined spiral notebook and write everything down the kids need to do for the next day.
I’d been frustrated that the detailed but highly abbreviated two-page spreadsheet I created for the whole term wasn’t working well for my kids. So when I remembered this tip I decided to try it out. I decided to write out a checklist for all the independent work for each kid. It takes me about an hour to handwrite out everything for all three kids.
The efficiency expert in me doesn’t love this, however, I do think it’s a good use of my time in that I am reviewing each week the expectations I have for them and what they actually were able to accomplish. I can also easily make changes and add things I may have forgotten in previous weeks. This last week, I also used the following two pages as a designated place for my older two’s written narrations and a place for notes. My son used this space to let me know he helped his younger sister with her reading and math lessons the morning I had an appointment. So sweet! I will also use the notes page to do a quick weekly review with each of my children to go over the week to encourage them, praise them for work well done, and help them set goals for the upcoming week.
Declutter:
Declutter one room and one digital area each month
Sort, organize and create a system for storing old homeschool information
Sort kids’ clothes and toys and take donations 1x/Quarter
We rearranged the living space which I am loving. We moved the sectional into one corner, which has solved the frustration of it sliding around! Yay! I also put the tv on the wall to the left of the front door. I also borrowed some cube shelves from my room to use as benches under the windows so the kids can better see the birds at our new window birdfeeder and hold the bins of Duplos, Connex, Magnatiles, and other building toys that were previously under the couch. It’s much easier to get to the bins to play and clean up. With the new arrangement, I also have a large enough space in the center of the room for the kids and me to exercise, do yoga, and stretch out fully without bumping into anything!
We also traded out the shelving in our boys’ room from wire shelving to 2x4 cube shelving to hold their toy bins. This gives them another flat surface on the top to store and displays their lego creations. In the process, we sorted through all the toys and have a box of donations ready to go!
I didn’t get to organize any of the paper and homeschool info this month but I did put new information directly into the folders I have already made.
Garden:
Determine the extent of and plan gardens in Q1, plant Q2, harvest Q3.
Still just pondering if we actually want to tackle a garden. I did take my oldest to the flower shop in town. She wanted to ask if there were any blue flowers that deer would not eat. She also asked if there were any opportunities to volunteer and got a resounding yes! She’s very excited about the opportunity!
Home:
Finish building or hanging shelves in house and garage
Clean weekly, deep clean 1x/Quarter
Ben helped me hang up shelving above the laundry machines. I love it and now have a place to store my bins for laundry goodies and room on the dryer to fold clothes.
We have been able to clean nearly every week despite sickness and deep cleaned the boys’ bedroom while swapping shelves.
Finances:
Pay off Credit Card Debt
Save for upgraded computer ✔
Save for a down payment on a rental property
Save toward a trailer or sailboat
We were able to rent a small studio apartment in town to use for an Air B&B and for family when they come to visit. We’ve had three stays so far and had some great testimonials, plus they’ve already booked return visits. This is the perfect opportunity for us to test out doing rentals and Air B&Bs without a huge investment up front.
Purchases:
Purchase Snowboard Passes for the upcoming year on their sale on Mar 1 ✔
Lawnmower ✔
Swim Team expenses including travel
Patio Table and Chair ✔
Office Chairs
We did remember to purchase snowboard passes on the sale day! We weren’t able to make it one more time this season but am hopeful with a fully potty-trained 4 year old we will be able to take full advantage of the passes next year!
We also found a used patio table set for 6. We set it up in the yard and have already eaten a few lunches and did school outside on a really lovely day.
That is a wrap for our March 2022 recap. I am still working on staying positive about all my accomplishments and really savoring sweet moments of extra snuggles as we battled sickness again this month. I feel like I was better able to give myself grace and accept it and better able to bounce back faster this month!
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