I’m excited to be celebrating 3 years in business!
I never expected to be marking this milestone while staying Safer at Home. Still, I’ll spend some time reflecting and raising a glass. If anything, I have a solid reason for making chocolate baked goods.
It’s a business-birthday after all.
And we’ve celebrated our 1st year and 2nd year in similar ways.
Working with a Talented Team
When I first started my business, I did a lot by myself, but through the years I have enjoyed expanding and improving my work by including a talented team of graphic designers, writers, web developers, and digital marketers. Business, as in life, is more fun when shared with others!
This has lead to some cool work for clients.
Branding Examples: New Logos
I worked with my graphic design guru to come up with new logos for a local library non-profit organization and a third-party logistics provider.
I was so excited to work with my local Library Friends group on this project.
This is what one of their board members shared after the project:
“Appeal Marketing exceeded our expectations across the board. We are extremely pleased with the design services and creativity afforded to our rebrand project.”
– Menomonee Falls Library Friends board member
After writing a marketing plan for On Demand Transportation, we worked on re-designing their 10 year old logo and updating their website. Here is the before and after on their logo.
Look for more information coming on both of these cool projects soon! Case studies are in the works.
Client Work Continues
I’ve been grateful to provide marketing support to my first non-profit client for several years now. I continue to support an electrical distributor with customer communications and email marketing. I especially love seeing their office dogs when I meet with them. Now we’re talking through video calls as we are all working remotely.
Work has slowed during COVID-19, but I’m grateful for the work that I have. It has been a time of ups and downs.
Recently, I’ve written blog posts about communication tips during COVID-19 and marketing to-dos in a downturn. I’m staying positive and focused on working on my business – more on that later!
My Work Environment
As you know, I work out of my home. I’ve shared pictures of my desk like this:
This is my workspace. I am wearing all the hats, multi-tasking this afternoon.
My mug says it all: Wife, Mom, Boss.
This morning, I had a good meeting with a client, and I ended the meeting summarizing our next steps.
I shared, “We keep making incremental improvements.”
And isn’t this the most important thing? Keep on, keeping on even if your desk is a total mess.
Now there are four of us in our dining room, so it looks like this (except now my husband has a huge monitor in front of my laptop):
Our co-working and co-learning space is a bit messy, but my family is hanging in there. Not every day is easy, but we are all working hard to make it work and making memories in the meantime.
I am trying my best to be thankful for the little things each day.
Continuing to Learn and Stay Involved
Watching a recent Women in Manufacturing (WiM) Webinar called Using Gratitude Strategies to Get Through Turbulent Times was extremely helpful. I’m grateful for being part of the WiM group that has hosted some cool events this past year and has provided consistent learning opportunities. As the social media coordinator, I help manage the WiM pages. It’s been a lot of fun attending chapter events. Check out some pictures from plant tours at TAPCO, a Chinooks game, and the holiday painting party.
You can also learn why I celebrate manufacturing here.
In the past year, I’ve brushed up on my Google Analytics training, renewed my Constant Contact Email Marketing Certification, attended a Digital Branding Summit, a WP (WordPress) Agency Summit, and an AMA Customer Journey Workshop. Learning is a constant in my line of work to help provide the best service to my clients.
Looking Ahead
I am very blessed for the opportunity to be a mom, wife, friend, volunteer, school board member, marketing consultant, and small business owner. Choosing to run my own business has not always been the easiest decision, but it is the best decision for allowing me to do all the things. I could not make all of this work without the support of my husband, kids, and amazing freelance friends.
Thank you all for following along and offering encouragement, ideas, and friendship.
Cheers to celebrating 3 years!