Big sigh of relief. I’m nearly four years in to being self-employed, but at the end of every year, I’m amazed I’ve managed to be successful, take a big breath, and congratulate myself for living to fight another day. I doubt I’ll ever be fully convinced that my business will continue to be a success, year over year. But this year I was particularly concerned. 2019 was not only my first full year of being both a full-time mom and business owner, but also my first year located outside of the Washington, DC market. My goals for the year were to maintain my client base and income, while I built a new network, made connections, and established roots in central Virginia.
Some of those goals have gone better than others. As I expected, because Lynchburg is a smaller market, there are less business opportunities for a communication consultant here. While I would love to attract a local client, and continue exploring options, I’ve yet to land a contract with one. If you’re out there in central Virginia, give me a call!
That being said, I’ve determined that the best use of my time as it relates to new business development is to continue focusing on remote options. I am primarily focused on the greater Washington, DC area, as I have the most contacts there, but have also begun reaching out to organizations and individuals in other major national and regional markets. Meanwhile, I will continue to work on developing both personal and professional connections in my new hometown.
Income-wise, my overall billings dropped 6% from last year. While a decrease, I’m actually very happy with that number. I had a lot going on this year and can acknowledge that I decreased the time and attention I was focused on growing my business by substantially more than 6% in 2019. In addition, I’m now located in an area with a lower cost of living. While ideally the business would grow every year, I’m still deeming 2019 a financial success.
Long-term contracts with repeat clients really carried me through this year. I had two new clients, but both were small, non-repeating projects for individuals I knew personally. Bringing in additional clients and amping up my presence with existing clients will be a major focus for 2020. I’m starting the first quarter off strong: I already have solid contracts with two existing clients, one of which has requested that I add on additional services. I’m also in discussions with two new potential clients – those may or may not come to fruition, but starting the conversation is half the battle. And it’s still January, so there’s plenty of year left to build my client base.
My goals for 2020 include continuing to provide the best quality communication services that I can for my existing clients, bringing on board 2-3 new clients, further connecting with the local communication professionals community here in central Virginia, and bumping my billing back up to 2018 levels.
Here’s to 2020 and another trip around the sun as a small business owner! I hope to be able to say the same when we ring in 2021.