It's been a while since I added content to this blog topic.
The purpose was to document my digital adventures diligently, capture what I'm working on and learning—a bit like a digital diary that I can look back on and see how far I've come (or haven't) and hopefully help others along the way.
Last quarter, despite COVID-19, was one of my biggest ever. I said yes to everything. I wanted to build a financial buffer should COVID's impact worsen and budgets shrink in the new financial year. I don't want to have to dip into savings if work slows down or dries up.
By saying 'yes' to all projects, I found an unexpected joy in writing conversion copy. So much fun! From a social media campaign with a Formula One theme for an obscure product, to a high-end property consultant targeting people buying or selling multi-million dollar homes, it's been fun to step out of my usual writing or editing information-based, informative content. I've never considered myself a conversion copywriter, but I think I'm getting better at it.
By saying 'yes' to everything, I also became so busy I had to bring on a subcontractor for the second time this year to help get me through a super-busy patch.
My planned 2-week Thai holiday in June was COVID-cancelled. I delayed my break to early July but that whittled down from 8 work days off to 4.5. I really needed some time away from the stress of managing projects and budgets that weren't mine. A week or two later and I'm like, what break?
We're also figuring out how to manage school holidays in our schedule. This is our first year with a school kid and we weren't sure how it would go. I kind of miss daycare hours and the minimal holiday breaks.
From now on, I'll be scheduling time off from projects during school breaks. It's not fair for The Monsta (or me) to be stuck at home while I'm at my desk all day working.
Anyway, this busy-ness got me thinking—is this another busy patch or is my business actually growing? I'm busy to the point of nearly burning out and I haven't advertised or promoted my services this year. I've been too scared to. I have a few potential and past clients on my contact list, but I have no room for them in schedule, so I haven't reached out to them yet.
It it weren't for COVID, I'd say this was definitely growth, but I am still wary of the impact it's going to have on client budgets for the next 12 months, especially the next 6.
But I am ready to step up and into the agency space.
It's time to stop riding the coat tails of others and play bigger.
I registered a new business, The Smart Content Company (I LOVE the name, do you?), and I'm setting up a new website for it, which will start as a clone of my Sandra Muller consulting site, but tailored for my new direction.
I have to think about what I'm going to do with my Sandra Muller website after I launch the new business.
I've joined the fabulous Suz Chadwick's Brand Builders' Academy. I'm hoping I'll get clarity on how this site, Sandra Muller and The Smart Company all work in harmony and with specific purposes.
This week is all about mindset, getting it right, identifying limiting beliefs, getting clarity, and breaking down old habits and rebuilding new ones.
Let's see how I go over the coming weeks and if I carve out and protect just an hour of time each week to document what's been going on each week.
