2018 Year in Review

OH, 2018!

You sure were a year.

I started this last year excited for what it would mean for my little family (I was about four weeks pregnant Jan 1 , 2018 after a long journey down the road of infertility – we didn’t know it would be twins yet!) and ready to soak in all that the year would bring. And oh, did it bring it.

When it came to the business, it was interesting spending over half of the year (January – late July) pregnant with twins and the other bit with our brand new babes out here with us in real life (!!! still doesn’t feel real sometimes).

I knew I would have to “cut back” a bit when it came to my usual big-scary-exciting-dreamy business goals, travel (I was cut off from flying after March – doctor’s orders!), and workload in order to take proper care of myself and the twins during pregnancy and after their birth, however, one thing I completely didn’t expect were the limitations others would place on me as a female business owner and (almost) soon-to-be-mama of twins. This conversation is really for another time (which believe me, I do intend to have), but after numerous males (always men, never my fellow working mamas – interesting, right?) expressed in very clear terms their opinions on me running a business and having twins, I’m extremely proud of the growth Verb House Creative has achieved this year for both the biz and my incredible clientfriends.

I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task (it’s not) running a business and being the kind of mama I want to be to our miracles, but gosh dangit, I’m doing it and doing it well and I could not be more proud of that. When I look back at 2018 I will forever count our two babes as my greatest blessings, achievements, and pride of prides.

BUT! You better believe I worked my tail off to continue growing as a business owner and a trusted go-to lady for my clientfriends. So, let’s celebrate some of that growth a bit with a look back at 2018, Verb House Creative + clientfriend style:

• I had my best year yet in business revenue wise and continued to grow the clientfriend roster. To be totally candid, I was afraid revenue would either stay the same this year or potentially take a tiny bit of a nosedive, considering I knew I would need to take a bit of a maternity leave and wouldn’t be accepting any new clients right before or during that time away. I’m proud to have proven myself wrong here and proud that this biz of mine keeps on growing. BUT –

• There is no way I could have done all of this alone. I hired some part-time help before the twins arrived and am SO glad I did. She has been amazing, trustworthy, dedicated and so, so great. I owe being able to take a smidgen bit of time away (let’s be real, I didn’t have a 100% away or “off” maternity leave) right after the twins were born thanks to her help. Such a good decision, and one I was always a bit wary of.

• Belle & Union Co. opened up her first brick & mortar shop in San Antonio, Texas! This has been a long time coming for Meg and it’s been an honor to walk beside her throughout this journey. The shop is GORGEOUS, just as anyone who knows Meg would expect it to be.

• Within six months of working together, I helped one clientfriend grow her wholesale business by 250%. I love this client, believe so strongly in her products, and am thrilled with this result.

• Grew another clientfriends sales by 1,161% within three months of working together. That’s some amazing growth and I’m so pumped for this client.

• Helped drive over $150k worth of direct sales from two social platforms alone for one clientfriend. Believe in the power of social media yet?

• Helped another clientfriend have her very best year yet in business. The power of not going at it alone rings loudly.

• Acquired each new client this year by word-of-mouth referrals only. Every single client has come to me by a referral from someone else. This is such a huge honor.

• Generated over $1.5+ million in revenue across just five clientfriends. These 5 clientfriends are all female owned small businesses with pretty much just the biz owner at the helm. To walk beside them and see their sales and growth over 2018 has been such an honor. Who run the world? Girls!

• Received a personalized Christmas card from Starbucks! Yes, I am counting this as an accomplishment, and no, it wasn’t corporate Starbucks, okay, it was my local Starbucks. But still. Who says Starbucks is just a big chain, eh?

• AND! Unofficially but kind of officially launched Bespoke Content Club, my new content + marketing club for product based biz ladies. If you’re reading this before Jan 4, 2019 or are a part of a few select groups who already have access to the club info & application, you’re ahead of the pack. I am SO excited for this new program and am so happy to end 2018 and welcome 2019 off on this fun foot (errrr, feet?).

Overall, 2018 was one incredible year. I’ve known my fair share of years filled with struggles and pain which makes the miracles and joys of this year run even deeper. I’m so thankful for every single person I crossed paths with throughout 2018 and cannot wait to see where 2019 takes us all.

Cheers, y’all!
Allie