WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW TO ALIGN YOUR BUSINESS TO YOUR VISION

HOW TO DEFINE SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS

WHY I CHOOSE A WORD OF THE YEAR INSTEAD OF A GOAL

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I’ve just returned from a family ski trip, and it was everything I needed. Vacations aren’t just about getting away, it’s that breathing and recharging, allowing you to come back stronger. Now that I’m home, I’m diving head first into 2025, so I want to kick off this new year’s episode with a topic that’s deeply personal to me, and that is defining success on your own terms – not what the industry says, and definitely not what social media highlights but what truly aligns with your values and goals, and I know first hand that that is difficult to do.

In today’s episode, I share my story of how I started and how I ended up where I am today. And through my story, I hope you hear that success is not a straight line. Hell, it’s not even a wavy line. In my case, it’s a kinky, curly, twisted back and forwards, up and down line, full of pivots, realignments, some chosen, some forced, but each one brought me closer to a business that truly aligns with who I am and what I want. 

I would say the hardest part about my journey has not been the pivots. Now, in those moments, I would have told you it was the pivots, but as they say, hindsight is 2020. The hardest part was blocking out the noise. Blocking out the negative comments. Blocking out the, “Gee I don’t think this is what you’re meant to do.” Or, “Gee, I think you should probably find a more lucrative income stream.” 

And this was loooong before social media. And once social media hit, the noise from inside our industry can be deafening. 

Social media makes it seem like everyone else is running a perfect business and landing their dream clients, one after the other, after the other, and glorifying growth for the sake of growth. And it’s sunshine and roses every day. 

Then there’s the pressure, the constant pressure to follow trends. Whether that’s how you market yourself, the projects you take on, or even the esthetic you create. And I have fallen into all of those traps. 

The advice I got was to unfollow any designer that made you feel lesser. I know you may be thinking, oh yeah, that makes sense, but inside, you also want to see. You want to see what you ‘should’ be doing. 

Glorifying growth for the sake of growth is just crazy! If you don’t want to scale your business, then don’t! I don’t want to. I couldn’t be happier with the size of my business today. If you are feeling the pressure of ‘oh, I must hire, I must get bigger, I must do this.’ Ask yourself, where is that feeling coming from? 

Is that you truly wanting that? If so, go for it. 

Or are you feeling insecure about seeing other people grow? About what they’re sharing about their success. 

Success is not about keeping up. It’s about standing firm in your vision-whatever that vision may be. 

That means saying no to projects that don’t align with your goals. Period. 

It means resisting the urge to compare your journey to someone else’s highlight reel. 

My word of the year

My word of the year for 2025 is intentional. And that means I’m going to be more selective about where I spend my time and energy. It means saying yes to the opportunities that are absolutely aligned with my goals. And definitely saying no to the ones that aren’t. It means showing up with purpose rather than all the scrambling I’ve been doing to keep up with everything going on. 

So if you aren’t a resolution person like me, I want to encourage you to think this over. Choose your own word for 2025. It can be anything. I’ve used confidence, balance and growth. But whatever it is, it needs to be a reminder of what matters most to you for that year.