At ease, please. And other lessons learned.

Each year we review the data and glean the facts to determine what stays and goes in our business. We experienced excitement and frustration as we embraced new tools and technology. We worked around the supply chain issues. We enjoyed the satisfaction of launching new product lines (Specialty Series) and new gift box designs. We met clients and colleagues in person to laugh and live again. And we were aware of the continued heavy news cycles layered on top. Upon reflection, our business lessons revolve around communication and marketing channel growth, time, and our mindset toward all of it.      

 The raw numbers we collect (opens, clicks, visits, engagement, etc.) are combined with anecdotal information (texts, comments) to celebrate the wins and decide what we need to start or stop doing. Web analytics, social media tracking, and sales stats are some of the gauges we use to evaluate a given year. And, are we having fun? This is an important metric too.

 More is just more. It’s easy to get wrapped around the axel of social media and spend precious hours in the vortex of producing posts, stories, reels, videos, and feeds. Posts on social media channels were once a way to boost visibility when we had extra time. Today, with so much vying for customers’ attention, digital and social channels are a minimum point of business entry. More is not necessarily better. Weaving creativity into the message is the differentiator now. 

 One challenge is the sheer number of unique social platforms and products available. The vast amount of social media options that offer visibility, sales, and engagement are fantastic - and terrifying. (Do I really have to jump around and point? Ah, maybe.) Focusing on which channels to grow and our efficiency in content creation is vital. We’re an online business; however, we make a physical product, so we manage much more than the online elements.

 Another lesson was the self-inflicted tension around the learning curve of digital and web-based tools. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was all short and fast? Some things took more time than was allotted, which caused frustration in scheduling. You have to be mindful of and evaluate the size of your team, your circumstances, the true time investment necessary (an eye-opener), your goal for the platform (leads, sales, visibility, engagement?), and determine what works for your business and life. For the coming year, we’ve settled on a more reasonable frequency, a better-planned process (batching and tools like Later), and an intention of embedding ease into our day (more on this below.). Everyone wins when we accomplish this.

Add ease, please. It won’t surprise you to hear that this year is about a mindset of ease. We still have deadlines and schedules to follow, and things will not always go as planned. However, we can have more patience, reduce the “hurry” mentality and be more content with the journey. There will always be new products and technologies, and some deadlines will slide from their original dates. And yet, we’ll figure it out, life will go on, and it will be amazing.