Reflecting on 2016
How is it the end of 2016 already!? While our offices are closed this week for a much-needed bit of r&r, we have been reflecting on the goals we set for ourselves and our business in 2016 and how we failed to meet some (hey, we’re not perfect), totally killed it in some areas, and far exceeded our own expectations and dreams in other ways.
Here are some Method Agency highlights of 2016 and lessons learned along the way:
Business Coaching: A must have for any growing business:
One of our goals for this year was to work with a business coach. We thought we wanted to find a female, maybe a few years older than us, who works with creative female entrepreneurs- like us! We were wrong.
Who we needed was Dave Schoenbeck. Dave was recommended to us by another female business owner friend, and after our first call, we were convinced we needed to have Dave as our coach. Dave is not female. Dave doesn’t work solely with creative female entrepreneurs, and Dave has kids our age. But Dave is the perfect coach for us. He has helped us tighten up the back end of our business and really start to think of our business strategically, not just like something we are figuring out by the seat-of-our-pants as we go along (shhh that’s the secret to entrepreneurship!) We are so grateful for his guidance and care with us and our business this year!
Promote Yourself / Build your own Brand:
Don’t forget about yourself. It’s easy, especially when our main focus is marketing for our clients, to forget to put yourself out there. But we love talking about marketing, social media, and online PR, and sharing the knowledge we have built by doing it day in and day out. So this year we set out to talk about it more.
We wanted to contribute to other’s articles (we did on podium). We wanted to tell our origin story (we did here and here), and we wanted to speak about topics we knew would be helpful to others.
And that goes for our clients too! Even during the down times when no new projects are being promoted, we are constantly looking to find places where our clients can share their expertise with the right audience!
Trust your Gut:
This year we had a difficult experience with a client (our first- a rite of passage!) that we wish we could have avoided. Upon reflecting on the situation together and with our coach, we recognized we ignored the warning signs. There were signals early on that the relationship wasn’t going as we expected or the client expected, but we didn’t listen to our gut. We don’t want to assume, at the first sign of trouble, that a future situation may end up just as this one did, but we do believe we have strong intuition. And this year we learned that it’s something we can trust. Who knew?!
Be confident in yourself and in your work:
Sometimes it feels like you’refishing in the ocean with a Fisher Price toy pole. Who will respond? Will they like it and most importantly, will the site feature a client’s project? Been there, done that! We’ve gone out to people thinking they’d never respond and surprised ourselves with great placements and relationships built! Sometimes it takes a shot in the dark or just one more networking party or press event or email for an intro to make that perfect connection! Be confident in what you’re pitching, write about it in a compelling way and DO IT.
Partnerships matter:
This year we’ve had ups AND downs both personally and professionally- lots of them. To have each other as partners we can count on to celebrate the wins and cry together during the low times is incredible.
Maybe you work alone and aren’t #blessed like we are to have one another. Find someone who is your person- who can hear about your struggles and you can be honest with when it sucks- because it will. Surround yourself with a few close confidants you can trust to help you through the dark days and celebrate the exciting moments together!
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Relationships are Key:
Whether it is developing good PR relationships that continually cover a client or personal relationships and partnerships with other designers and vendors (or your old co-workers!), you never know where the next client is going to come from! Go to events— even when you’d rather binge Netflix or stay in your pjs (we do work remotely after all). Get up, put on a fancy dress (or jeans, whatever) and meet people! Invite other people and spread the wealth and fun!
Foster relationships at all levels: people you gel with, people you like working with, people you admire. Your tribe and your Rolodex* are some of the most important tools to hone in your professional arsenal.
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*we mean your iPhone contacts
Be Creative / Know your audience:
As people who are part of fandoms, we parlay our hard-earned knowledge into a service of ours called Fandom Consulting. Knowing how different groups of fans like to communicate, where they hang out online and off and who the important influencers are is part of what makes our style effective and genuine.
Take time to get to know who you’re marketing to, and brainstorm how you can creatively reach your prospective audience.
Remember why you started and why you continue:
Business is hard. Business for yourself is even harder. But it’s worth it. (We think! So far!) But in those dark days, go back to why you started and what you’re aiming for. Is it financial freedom (yes, please)? Is it the freedom to travel and work from different places around the globe (sign us up!)? Is it to work from home and raise a family (sure, someday!)? Is it to work with people you love and create a place that you can be proud of (ding, ding, ding!)? Don’t forget it.
We joke about it all the time, our favorite pastime together: Oysters and Champagne. But it’s become a symbol for us- to spend time as friends and partners when we are in the same city, to celebrate big wins and accomplishments, and to center us around why Method Agency is a passion we are proud to be growing.
May there be many Oyster and Champagne days in your future!
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Here’s to a great 2016 and looking forward to an amazing 2017!!
Want to join our growing list of kick-ass amazing clients in 2017!? Let’s talk about how Method can help you this upcoming year!
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