Reflections on 2023 from AC
For almost every business owner I know, this year has been wild. Unreliable and lower-than-normal sales (we’ll get to this), growth stalling, high highs and low lows, and just plain weirdness. Sela Vie’s income statement has actually mimicked my personal life in a lot of ways — with a new baby and trying to manage working and mom-ing, it’s been so up and down that I’ve felt downright crazy at times. So here’s a letter to all you business owners out there needing a dose of realness.
What has been weird in 2023 thus far…
We’ve had two of the lowest profit months and two of the largest profit months since I started this business.
We’ve grown the most in one year in followers and engagement on Instagram, without much consistency week over week.
We’ve pivoted and launched two new services, and we said goodbye to a service we launched just last year.
I’ve taken more “sick days” than I’ve worked — okay this might not actually be true, but it feels true.
Why I think it’s been weird…
The ever changing nature of Instagram (the classic algorithm excuse) and what works and what doesn’t for your unique business. SO much has changed this year on Instagram, which accounts for ~40-50% of our inquiries.
Globally the economy has been in a weird place. We’ve been bracing ourselves for a recession, inflation is at an all time high, wars… need I go on? It’s a wild time on a global level, too.
People (customers and clients) have more choices than ever before, and they have more information than ever before. If you need a brand or website, I can name 30 businesses off the top of my head who could serve that need. In this economy, it’s all about connecting with the person you are buying from, which means putting yourself out there is more critical than ever as a business owner.
I find the times I’m most visible on social media, we are doing the most in sales. When I’m not able to be on social media — because we’re busy with client work OR because my personal life takes a turn — I find we have slower months following. Which, as a mom, can put me in a hard spot when we’re facing sickness after sickness and transition after transition. My priority is my family, period. So they will always come before work and client deadlines. But it’s hard to still come off as professional and competent when you’re juggling all of these things at once.
‘Nimble’ refers to the ability to quickly and easily adapt to changes, obstacles, or challenges.
All this to say, this has been the year of me learning to be NIMBLE. Not a cute word I would put on my fridge, but nonetheless a powerful character trait that has been both quietly and loudly developing in me as a mom and leader.
Prior to having Eden, no one in my life would have called me “adaptable”. I’ve tried everything in the last year to maintain some semblance of a schedule and routine, and sometimes it falls apart no matter how hard I try. So I’m learning in life and business — when you’re juggling a lot at once, it’s more about knowing which balls are glass and which are plastic. If you haven’t yet heard this metaphor, let me enlighten you —
“The key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic and some are made of glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic and prioritize catching the glass ones.” - Nora Roberts
Despite all of the hard days in the last year, I couldn’t be more grateful for the lessons it has taught me. My rigidity is breaking, and something new is being formed — a resilience and adaptability that will allow me to rise to any occasion, imperfectly and probably 5 minutes late, but still showing up.
