Hey there, my fabulous listener, welcome to episode 102 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.

Thank you for lending me your ears today – I know you have lots of choices, so I sincerely appreciate me being one of them!

If you’re a first time listener, super super welcome, I am so pleased to have you here.  I am your host Jenn Donovan, and it’s my job, via this podcast, social media and everywhere else actually, to make your business life simpler. 

I’m a thought leader when it comes to marketing here in Australia and I’m a marketing strategist for small business.

Why? Because business can be lonely and hard and complicated and it’s hardly ever easy, but it should be simple or at least simpler, so that’s my commitment you to on the Small Business Made Simple podcast!

One way I help to make your life simpler is by having a group of like-minded business owners all in one stop.  To ask questions, get answers and enjoy the journey of business! If you haven’t joined the Like Minded Business Owners Facebook Group, then hope over there after this episode and join!  Simply search Like Minded Business Owners in Facebook or come to the show notes for the like.  Show notes are at www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/102

www.facebook.com/groups/LikeMindedBusinessOwners

This episode is sponsored by Spend With Us – www.spendwithus.com.au an online marketplace for rural and regional businesses.  If you’re already thinking about your Christmas shopping, and want to support rural Australian businesses who have suffered through the prolonged drought, last summer’s bushfires and now Covid – head to www.spendwithus.com.au  Even if you’re looking for gift vouchers, you can buy site wide gift vouchers and support the 500+ small businesses on the platform.  For corporates or bulk order, the gift cards can even be personalised for free! 

I’m not going to say how many sleeps til Christmas because you might turn my off in disgust – so whether it’s Christmas shopping or just a gift for someone special – support rural, shop Spend With Us.

Today we are checking in with ourselves, with our business and the year – 2020 may have been brilliant for you (and that’s totally ok – it’s fine to have had a great year) or a complete shit show.

Either way, you need to take some time to look back to go forward.

This episode has been brought about because this is what I did this week and I have to say, a few things blew me out of the water.

One of my goals next year – actually one of my goals is to get out and meet face to face all the amazing humans I’ve only met online this year – but my other goal is to speak on stage more often, about community and marketing, to be a guest on more podcast and to have winning awards as part of my marketing strategy.

These last few things, I can’t do on my own.  So, I’ve reached out to a colleague and friend, who’s business it is to do this sort of reach and PR work and employed her to help me achieve my ambiguous goals for 2021.

And let me tell you, there’s been a ton of paperwork to go with this little contractual agreement!

Lots of “what’s your goals”, “what’s the BIG picture” and “what’s 2020 looked like for you” questions to answer.

However, one question (or three actually) had answers that totally blew me away.

The questions were

• What media outlets were you featured in this year?
• What Podcasts have you been a guest on this year?
• And did you blog for anyone this year?

Now when I sat down and went through my inventory to answer all these questions, here’s what I found:

I’d been featured in 23 media outlets: I’d been a guest on 12 podcasts and written 5 blogs for other businesses.

Now these numbers might or might not seem like a lot to you – but honestly, I was blown away.  I had no idea I had done so much PR, in fact some of the things I wrote down, I had to check, was that this year or last year – which is a sign of the year I guess!

I had to also write down what I achieved, what my 5 biggest/proudest achievements were and how many events I’d been involved in – noting that after I added them up – I’d hosted almost 50 webinars this year – HOLY MOLY!

I don’t say any of this to brag, but to point out that the year that dragged on and literally about 5 of my 13 goals were achieved – things were pretty good when you put it all down on paper.

So that’s what I want you to do.

I want you to grab a piece of paper or start typing and answer these questions (and check in with yourself).

What were your THREE (or ten, up to you) achievements this year?

How did they make you feel?

What did you achieve that you didn’t think you could?

What worked?

What didn’t?

And if applicable, to your business model, answer these questions

1. What media outlets were you featured in?
2. What podcasts were you a guest on?
3. What awards did you apply/finalist or win?
4. By what numbers did your social media grow by?
5. If you look at your goals for 2020 – which ones did you achieve, and which ones, given the year, were achievable?
6. Of those you didn’t achieve are they still applicable in 2021 or should you shut the door on them?
7. If you had a word for 2020 – how did that fair?

If you aren’t sure about the last question – I talked about your word of the year back in episode 46 – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/46 – go back and listen to that in light of a new year coming again.

For some, goals are a little hard to set – but having all your goals focussed around one word, just one, can really help you keep on task and keep to the ambition of what you’ve chosen.

My word for 2020 was IMPACT.

All the ways I’d intended (or most of the ways I’d intended) to impact the world didn’t happen in 2020.  And honestly, if you’d asked me ask week, did I have an IMPACT, I probably would have said, maybe or sort of.

But after doing this task this week, looking back at my year, the answer if YES! It was a different impact to that I had planned, but hell yes, I think it’s all g as my kids would say!

My word for 2021, I’m tossing between having IMPACT again or COMMUNITY, or both – because hey they’re my words!

I can’t encourage you enough to go back and listen to ep 46 – follow the worksheet and the steps and come up with a word for 2021 – one that will help you encompass all your goals, all your dreams, all you can do.

As my business coach always said, “who do you need to show up as to reach the goals you set” – such a powerful question.

And it’s that powerful question, that I’m going to leave you with for episode 102.

Remember, the world needs you, because no one can do you like you.

Let’s have a conversion about words for the year in Like Minded Facebook group– or send me a DM on Instagram or an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

If you’re listening to this live, when it drops in early December 2020, come and join the virtual Christmas party happening into the Like Minded Business Owners group on Tuesday 15^th December at 5 pm AEST.

Otherwise, I’ll be back next Thursday with another great episode to help you simplify your business in 2020.  I’m not taking a break over Christmas – so we can podcast together for sure!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, which if you have listened to here – you hopefully are, don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode with another superstar business owner who’s doing the daily grind and would appreciate someone making their business simpler, and leave a rating or review to show how much you are loving this free weekly content.

If you leave me a review, make sure you leave your Instagram handle or similar so I can give you a big shout out!

See you next week on the podcast for episode 103.  But in the meantime, let’s hang out on social and get social on social – you’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook and my fav LinkedIn.

But whatever you do,

……..remember small business peeps, as my opening song says, there’s no point in dreaming small!