2017 Recap

Happy New Year, Ya'll!

I hope you had an amazing holiday filled with love and friends and family. I won't lie, my Christmas tree is still up. I just love it so much I'm not ready to take it down yet. So, up it stays! 

I'm really taking January to kind of recap and reboot a lot of things. I'm trying to take time to think about how 2017 went, how I want to change things, and where I want to be a year from now. It includes a lot of really good things and a lot of really hard things. Including yesterday's announcement....

If you haven't heard, I am closing Love, Virginia Gift Boxes as you know it now. But I'm not actually closing it for good, I'm just kind of giving it a new home here at Twila. I have been so blessed that Twila grew a lot this year, but because of that, I basically forgot about the gift boxes. I had a few individual boxes here and there, but nothing of what it needed for me to justify keeping it. And what I loved about those boxes, was helping other small businesses! I love branding boxes and sending those boxes out to clients on behalf of the small businesses. So as the boxes move to Twila, I am focusing on bulk and larger orders. Do stay tuned though, because I do have a few other things up my sleeve...

So why was 2017 such a growing year? SOOO many reasons. For a lot of the same reasons that I know 2018 will be too. When you own a small business, the growing and learning never stop. If you stop those things, then you're not doing it right. 

Here's a little recap of some of the highlights from 2017.

First Employee. I hired my first employee! Yay Jael! She's been an amazing help and asset to me this year, and I hope that this year she becomes even more integrated. I'm very excited to see where this year goes!

Fredericksburg Skyline. Oh my gosh, I still just can't believe how well the Skyline has done this past year. Ya'll really know how to make a girl feel special! This has been the biggest growth and most amazing thing to be a part of. Truly. I cannot wait to share with you some of the things I'm working on now! 

Simplified & Streamlined my Invitation Process. This was a huge one! This past year I really focused on simplifying and streamlining my invitation process so that I had it down to a scientific process of forms, payments, and contracts to better serve my brides, and be able to spend more time with them on the design rather than the paperwork part. It's been so helpful so far, and one of my goals for 2018 is to further simplify this and apply it to other aspects of my business. 

Got Engaged! I know this isn't directly business related, but it's still pretty big news, right?! Other than just the joy of getting engaged, it's affected me in some incredible ways, including giving me an entire different outlook on working with my own brides. 

Incredible Photo Year. Looking back at last years blog and weddings, I am just in awe of the beauty of the weddings my brides are planning! They are absolutely stunning and I am so grateful to be a part of it. 

And I think those are the headlines! Looking back it doesn't seem like a ton, but all growth takes time and patience, and that's what this year was all about. This year I did get the Goal Planning Powersheets by Lara Casey and while I'm a little behind, I cannot wait to share some of my upcoming goals for 2018! Have an amazing day!