A Look Back - A Look Ahead - RD146

A look back at 2018 and a look ahead to 2019.

I want you to take a look back at what you accomplished and at what you failed to achieve in 2018. With that in mind, what are you going to do to make 2019 even better?

I don't know your situation. I don't know your family dynamics. I don't know your level of education. I don't know your current work situation. Maybe you're a student still learning design. Perhaps you're a new designer still getting your feet wet. Perhaps you're a veteran designer like I am. Maybe you work for yourself, or maybe you work for someone else.

Whatever your situation, I want you to take some time to look back at 2018 and think about your accomplishments and your perceived failures. I say "perceived failures" because they are only failures if you've given up on them entirely.

Like most people, you probably had some goals for yourself and your design business. Perhaps it was to start your own design business or to land that first paying client. Maybe it was a financial goal you set for yourself — a specific dollar figure you wanted to reach in revenue.

Did you reach those goals?

For those goals you accomplished, where you satisfied with the outcome? Thinking back, are there ways you could have made reaching those goals easier for yourself?

If there are goals you didn't reach, what prevented you from reaching them? Have you given up on them or are you working even harder to achieve them in 2019?

My 2018

I want to share some of my accomplishments from 2018 with you.

Resourceful Designer

• Released 46 podcast episodes
• Over 200k episode downloads in 2018
• New Amazon Alexa Skill for Resourceful Designer
• New Resourceful Designer App for IOSand Android
• Resourceful Designer released on Spotify.

My design business

• Started calling myself a Design Consultant.
• Switched to fully value-based pricing
• Implemented Three-Tier Pricing
• Streamlined my To-Do List.
• Worked on design projects for 27 different clients in 2018
• Nine of those clients were first-time clients.
• Sent out 93 invoices resulting in income in the high five figures.

My 2019 goals

I have big plans for 2019. First off, I'm thinking of narrowing down my niche. Or, at least concentrating more on a particular niche while continuing with what I'm doing now.

I want to speak at more conferences. In 2018 I had two public speaking engagements, and I would like to do more.

I want to grow the listenership of Resourceful Designer. I know there are many more designers out there searching for answers for their design business. I want to be the source of those answers if possible. You can help me achieve this goal by helping spread the word about the podcast. Let your fellow designers know they can listen on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple podcasts or download the App.

And of course. I'm looking forward to engaging with you in the new Resourceful Designer Community.

So long 2018

As 2018 comes to an end. I encourage you to reflect on this past year. Think about everything you've accomplished and those things you fell short on. And come up with a plan to make 2019 even better. To help, I suggest you listen to episode 55 Setting Goals For Your Design Business.

I look forward to helping you in 2019.

What are your goals for 2019?

Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

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Contact me

I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form.

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I want to help you.

Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com