Hi there. It's Sue. And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business. If you'd like to submit a topic, DME, over on Instagram at gift biz, unwrapped, choosing a theme word that will direct your year. Have you heard of this concept before?
It's similar to the idea of identifying a major goal and then developing tasks and activities underneath that goal, with the idea that once completed your goal will have been achieved. The difference between that and an annual word is that an annual word goes deeper. There's usually an emotional element included in your word, even though on the surface, it looks very business oriented. I also find selecting an annual word to be really clarifying and calming.
It allows for reflection on your performance over the last year and opens up your mind to dream and project what you want for your future. It's a beacon of sorts to walk towards and also a filter to help prioritize all the things that you could work on in your business versus what you should work on to get your desired results. I'll tell you about my 20, 22 word in a minute, but first let me share some of my prior year's words.
This may give you ideas as you consider what your word could be way back in 2018, my word was growth. I had recently come out of beta testing and updated my maker's MBA program. And this was the year for me to launch it in a big way. If you're not familiar with this makers, MBA is my group coaching program and the signature course in my business. I also published my book that year. So mission accomplished. Those were two big projects that assisted with my business growth.
My word really helped me do this because it kept me forward-thinking when things got tough, I give myself an a for that year in regard to my word, then came 2019. The word I chose was visibility. If you know me, well, you won't believe this, but as much as I loved speaking from stage and presenting in classrooms, it wasn't the same thing with social media. This was the year I decided to focus on expanding my reach and get more eyeballs on my business.
I give myself a C I did get more comfortable with going live on social, but struggled to be consistent with Instagram stories. I also had personal things to deal with that year. I lost several people close to me, including my dear mom. And honestly I did the best I could the whole year wasn't bad. I was on the midday news in Chicago, which was a big deal and written up in a couple of trade journals, but I didn't achieve all that I wanted. And guess what? That's okay.
And I'll say the same thing for you, a goal, or in this case, my word for 2019 is something to strive for a compass to navigate your efforts. And sometimes you go off path, life happens and the plan has to change. Therefore, the results change too, but a new year presents new opportunity, right? So the next year just happened to be 2020. And we all have stories to tell about our plans for that year.
Once it became clear the impact that the pandemic was having on our world, I switched my annual word to be support. I saw in our gift biz community, that there was a lot of fear and uncertainty out there, not only with the virus, but also the focus on serious racial issues. None of us knew where this year would lead. But one thing I knew for certain there is strength in community. So I doubled down inside gift biz breeze, my private Facebook group to offer support.
I went live three times a week to answer questions, led conversations on tough issues. And we brought guests in to assist with these discussions. I'm so honored and proud of all our Breezers that's you, if you're already in the group, because the sensitivity, inspiration, and assistance that was offered during that time and still is today is I almost don't even have a word for the bonds being created there. It warms my heart beyond measure, seeing all the beautiful interactions happening there.
So I'll say my word support for 2020 was a success. Next step 2021, I decided I could do better with visibility. So that word got a repeat trade shows started to open up again, which presented speaking and teaching opportunities. Plus I made time to plan and reach out for publicity and print key learning here. You don't have to wait for them to come to you, reach out yourself and present a story that would be valuable to their audience.
I talk about this in more detail with Amanda in episode 2 0 1 and 2 89. If you want to unpack that a little bit more anyway, all of this worked out beautifully. So I'm pleased with my performance against my visibility word. Now onto this year 2022, my word is definitely going to need a little bit of explaining the word is letting go and know I'm not letting go of my business or letting go of the results I plan to achieve, but I am letting go of things I can't control. I'm going to be vulnerable.
And I'll give you a peek inside my heart here and tell you the main reason for this word. I attach so much ownership to other people's results. That it hurts me really deeply when actions don't happen. The silly thing about this is that I can't take those actions for other people. I can only provide opportunities and training and point people in the right direction on how to take advantage of the helpful courses or tools that I create an offer. I've recognized for some time.
Now that I invest too much of myself in things that I can't control. Let me bring this around to something that may make more sense and is more relatable to you in your handmade business. You obviously create your products. So you control the quality characteristics and visual appeal of your packaging. You also control the pricing and the marketing side.
In other words, where people will see your creations and have the opportunity to buy places like your website, your presence at face-to-face shows or pursuing wholesale. What you can't directly control is whether people will buy and or use the product in its intended way. This is where I get caught up. When I open up a maker's MBA each year, I'm very focused on how many students enroll. There are always a few who I've had conversations with.
Who've told me how much they want their business to succeed, but then when it's time to enroll, they don't then other surprise me and sign up. When I wasn't expecting it, I'm filled with joy. When I see who does join the class, some are expected and some aren't, but it's an emotional roller coaster. After that, I'm super invested to ensure that every single student sees results, but I can't control that. And I keep trying, I can't make people do the work.
And in your case, you can't make people buy your product. But what we can do is observe, revise and adjust to make everything we put out the best that it can be. The key is for me to remember that I have the ability to affect someone's result only so far. Some portion of their success is entirely up to them. I need to let it go from an emotional end and focus on what I can affect, not what I can't.
This opens up my spirit to be excited about all the women who are seeing success through my entire ecosphere and not dwell on the ones who aren't taking action. So for me, 2022 is about letting go. As I've been talking, has the strategy of having a word to theme your year sparked an idea. What would your word be? I like to post my word somewhere so I can see it regularly. It provides reinforcement to keep me focused.
One year I had it painted on a rock that sat on my desk last year, I printed it on ribbon. I haven't decided what I'll do with my word this year, but I'll let you know. In fact, I'll post it over on my gift biz on wrapped Instagram account for you, a focus theme word for the year. It's powerful, it's directional and the results can be transformative. Try it. That's a wrap. I'm a get to the point kind of girl. And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream of yours. Share your handmade products with us. We want them, and they bring us both so much happiness.