“For me, success is not a public thing. It’s a private thing. It’s when you have fewer and fewer regrets.” 😌~Toni Morrison
Earlier this year, in January, I set a few goals I wanted to achieve on a post-it note:
Get to 1500 #jesspicks subscribers
Read 28 books
Get to $500/month in revenue
Run six #IamRemarkable workshops
Finish Playing Big Facilitator training
Create 1-2 mini-courses (on side hustles and newsletters)
I was staring at it yesterday and reflecting on how I feel about each and thought it would be helpful(?) to share my progress and thinking with you.
📧 .1500 #jesspicks subscribers.
Met? Nope, but it’s OK!
When I created this goal, I was at a little over 800 subscribers. So 1500 seemed like a good plan. However, I have realized that I cannot directly control the number of subscribers I get. Instead, I can focus on my outputs: creating quality content week after week and continue to spread the word about #jesspicks.
Getting to 1,000 subscribers was such a journey for me, and it did allow me to attract more sponsorships. Aside from that, I have decided that it is more critical for me to continue growing slowly and focus on getting quality subscribers versus chasing a number. In case you are curious, as of writing this issue, the subscriber count is 1,162. If I get to 1,500, it’ll be great, and I can potentially increase my sponsorship rates which will help other goals, but I love not focusing on growth for growth’s sake.
📖. Read 28 books.
Met? Yup.
Surprisingly I just checked my Goodreads, and I have achieved this goal! 🎉 Reading has become such an essential part of my self-care. It makes me feel centered, and sometimes it’s just perfect for escaping the physical world for a bit because of #allthethings. Just ordered two more to read soon.
💰. Get to $500/month in revenue with the biz.
Met? Pretty darn close.
Looking at my numbers, I may not be making a consistent $500/month, but I’m making $425/month on average. And that feels good. I’m hoping to increase that over the coming months, but I am happy with where this is going.
👩🏾🏫. Run six #IamRemarkable workshops.
Met? Not exactlyyy.
This did not happen. 😬 I think because I spent most of the summer teaching high schoolers about leadership skills. However, I am happy I was able to do two of these this year. It’s an essential topic, though, so shooting for facilitating 2-3 per year feels good.
📝. Finish Playing Big Facilitator training.
Met? Kinda?
Technically the class is over, but I did not participate as much as I would have liked. I have lifetime access to the materials, though, so my strategy here will be to see what principles of Playing Big I can include as part of my overall coaching/mentoring work with clients.
📋. Create 1-2 mini-courses.
Met? This is actually done! 😱
I was able to run a Side Hustle workshop with the National Urban League this summer which makes for a fantastic 1-hour course if I say so myself. And I am continuing to update the tips and lessons learned from running a curated newsletter. I am looking forward to continuing to build on these over the next year.
-
All in all, not a bad status report. And based on my plans for the next two months, I feel pretty good about my success this year.
What goals did you set at the beginning of the year? How are you doing with those? How can you honor those as you close out 2021?
Hit reply and let me know if you have any questions about my updates above! Happy to answer anything.
On to the picks!
P.S. I am looking forward to this planning workshop in December. Ruth had me at “simple and spacious.” It might be of interest to you too.
Note: This email may contain affiliate links. If you click through my link and make a purchase, that means I may receive “thank you money” at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love.
#sponsor
Founders’ Book is the world’s largest collection of curated and vetted tools and resources for founders and startups to support all stages of their venture-building process.
What’s Inside? https://foundersbook.co/see-inside
#loves 😍
📺. Watching: Queens. Brandy. Eve. Hip-Hop. Women in their 40s reunited after 20 years to reform their group. I love everything about this. And the music is 🔥.
📚. Reading: Under the Whispering Door. I can’t believe I’m reading a book about death because it’s a bit morbid. But I am enjoying this story about a guy named Wallace who dies unexpectedly and has to come to terms with that and how he maybe wasn’t the best person in life. The book’s front cover says, “Death is only the beginning...” and it’s a beautiful sentiment to me. It is making me think about the life I’m living and how I want to be remembered.
🔗. Tool: Zapier. Seriously, if you need to connect any two tech tools, Zapier can most likely help. It’s top of mind because I was trying to connect some actions in Hubspot and actions in Drip for a client this week, and after getting the right triggers figured out, it works like magic. Next week, I will also use it to help with some tech backend stuff for my courses.
#reads
6 Mantras to Help You Prioritize Yourself and Your Needs — advice.theshineapp.com
This one in particular is speaking to me right now:
“I am doing my best.”
Remember: You can't pour from an empty cup.
Time is your friend — jayclouse.com
“Succeeding as an indie creator comes down to your willingness to keep going.”
So many folks ask me about how I got to 1K subscribers, and I truly believe this concept that Jay talks about in this post is the answer.
I stuck around 300 subscribers for the first 3.5 years of my newsletter and got to 500 in year 4. Now I’m at 1100 in year 5.
#icymi
😍. Last issue’s top pick was: Communicate Like a PRO scripts
☎️ Need help starting your side hustle or newsletter? Let’s dream and scheme.
#classifieds 🗞
Carefully curated digital marketing news, tech, and actionable advice, delivered every weekday to 19,000+ marketers. Check out Stacked Marketer.
CommunityValidated identifies the most pressing problems community members face and propose business solutions.
👀. Have something you’d like to promote to #jesspicks 1100+ readers? You can buy an ad or sponsorship here.
#lifevibes
#supporters ☕️
Thank you Chelsea, Amy, Ricky, Kirsten, Vin, Julie, Nicole, Humza, Greg, Kristin, Kirstyn, Jess, Cheryl, Krysta, Adrena, Vidya, Kristyn, Danielle, Keryn, Terry, Vanessa, Meredith, Lauren, Meg, Maria J., Chivon, Kim, Luciano, Colie, Chasity, Laurie, Latienda, Collette, Anne, Kristen, Liz, Katherine, Monale, Betsy, Melissa, Lindsay, Jennifer, Kayla, Madison, Rae, Stephanie, Christine R., Christine M., Frances, Hannah, Chris, Brandy, Mea, Kristian, Maria K. Avery, Adam, Barbara, Shenee, Desiree, Lisa, Kandice, L’Oreal, and LaVerne for being #jesspicks supporters!! ❤️
Want to help support this newsletter? Buy me a coffee.
