I have recently gotten a lot of comments about how people are “loving seeing me out there on social media” and questions like “your stuff is really cool, it’s different than before. What has changed?” I wanted to share my story about why I invested in myself!
About this time last year I made a conscious decision to be very intentional about my business. That included very focused networking with daily/weekly goals for outreach of the vast network I had created over my almost 30 years in business. It also included making some important decisions about how I wanted to invest in the marketing of Blue Birch Consulting.
What precipitated these decisions was the idea that I was in a new phase of my career. My children had left the nest and I saw a runway ahead of me that got me excited while also nervous. It has always been important to me to feel a sense of purpose and energy around the work I do, and now I had the opportunity to lean more heavily into that since my time wasn’t as divided as it had been when I had children in the house. Up until this point I had spent varying amounts of time between client work and the somewhat typical parenting activities like driving carpools, volunteering in the cafeteria, attending sporting events, taking on leadership roles within the PTA, etc. It was very important to me to be a present mom (both physically and emotionally) so I felt like my days were a bit choppy. It often meant working after dinner and family time. Now that my time didn't need to be divided, I needed clarity on what I wanted for me, as well as for Blue Birch - a brand I officially launched in the marketplace in early 2022.
So…I used my commitment to networking, not only for business development, but also to identify the best marketing partner for the brand as I was moving into this next phase. Originally, I thought I simply wanted to hire a social media person. I quickly realized, when talking to some very smart marketing colleagues, that I had never made an investment in my brand strategy. What that meant was I had never identified my vision for Blue Birch Consulting, nor had I put any high level goals in place for what I wanted from my investment in Brand/Marketing. I found myself having to listen to my strategic coaching voice - the way I would tell a client to slow down, back up and think about the big picture before assessing support, tools and implementation. It was time to put my resources into higher level marketing before I got tactical with social media. I was so appreciative of having gotten that guidance that I turned my energy towards connecting with individuals who do just that.
I got the names of two different companies and spent the last few months of 2023 talking to these people about their approaches to brand strategy/marketing. I made the decision to hire Lindsay Pinchuk and we began working together in early 2024. Through my work with Lindsay, I have learned to step out of my comfort zone and that I am Blue Birch Consulting so I have to share my story and put myself out there. It is very different for me, but I am embracing the change and excited for the future. If you are one of the people who has commented on my higher visibility online, well then I guess it’s working.
Why do I tell you this story? To encourage all of you to… Be intentional. Identify your goals. Block time to work on those goals. Invest in yourself! I think you will be glad you did. Now that we are nearing the end of the year, have you put your goals for the first quarter or all of 2025…or even the next five years down on paper? Do you have steps in place for how to reach those goals? Have you thought through the support you'll need and the tools required to implement these steps?
My need was around marketing. Yours could be about budget or hiring or a new product line. Setting goals and achieving goals aren't the same thing. But you can't achieve them if you don't set them.
I'm working with clients now on making sure they have the tools they need to be successful working toward their goals in 2025. Figure out where you're headed and then write the list to get you there. I can tell you that in one year I'm way ahead of where I thought I'd be.
I even launched a brand-new look to my website. Take a look around and let me know what you learn about Blue Birch Consulting!
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