Happy First Birthday!
It seems hard to believe it is already a year since we began operations on November 4, 2019. In line with my theme of always celebrating milestones and your brand, Happy Birthday Illuminate! I thought I would review some of the milestones achieved along with their timeframes. If you are just starting out, this should help your plan for Opening Day.
Milestone Achieved Timeframe
Office Ready 4 months (2 months before Opening Day, 2 months into Operations)
Complete Circle of Trust Advisors 5 months
Branding Materials Ready to Distribute 1 Month
Consistent (Weekly)Social Media Posting 7 months to include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
WBENC WBE Certification 1 month to complete application; another 3 to be interviewed and awarded
First Client Contract 3 months after incorporation, prior to Day One
BAC/A+P Partnership Ramp Up 9 months
First Solo RFP for Illuminate 4 months (made it to top 5 out of approximately 30)
First Proposal to a Business Agency 3 months but then never approved as Pandemic hit
Established Weekly Blogs Day One; never missed one week yet
Client Diversity Most clients signed to date are Women Owned
As I review this list, it gives me many reasons to celebrate. But, there is always room for improvement and some of my personal goals and milestones were not able to be realized due to the Pandemic. Those include: failure to execute on a business contract in the Southern Tier, several contracted clients hit Pause, an inability to attend several Trade Shows I had identified as critical to raising my Profile (WBENC in Atlanta (Canceled)), NYSMWBE event in Albany (Canceled)), failure to make anything out of my new ULI Membership, VISTAGE Executive Coach Opportunity (Pandemic has most of my prospects unwilling to commit), prospecting Face 2 Face with Referral Sources usually accomplished with lunches. There is no doubt the Pandemic created many obstacles and continues to delay achievement. But, as the saying currently goes, we are all in this together!
I have learned much about myself, confirmed the journey of the Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner can be challenging at times, and, most of all, felt the freedom of working for myself. It has been a delight to work with a more diverse set of vendors, consultants and clients. In many ways it has been much more personally fulfilling. However, make no mistake, it is hard to leave a 20+ year past completely behind you. I miss clients, colleagues, and a much higher community profile.
I look forward to recapturing some of the social aspects of my past career and my new career once the Pandemic is truly under control. What lies ahead is never truly known but we can certainly control our direction, particularly when you work for yourself.
Thank you to all who continue to support Illuminate in direct and indirect ways. Until a future without a Pandemic opens up, we all should continue to have short term goals to feel that sense of accomplishment, thank our supporters, and celebrate the achievements that have positively changed our lives and, perhaps, influenced others.
Be like Foxy & Mouse in our Weekly Blog Photo, celebrate those birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones, however small, they are all important!!
We look forward to Year Two (2) bringing us more great dog photos for Making a Point, having our Blogs Published, making a difference in the ever growing projects with our partner company, BAC A+P, pursuing our NYS WBE Certification (can only apply after One (1) full year of operations), and reaching out to Agencies where our WBE Certification will help them meet diversity goals and move their efforts forward.
Thank you for your influence, encouragement, and support.
Be Well.
