As the change of the calendar is for so many, the holiday season was a time of reflection and resetting for me.

Honestly, this process is still ongoing, but I did the lion’s share of it over the two weeks I was supposedly “on holidays” over the break. It was kick-started by discovering the amazing StoryBrand-based podcast Marketing Made Simple early in December and inhaling over a year’s worth of content in a few weeks. (Highly recommend this podcast and the book Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller to anyone, ever. It’s that good.)

As part of that, I was able to clarify my overarching brand message in a way I haven’t managed before. In the process, I also found my Phrase of the Year:

Unleash magic.

Last year was a year of resetting the foundations of my business infrastructure. I spent most of the year overhauling my website and brand in small chunks at a time, and implementing and tweaking my systems.

In November, I hired someone to help with designing some of my social media posts to help me grow parts of my business I’ve been neglecting—a decision I don’t regret. Even though I’ve generally stepped back from social media to bare minimum levels, that’s due to lack of time as much as the low ROI on that time social media yields. (I’m hoping the Pinterest-first social media strategy I hired her to help me implement in the coming year will make this investment worthwhile.)

In December, my marketing mind was blown by the StoryBrand framework, and I clarified my overarching brand message to I help readers, writers, and knitters elevate the ordinary and unleash magic with words and yarn. A few tweaks to my website, and I immediately saw my conversion rate for knitting pattern sales go up.

There’s always more to learn, obviously. But I haven’t felt this confident and excited to launch into a new year for years.

The last few years have been full of physical, mental, and emotional setbacks for me, and they took their toll. I needed to allow myself that time of resetting over the past year to rest and heal as much as possible. But now that healing is well underway, I’m ready to expand and grow once more.

So if last year was about resetting foundations, this year is about growth. In both my business and my life, I’m looking forward to unleashing a little magic—to once more stepping out into the mission I feel called to live:

To help you experience and unleash a little more magic in your everyday, too.

Let 2023 be the Year of Magic. For me, and for you, friend.

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