A Look Back At 2023 and The Goals I Have For This New Year

Photo by: Rachel Stelter Photography

Happy second week of 2024, friends! I feel each year is a chance for us to grow and change for the better and go after what we want. Each year can help us set new goals, but overall, I try to remind myself to enjoy the present because we tend to always work towards the future and lose sense of what’s happening around us right now. I want to enjoy my time in the present and not always worry about the future. It’s a muscle that you have to constantly train and flex but man, once you can do it, it’s worth it. (Or so I hear!) So, let’s work on this together this year, going after we want, not apologizing for it and being ourselves unabashedly. 

2023 Year In Review

If I had to choose a word for 2023 it would be: transformative. There were a lot of highs and lows for me, both personally and professionally. A lot of learning took place and discovering more about myself and who I really want to become. I’ve been wanting to post more personal blogs, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a bit from last year: My highs and lows, and what I’m looking forward to in 2024. 

2023 Highs:

– My Bachelorette Party in Cabo!

– Marrying the man of my dreams in Dripping Springs, Texas! 

– Turning 35 and celebrating another year of life. 

– Pulling off one of the biggest weddings to date (400 guests and lots of logistics! Blog post to come)! 

– Spending time with family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

– My dog, Dublin, he brings me constant, daily joy.

– Hitting a revenue goal similar to 2022. 

– Rebranded to Feathered Arrow Studio

2023 Lows:

– Family Illness and personal loss of a family member.

– Realizing that life is precious and now is all we’re promised. It’s not so much a “low” but a reminder during that low point.

– Managing self-doubt in my business and where I am in life.

– Not accomplishing some goals personally and professionally.

– Feeling stuck in some bad/unhealthy patterns for my everyday joy and health. 

– A personal loss for my husband and I, and us finding joy beyond it.

My Goals For This Year: 2024

Photo by: Rachel Stelter Photography

– Grow my business, but maybe not in the sense you think with more clients. I want to take on less clients at higher price points. I’ve gotten rid of my basic wedding management package and I am offering partial and full planning services and design only. With this I have a new sales goal I’d love to hit! 

– Start a new business that I would love to eventually be a new full-time venture. It relates to coffee. 🙂 

– Relaunching my podcast with my friend and fellow wedding planner, Gabby from Cause We Can Events. It’s going to be called, Just Another Biz Podcast, so stay tuned in February for episodes to drop!

– Reading a book or two a month (one fiction, one non-fiction book). 

– Learn to play the piano (got a keyboard for Christmas to learn). 

– Make homemade sourdough bread (I’m currently making my own starter, let’s see if it turns out, fingers crossed).  

– Mediate daily and walk daily (outdoors or indoors on my walking pad while I work). 

– Travel to Hawaii and NYC, Europe may be a 2025 trip. 

– Focus on my health and clean eating.  

I know these goals are not super specific and following the SMART goals outline but those can be more personal for me to focus on. This is a general overview but I hope you feel motivated to make this a great year in whatever capacity you need. One that you’re proud of no matter what you do or don’t accomplish. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be the best version of ourselves and strive for greatness every single minute of our lives but maybe it’s about just doing the best we can, being kind, showing up for others, and being happy in the small moments of everyday life. Let’s unapologetically live our lives to the fullest; whatever that means for you and your family and how you define success. Cheers to another year and it being exactly what you want it to be!