Here I am again, reminded of this blog and how little attention I’ve given it in the past year(s). I received an email letting me know my domain registration would automatically renew. I knew I would let it. There are too many memories stored here to let it go. But it also got me thinking of how much I would like to write about, for myself at the very least.
The past year has been nothing short of incredible. I’ve grown my role at my job and in that furthered my career. My husband and our dear friends opened their own business – the first brewery in our dry county – and I have helped them build a brand. We began work on our coffee shop, set to open in the coming months. We bought another building with our friends/business partners. We’re in the process of officially buying our home from my father-in-law. We’re also in the process of buying another piece of property WITH my father-in-law.
Despite setbacks and moments of pure exhaustion, the past year has been filled with triumphs.
I’m often amazed to realize we are living the life we once talked about. While there are plenty more goals to achieve, I strive to remind myself daily just how fortunate we are.
So here I am again, looking back at the year of progress and forward to a year of goals. And here I am again, wanting to document this journey.
2022 Business Goals
I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur or business owner. When we started talking seriously about opening a brewery, I called my [now] husband one night while I was out of town and told him I didn’t want to be an owner in the business. I told him to let me know when they were ready to market it. Until then, wanted to focus on the role I had just stepped into at MOR Media managing creative content.
I stand by that decision. But I would soon learn owning a business is part of my future despite once believing I wasn’t cut out for it. Actually, I may not be cut out for it. That is still to be determined.
I noticed a particular building on our beloved Gee Street enough times to finally say, “Let’s turn that into a coffee shop”. A little over a year later, it is nearing completion.
Working on a building has tested my patience. This is primarily because I don’t know how to help with this process. Mostly, I ask Jackson how things are going and if there’s anything I can do. Mostly, he gives me updates and I return to waiting.
Despite being little help with the buildout, I have learned a lot in this “in-between” phase.In-between old car lot/service building and neighborhood coffee house there has been a business plan, talking to banks, hiring an architect to get plans approved, some manual labor ourselves, hiring subcontractors, early mornings with our business partners practicing a pour over coffee, thousands and thousands of dollars, and more.
I won’t even attempt to give anyone advice on how to get a business open because the truth is there is hurdle after hurdle and the only way you will clear them is if you’re the kind of person that is willing to figure it out.
2022 Personal Goals
I originally started this blog in large part to document our travels. We haven’t traveled a lot recently – partly because of all the projects and partly because of the pandemic.
But we want to do more of something we love. So, we made it a goal to travel once every quarter. That’s a lot of travel with a full time job, two businesses that need us, and other projects on the way.
But we decided it will bring us more than it takes away. And we’ve put a plan in place to make it feasible. This means sticking to a budget, planning strategically around the times our businesses will need us, and at some point booking the trip so we can’t turn back.
2022 Travel Plans as of right now include Costa Rica, New Mexico, Italy, and North Carolina. This means two trips abroad experiencing other cultures and two trips in the U.S. so the puppy dogs can tag along.
In 2022 travel will not be something we simply dream about – we will take specific steps to achieve our travel GOALS.
2022 Fitness Goals
I qualified, and was accepted, to run the 2020 Boston Marathon. It was, of course, canceled. I didn’t make it into the 2021 Boston Marathon. Since then, running has been placed way, WAY on the back burner. Once an integral part of who I was, running has slipped from my priority list like the first snow dissipates from the roads – slowly, then all at once except for a few patches that stick around in the shade.
I stopped stepping out the door regularly, but I rarely went an entire week without at least one run.
One of my goals for 2022 is to get back in shape. I’m not signing up for a race at the moment, but I am planning to run at least a few times a week and get back to a place that I feel confident and strong.
2022 Accountability
Here’s to a New Year: to standing at the base of a mountain with business goals, personal goals, and fitness goals along the way to the top. And here’s to more blogging, hopefully, in order to document the in-between.