Annual Review 2009: Lessons of a Very Small Business

Christmas is past and New Years approaches fast. I hope that you all had an awesome Christmas and that it continues today! We’ve got dinner on my side of the family tonight and I am pretty pumped!  As for these reviews, I expect the reviews will carry over into 2010.  There is nothing wrong with that in my eyes.  The process of reviewing a year and planning for the next is quite daunting, even tough my year includes a very small business.

In 2009, I would conclude that I’ve done more listening than anything else. I feel that I’ve started a platform for a small business online and learned a lot about the way successful masterminds work.  I love the amount of information I’ve learned and associated with over the year.  I feel connected with a lot of people in the collective thinking going on right now.   I’ll do my best to explain in this review post.

The beauty of connecting with people that have similar interests in photography, blogging, living a life of passion, and self-development, helped me to take action more often.

In 2009, my awakening, I quickly realized that my work-life balance was totally lost.  It was the first full year in my day J.O.B. role.  I’ve worked for the company close to 4 years in different roles.   A lot changed internally in 1 year as we moved through the recession and “financial crisis.”  It left me in a position that craved to help people in different ways than I was able to.

With people losing their job, and feeling stress levels they’ve never felt before, I felt that we’re losing more than money in the recession.  We were losing the control we thought we had; however, we look back now and realize that control and security was nothing but a mirage.  This lead me to my first lesson:

Everyone should have a Very Small Business

2009 was no different than any other year.  It was just the year everything caught up with us.  As people lived in fear of losing their job, house, and lifestyle, there were people on the other end of the spectrum – people earning more money, and improving their lifestyle.  People began to design their own lifestyle.  I wanted to be part of the team that went in the direction of designing my own life.

No one should have to depend on one income source. I realized that as great as the “staycation” can be, a second source of income could mean a trip to a desired location.  Even something small that earns a little money over a few month can mean the difference and become your spending money for those little luxuries that we used to expect.   The very small business you set up alongside your corporate [now unsecure] cubicle job.  Brainstorming possible ways to create multiple income streams is a key lesson learned and I hope you start to see this as you move into 2010.  You’re job may not be as “at risk” as the economy restructures, however I believe you should still be exploring what you care about and building a small business on the side. I say this because interest rates are going to rise again, and this can bring a whole new dimension of issues for everyone.

Start a very small business (an ittybiz, if you will).  A small income stream can help anyone realize that they can gain control in their life.  I have created 4 income streams that are starting to trickle.  I am still working the trenches, and I believe that can never stop.  I more these streams start to flow, I expect the width of the trench to expand due to the erosive nature of the water against the edges.

In 2010, I’ll be looking to help restore dignity for the people that feel it’s been lost. I will create ways for people to solve their own problems.  Additional income streams, added control, access to ebooks, and learning about a passionate platform built on the Internet can renew interest in life.  This is all centered around speaking from a place of passion.

Micro Actions and Time will Build Momentum

Nuwomb Creative does not have thousands of visitors per day.  I am sitting around 100 visitors per day, but it fluctuates of course.  If you’re starting a blog or website, a portfolio, or an online business card, you may think that the domain will gain instant traffic.  Many people are reluctant to discuss their life, their work, their dreams and ideas online because everyone will be able to know the smallest details of their life.   Yet, in reality, it takes a lot of work to get people visiting your website and reading/viewing the content you share.    It takes a lot of time to build viewers, readers, and getting them to come back is even tougher.  It’s a rewarding challenge though.   Even people that are friends on Facebook, won’t take the time to read your blog. It’s not as easy as everyone thinks.

I learned that my blogging and photography business will not do much (if anything),  if I don’t talk about what I love (blogging and photography).  I actually find it tough to talk about my business and thoughts with a lot of people because they enjoy talking so much more and I am more comfortable in a listening role.   Also, I don’t have many friends that actually seem to be interested in the same things I am anymore.  My blogs became my way of getting my thoughts, dreams, ideas and passions out into the world.   And I have realized there are people that have the same interests.

The beauty of connecting with people that have similar interests in photography, blogging, living a life of passion, and self-development, helped me to take action more often. I saw the power in micro-actions.  The smallest actions over time actually build habit, framework and momentum.

A blog doesn’t need a new post every single day.  The micro-actions happen behind the scenes in the form of writing daily, modifying a design feature on a website, connecting with people, and shoooting/editing photos.   I made the decision to do something small, anything small that would move my blog and dreams a little bit further.   Sometimes, it could be as simple as finding new social media icons to have on the blog, or thinking of new blog post ideas.  Over a month period, this work builds up to become visible online to build momentum and viewers.  Overnight success has not happened for me yet, but I’m building the momentum and eventually this wave will build Nuwomb Creative into an Overnight Tsunami.   Decompress from the desire of immediate success and you’ll know that time (building brand equity) and consistency are the most important features of a very small business in a social capitalist economy.

I plan to develop a more rigid schedule for myself in 2010. This will include a posting schedule for each blog, and an editorial calender for success.  I intend to create some keystone content that you, the viewer, will share with your circle of friends and followers in the social web.

I Care About More Than Just Photography

2009 started out with me looking at business from the point of view that photography will be what I will only do.  I love photography. I love photography dearly and it will always be a huge part of my life.  I realized that depending on income from photography will not provide the sense of freedom that I desire.  I would still have trouble with vacation planning, traveling whenever and wherever I desire, and waking up to do whatever I want each day.

This is where I started to think about Renaissance Living. I realized that to be location independent, I would need the multiple income streams, and be able to offer service and help to people in different ways.  I learned that I need to expand my own capacity in order to help people give and gain more from their own lives.

I know that most people say to focus on one niche and only one – be the best – however, by following that advice, I’ll still feel like something is missing for me.  I adore following multiple passions and it is my aim to show you that you can do this as well.

I am not sure, at this point in time, if I will write about my income.  Some bloggers are very transparent about their blogging income. I do believe in transparency of a business, so I will do my best to bring up how my efforts are doing financially if it will help others to get free from a job they hate.  I’ll be as transparent about business and much more personal in my writing, video, and products that I plan to bring out in 2010.

I Can Do Anything I Want and Kill it!

Since I’ve never done an actual annual review like this before, I am coming up with some reflection that touches on my life and work in general.  Depression sucks, and it’s something I’ve battled with my entire life. I didn’t realize this until the other year, and I noticed it more and more in 2009.  This year, Eric Bowers, a fellow HDR photographer out of Kansas, touched me.  He sent me a simple e-mail asking about some of my issues because he noticed some symptoms. I later talked to my doctor about being Bipolar and did a screen that revealed a high probability.

As I look back, bipolar depression is something I see very clearly.  There are times where I know I can do anything. Nothing can stop me. I will achieve 99% grades in classes, be a leading scorer in a soccer league, be a sales leader, and be top in my class.

Whatever I truly apply myself to will expand and I will excel.  The thing is, I also have long periods of time where I feel I cannot continue, that I cannot  do well and I am wasting my time – anything I try is a joke and I should have never tried in the first place.

The lesson is to be submersed in the fields that fill me with energy. I cannot go back and forth between periods of intense passion, and periods of extreme negativity in life. It reaps  havoc over my mental attitude and overall energy.   To kill it, I need to eliminate the negative vampiresque environments in my life.  My business will excel when I am in the right conditions and frame of mind.  It’s how I’ve always operated.  Over time, I’ll be able to lower the dosage of my medication and operate in a mental framework that comes from my work.  I need to unplug from the cubicle mindset and let myself come out again.  This is essential for a small business to grow.  It all comes back to what Nuwomb Creative is all about.

What’s to come from Nuwomb Creative in 2010!!!

I’ve already brought up a few things that I plan to do in 2010.  I don’t have everything finalized, named, or fully thought out as of yet, but I wanted this to be the first mention of things happening in the new year.

The first half of 2010 will see a free e-book manifesto for newsletter subscribers, a membership program, and 2 information products.  This is where my editorial calender will become very important.   If you have anything that you’d to see come from Nuwomb Creative, I’d love to hear it.  In order to do this work, I am either going part-time at my current work, or quitting fully.  I intend to exhibit the value of lifestyle design, and taking control of your life from a place of passion, meaning, and value. I will show you the ability to improve your life so that you can do whatever you truly love.

My other blogs and websites are all under the Nuwomb Creative umbrella.  From these other blogs you’ll see:

• i heart texture – a must more consistency in new textures released and premium texture packages
• 1 love london photoblog – photography posted every other day.
• Urban HDR photoblog – photography posted every other day.
• Wedding Rockstars – 1 new post to the blog per week atleast – and building wedding websites for couples planning their wedding.   I would love to help atleast 1 couple per month to have a killer wedding website that built on WordPress and not cookie cutter like most other wedding websites.  Also, I am looking to collaborate with outstanding wedding photographers to offer these sites to their clients.
• Megapixeld: Showcasing the Best Photography Websites – Updating on a much more regular basis to provide inspiration for both designers and photographers.

The lesson is your passions ARE your very small business in 2010. Corporations are in trouble if they do not think about employee experience.  Employee experience is going to be just as important as customer experience. Corporations will need to show you that they care about you in the workplace or they are going to lose you entirely.  They will lose you to something more meaningful, something the person actually cares about.  It is time for us to make the first move!