Reflecting on a Year of Growth, Challenges, and Insights

2021 is coming to a close, and I am looking back at the year it was! 

2021 was full of milestones for me - birthday, anniversary, college kids, business growth, and more. Life is a great teacher, and I'm still being a student. Turning 50 doesn't mean the party is over. Kids heading off to school doesn't mean parenting is over. All of it is just a means to a new chapter. 

During this episode, I talk about:

• Business takeaways (5:05)

• Personal takeaways (15:01)

• Vision boards and checking in with yourself (20:38)

• Celebrate your success (25:01)

• Traveling lightly into 2022 (29:32)

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Let’s stay connected!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kivaslade/ 

Website: https://www.the516collaborative.com/ 

Podcast Transcript:

0:01  

Hello and welcome to Collab with Kiva. I'm your host Kiva Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing-themed office chair. I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay-at-home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry biz owner, and now the owner of a service-based business. Whether your journey has been a straight line or full of zigs and zags. Join me and my guest as we share insights hope in lessons learned from our own entrepreneurship journeys. May the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat? Let's dive in. Hello, and welcome to Collab with Kiva. Today is our last episode of 2021. What a year, it has been. So for this episode, I am going to have a look back at the year in review. So I don't know about you. But when I was growing up, I always enjoyed those retrospectives that showed all that happened in a year. And I would just sit in front of the TV pretty mesmerized, especially when I was younger. I always, though, found myself shocked. Because there would be something some event that took place that I just couldn't imagine had happened in the last 12 months, it always seemed like there was something that was either further away from that it happened many years ago, or there was always something that felt like it had just happened recently. So when I take a look back at 2021, and closing out this year, I'm just gonna focus on a few things, I'm gonna focus on things as relates to my business. Also, some personal things as I reflect, and then also kind of a mixture. So let's start off with business. 2021 was a very good year. And it was an interesting good year, I hit two years in business. But in addition to that, there was a lot of purposeful slowing down. And I know that that may sound a bit odd. You had a good year, but you slow down. And actually, yeah, I had a great year. And I slow down. And I think there's something to that, about knowing not only taking the time rather know who you want to work with, how you want to show up how you want to serve others, especially for those that are a service-based business. There's wisdom in purposefully slowing down so that you can focus on those people or those areas, hone those skills, hone in maybe on some operational parts of your business that are in need of additional attention. Whatever it may be, when you purposefully decide to slow down and you are so much more aware of what you are allowing yourself to say yes to what you are allowing yourself to say no to it, it puts you in a different headspace for moving forward with even more clarity, more conviction, and more creative energy. So that ties into another business. Aha for me, which was being still if you've ever met me in real life, you know, I am a dynamo. I'm a mover constantly going, the brains constantly going. So being still is hard. It is so so so hard. But I have actually found solace this year. In being still some of those stillness periods were forced on me. Some were by my own choosing. But there is again wisdom in growth that comes from being still.

5:05  

So I encourage you to try it. It's hard but try it. So I started out this year, with like, of this roster full of clients, I was doing a bunch of different things, retainer work project work, kind of a hybrid agency thing going on. I had added another team member at the beginning of the year. Oh, my goodness, can I tell you I ended the year with no one on my team. Yeah, let's pull the curtain back on the hat hiring woes. I started off the year by adding another I had added another person to my team. Like myself, she was also a certified OBM. She wasn't functioning though, like on my team and OBM role. And it was just really interesting. I had her I had my VA, you know, there, there was just a lot going on, I still had a blog writer, you know, there was a whole lot of lift, little moving parts and pieces. In then as the year wore on, just different things took place in my business that I had to once again, purposely slow down and or be still. And it caused me to reexamine some things. I ended some relationships with clients after our year was up in just for clarification, I don't do your contracts, I typically work on a three-month basis. But the one client in particular, we had hit that year mark, and it was just time for her to go in a different direction. And for me to also go in a different direction. So I mean, our parting was totally amicable. And that just really made me think about how things were functioning in my business on my team. And I wound up not making some team changes, basically, you know, and then I did the Kobe B. And you guys know, I'm always talking about the Kolbe. So the eight tells you how you function, the B is like how you envision the role that you are in and how you need to show up for that role. So it looks at your A and your B and kind of like you can look at both of them and see where you might need to do things a little differently. For me, I'm at a high natural quickstart. But in my role, obviously, as CEO, there are times I need to move faster than I am naturally inclined to do. But I also know that I need someone who's a high higher follow-through than I am. And that's that second number. And so when I went to embark on that hiring journey, I was adamant that everyone who was going to be interviewed and as somewhat of a finalist was going to take the Kolbe A so I could see their results. And I had put out an RFP and goodness gracious. I had two people, literally, their Kolbe's were like one number apart. They were the same in the beginning was like 8723 and 8732 looks like oh great. They did not make this easy for me. I went with one, who seemed amazing. Like my husband thought she was going to be great. My coach at the time was like yeah, I think that's the one she was so not the one No, no, I had to let her go. circle back to the second one. That was seemingly going okay. But I'm a very not a very trusting person but I am one of those people that my dad's one of his favorite sayings was, I’ll give you enough leash to hang yourself. Yeah, I kind of let you have that free rein I tell you where the boundaries are but I don't like to micromanage I don't like to hate this happen to this happen like that kind of follow-through is not always my best strength. I want to be able to trust that you're doing what you're supposed to do. Needless to say, and discovered, not all of those things were being done unfortunately and just some things that happen to me, made me look bad. And as result, my business look bad, and I've worked too hard for what I have to allow that to happen. So long story short, I ended the team with the end of the year with no one on my team.

9:56  

I reevaluated what I am doing as it relates to social media, I took time to look at where I show up, how I show up. I took time to look at my analytics reports, to find out more information about what I, how do people come to my website? How are they finding me? What are the largest referral traffic numbers, and it really was kind of eye-opening, you know, in light of the fact that I was spending quite a bit of time in some places that I didn't really need to be? So long story short, once again, being still purposefully slowing down allows you to see these things and to notice these things. And you have to trust yourself. Sometimes I feel like this year, I spent a lot of time giving other people more of a voice in my business, than I than I should have. And I didn't trust my own boys enough. And as a result of that, I really had to say, and that still getting back to a point of knowing and trusting myself. And I want to encourage others to do that. There's a lot that you already know, there's a lot that you have in your that you've been exposed to that so much has taken place in your life that it's gotten you to the point that you're at, don't discount that. Yes, it is important to receive wise counsel from others. However, don't get to the point where you're so reliant on the wise counsel of others that you don't listen to your own inner voice, that inner voice has led you to where you are. Don't discount it in this process of seeking wise counsel. So with that being said, that is a definite takeaway for me from 2021 that I am taking into 2022. And I'll let you in on a secret that my I don't have a word for 2022. I've do words, trust myself. And so that is going to definitely be my mantra moving into 2022. So the last thing I'm going to share as it relates to business relates to working with ideal clients. As many of you know, I am a service-based provider. So its clients are my business. So it's really important, though, to work with people who are really ideal clients. And the reality is, you don't find out those ideal clients. So you've probably kissed a few frogs, you know, to go Disney on you. But seriously, you have to work with some nutso ideal clients, in many cases to come out to what is an ideal client? What does it look like? How did they find you? How do you find them? What in that relationship works? Well, what does it what could need improvement, there are so many different factors that could go into it. But I know that in this year, I have let go of clients that are no longer ideal. Excuse me, that may have been ideal at some point. But as I evolved, they just were no longer ideal. And I've also been fortunate to have some pretty awesome, you know, clients that I've worked with, and continue to work with, where what each of us brings to the table is so valued and important and respect it. And it has turned out to be some very great client relationships. So take the time to figure out you know, when you look at those people that you've worked with, that you served, or what are the things that are the high points. So what are the things that are low points and crap for yourself, like what kind of person makes up for you that ideal client and know that sometimes he might get it wrong? It's okay. You can always make those corrections as needed.

15:01  

But definitely, it's so much more fulfilling when you are working with someone who is an ideal client for you, and the type of work that you do. So, those are some of my business highlights from 2021. So there's purpose. When you take the time to purposely slow down, you can be still and learn how to trust yourself and guess what hiring was working with less than ideal clients are going to happen. It's a part of business. So let's move on to the person No, I turned 50 this year. Yay. All the confetti comes flying. That was huge. I also celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary which led my husband and I to go to Turks and Caicos with my brother and sister in law, my niece and nephew in law and we had like the most amazing time and yeah, we traveled before delta and Omicron came on the scene by personally, you know, like turning 50 That's like so huge. And it was so anti-climatic if I'm honest with you. And it was that way, I think because on my birthday, we literally packed up our car while our truck and a u-haul trailer or to start the adventure of taking our kids to school are both of our kids headed out of the house out of state this year to head off to college. So it was like turning 50 taking your kids to school becoming an empty nester, like all in the same day, was pretty much what it felt like. So our daughter had to be at school on the 11th Yeah, the day after my birthday. So we headed to North Carolina, checked into a hotel, we did have birthday dinner, which was absolutely scrim delicious. But it was still a lot emotionally for me. I was grateful that I had my own business, I was grateful for the clients that I had because I took the month of August like pretty much off. In that was really wonderful to have the time to move my kids in to have the time to like come back home and realize they were really not there. To have the time to like mentally emotionally. Just process everything that was going on. Because it happened rather felt like quickly. So I'm also as I said, now an empty nester. Did I tell you that my husband is retired, did it at the that happened during the pandemic as well. So empty nesting with like a retired husband. Yeah, that itself might be an episode. Because it's definitely interesting. Thankfully, you know, he has his golf and some things but like, seriously, there are days I have to remind him to keep it down like Dude, I'm working. And so it's kind of funny that that's where we find ourselves. But I'm also grateful that obviously, my work is of a nature in which I can do it in many different locations. So that is been a huge blessing. Which leads to another kind of major thing that happened to us doing this year was we purchased a second home in a much warmer climate I currently live in drastically different but I think today the difference is about 20 degrees or so. Yeah, so it's like living a different life. Like that wasn't something that we had planned for from quite honest. But it's just you know, opportunity presented itself in such a way. And then so that took place. So flexibilities super important, obviously in what I do because it impacts my life in my business. All of those things have been wonderful. And I think another thing personally is just really acknowledging the fact that my my parents have always been obviously huge in my life and in the life of my family.

19:47  

You know, there's been some health challenges this year, realizing your parents are getting older, in you know what comes with that. And so lifewise I'm just I in this year with such a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, for good health, for all of us. This by COVID Coming to ruin Christmas in some ways, but really just thankful for the ability to see 50 years of life and to be in good health and celebrate 20 years of marriage and see my kids go off to school and do well this semester. Learn a lot of life lessons mature into, just continue rather to mature into these amazing human beings. And, and that's just such a feeling of joy that just envelops my heart. Because they're, they're just amazing. You know, to have the opportunity to have additional time, like with my, through our empty-nesting to travel and do other things, it's really just been a joy that I really just always can't find, I think all of the words to describe it, but just know that it makes me super happy. And we, including my parents, we all traveled for Thanksgiving to our other house. And the weather was a little chilly though that conference coming through and things but you know, it was wonderful to spend that time there. It was the first time everybody else had seen the house and did spend the time there. And we had a few few nicer days that did pop up. And it was just really wonderful. We actually it's near the beach. So we went to the beach for Thanksgiving. And it was just great. So moving on to the last part, which I felt was kind of like a mixture of some business like business, some business things led to some of these that were also kind of more personal. And I just want to talk like the importance of perseverance. You know, I don't know who out there makes a vision board. I kind of mine's a Canva desktop screen saver, if I'm honest, like computer screen saver, but it's important, I think to have those, whatever your vision board looks like whether it's camera design, whether it's written out on a sticky note, whether it's typed up in a computer document, whether you have gotten poster board and a bunch of magazines, I think it's important to have those, because your visions may not become reality immediately. Some visions take time for things to get aligned in order for them to come to fruition. And if you don't have it, somewhere for you to be reminded of what you're working towards. And even if it's not in that same in kind of gold fashion. It serves as that motivator. And that's what's I think the most important part that leads to perseverance. For me, like two years ago, I literally had worked with had a session with a coach. Huge shout out to Marlena banks, if you’re out there. And it was amazing because I shared some things there. And it was really things that she made me dig deep on. And it was really interesting because if you know you you kind of walk away from that, those sessions and you're like, Okay, there's some things that obviously are immediate, Like tangible. Boom, boom, boom, boom, we can check those out. Some things take time.

24:31  

And as a result of that, I always I check back in with her just to share, because I find that there was a lot that I shared in that session and a lot that I guess she unearthed that made like when I go back through those notes. I can't begin to tell you what it feels like to see things that I spoke to years ago, getting checked off. And some of them were more personal. In some more business-related, bad when you're in the doing of life, you may not even realize and if you're anything like me, you don't take time to celebrate when those major accomplishments have taken place. And that is a life lesson. Listen closely. Don't gloss over those moments. Don't gloss over your celebrations. Don't skip them and beyond to chasing the next checkmark, stop, celebrate, acknowledge what you have accomplished. And as a mom, I've had to share that lesson this year with my son, who is way too much like his mama. But his grades. He literally was like, down and out. And I'm not going to reveal his grades. I'm just going to tell you the boy did amazingly well. But like seriously a minus or a and like the level of pressure that he kind of put on himself and level of skip over onto next semester. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, what we're not going to do is that we're going to celebrate these. I need you to learn to celebrate your accomplishments. And my daughter, she celebrates her accomplishments. She celebrates everything. And I love that about her. But he definitely was going to skip over that. And I was like, dude can't skip over that. So if anyone else is out there, skipping over things after the next checkmark, I need you to stop. Just put it in pause or write down and acknowledge your accomplishments. And when you have that vision board, or you maybe have shared them with someone else, maybe an accountability partner or a coach or something, share the updates with them. It is a blessing to their soul to hear that the work that they've done with you. Now, mind you, they didn't move you to that point. But what they pull out of you, and then you actually act on, let them know that you've done that. Let them know hey, by the way, that thing we talked about, it actually happened in this is what happened. It is an encouragement to them as well. So make sure you do that. I have ticked off many things. And I'm excited to work on my next vision board. Because like the one I have I literally I had some things on there for two years. And now they have them I've done them I've you know completed them. So I have to go make bigger dreams people. I want you to make bigger dreams. Okay, so saying no, to say yes. This past month, especially December, but really this kind of all started in August when I turned 50 If I'm honest, it's been a slow building process. But I'm definitely learning how to say no to things that allow me to say yes to other things. And sometimes with that, it ties into those visions in those manifestations. And I'm not all woo woo because ya know, I'm much more spiritually grounded in a different way. But I think it's really important that sometimes you have to say no, so that you can say yes to the thing that you do not see all of it worked out. But when you do that the doors start to open to the new opportunities that were waiting there for you to release let go of say no to some stuff that was not allowing you to move forward.

29:32  

And so I really want to encourage you to learn how to say no. So you can say yes. I have been listening to Cal Newport’s well I listened to Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism. And I have been like a madwoman in my own house just like getting rid of stuff just realizing. I feel like a lot of us have done that especially through the pandemic You're like, oh my gosh, I'm not probably ever going to wear that or use that or something of that sort. And so it's like you sit and you're like, Oh, you just feel weighed down by your stuff. So I've been like literally pulling up to the goodwill. Like they're like, oh gosh, she's back again. I'm like, hey, yeah, bling get out the big man cuz I'm back again. I have cleaned out Christmas decorations. I've gotten rid of so much stuff, especially in the month of December and newsflash, I have a few more days to go to get rid of some more, but literally like lightening our load, in load, whatever that means for you. And becoming a bit more minimalistic. Goes back to that thing. Notice how Yes, as so rewarding. So motivating, so, life-giving. So where you can? What can you get rid of? What can you What do you not need? Where do you not need to be? What do you not need to agree to? What do you fill in the blank? Challenge yourself to say no more, become a bit more minimalistic in some areas. So I want you to lean into your natural gifts, goes back to trusting yourself. Don't sit on those things that you were just amazing at. Don't do it. That's a lesson I've had to learn. And also flexibility, maturity and test importance of mindset. Guys, see you have to have your mind right. I have learned that so many times it feels like this year. And it's like really, really, really sinking in now. And I'm not one for a lot of release. But it's so important that we have our mind and we work on our mindset because from it flows so much more. So I want to encourage you to do that. And for those that are out there, I wanted one other you know what to call it. But I want to give a shout-out. That's what I'll call it to score for those that are in the US SCORE a free program that is sponsored by the Small Business Administration. I have the most amazing score mentor. Like her business acumen is top-notch, her encouragement, her challenging of me her everything means the world to me. We meet once a month and I kid you not those meetings for an hour have been the most amazing meetings. I am grateful for her. And if you are finding yourself in a place where you think you need a coach or you're looking for someone who's more of a seasoned professional, check out the score program. It is absolutely free to you. I'll say that last part again. It is absolutely free to you. And honestly, it is it's amazing. And the volunteers are retired business people who really do want to see you do well. Want to see you excel and the wealth of knowledge that they bring makes with their care

34:07  

and concern is top-notch. So I encourage you to check that out. Then a huge shout out to Karen my mentor is the best. So I have talked to you for a long time today with is a year in review. 2021 is been a year. I am looking forward with excitement to 2022 I know there are lots of big things on the horizon. And I am standing wide open with my arms to ready to receive them. I am excited about what you know will continue to happen with my children as they go back to school. I am excited about so much and I hope that you find yourself excited as well. Feel free to send me a message share that excitement with me. I would love to hear what you were looking forward to in 2022. And a share your retrospective on Tony, Tony one. What took place that you were like, Hey, this is what went on. So I wish you the most amazing, New Year's. Happy, happy, happy new year. And I look forward to seeing you in 2022. Thanks for listening and talk soon. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Collab with Kiva. You know my heart, and it wants you to know that you are uniquely made and that your business path is unique to you. I hope that now you have some clear takeaways from this episode that have left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course, your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciated. If you are a small business owner and you are ready to build out your business playbook, and you're ready to document and delegate what takes place in your business so it can grow beyond you. Make sure you visit me on my website, the 516 collaborative.com and let's schedule a time to talk. I'll see everyone next time. Bye

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.