The Mid-year Review
Mid-year reflections that are more about feelings than figures
I don’t receive mid-year performance reviews. Afterall, I work for myself. I do have rituals for monthly, quarterly, and annual retrospectives however. I’ve just never shared them. But I myself really do enjoy reading a ‘year in review’ or round-up list from other creatives and business owners (e.g. Brandy Cerne’s latest). Not for comparison but rather for connection, little windows into our worlds with the purpose of sharing experiences and inspirations. So I went back and reviewed 2024 thus far and wanted to share it with you. If there are other things you’d be curious to hear about or see in this type of review, please let me know in the comments!
2024 month by month
January
Life: Participated in Creative Quests (theme of the month was “magic” which was my selected word for the year! 🔮)
Work: Kicked off an MIT school website redesign project (still pending launch), taught Cohort 4 of Designing Your Freelance Business
February
Life: Volunteered at SF’s CreativeMornings, visited the Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico
Work: Struggled with the complexity of the MIT project (little upfront strategy/discovery work was done + challenging stakeholder alignment)
March
Life: Took a ritual design class with Tiu de Haan, spent my birthday at the rainy Mendocino, CA coast
Work: Had a tax planning session with my CPA to review 2024 S-Corp projections, worked towards a project deadline accepting I’d feel stretched for the final month of push on MIT work
April
Life: Participated as a researcher in the OOO Network Uniform Research Study
Work: Began working with amazing team at SF startup Feta (designing an app for memory keeping and connection), kicked off internal Huzzah Studio website redesign project (still in flight), joined a super cool local co-working space All Hands Club
May
Life: Went to an In a Landscape Concert, visited the Charles Schulz Museum with my dad, had a great trip to Los Angeles where I did experiential R&D - read all about it here:
Work: Wrapped retainer work with Get Mom Strong on their mobile app and website, took Tara McMullin’s Business World Building Workshop, enrolled in the Out of Office Network’s creative residency program - read my recap here:
June
Life: Visited the SF MOMA for the Art of Noise exhibit, generally rested at home more due to dealing with too many migraine episodes
Work: Wrapped work with Feta on their mobile MVP, attended the Figma Conference
July
Life: Dined in an orchard at The Apple Farm, sea kayaked for the first time, caught Pokey LaFarge in concert
Work: Took a client work sabbatical, taught cohort 5 of Designing Your Freelance Business, began working with copywriting expert Nicole Cloutier on course marketing, and with a new virtual assistant
Feelings over figures
Huzzah Studio (my experience design studio)
So far 2024 has brought us wonderful client relationships, both a continuation of a long-time client who extended our retainer and a new startup client (who was a former student!). 3 out of 4 clients were direct to Huzzah Studio and 1 client project was through a Boston based agency. Of course my preference is direct clients but this mix can help support income, allow me to work on larger projects or with bigger clients, and collaborate with new people. This year has seen less clients on average but longer term commitments which I am grateful for. It has been the stability in what has felt like an extremely strange year so far.
4 clients
1 new (former student starting new business)
1 former (years long client I support with smaller asks)
1 former (originally found me through SEO)
1 former (agency collaboration)
Project types:
5 flat-fee projects
1 retainer
Client type/industry:
Health & Wellness
Tech
Agency (higher education)
2 cold pitched proposals that were not accepted
1 proposal not accepted via in-network referral
Freelance for Life (my teaching, coaching, freelance content)
I continue to LOVE teaching and supporting the growing freelance community. Despite this work being only 3-5% of my total business income, I really find a lot of fulfillment helping others on their journey of solopreneurship and am even planning to invest some more time into the community building and offerings here.
2 cohorts taught of Designing Your Freelance Business in January & July
1 canceled cohort in April due to low enrollment
2 business coaching mentees (reach out if you’re looking for 1:1 support)
5 newsletters published
1 video podcast interview (I was just interviewed on my first vlog where we chatted about solopreneurship and building a lifestyle business)
Networking
~ 20 general “biz dev” connection calls
~ 24 🍵 tea times
Joined local Changing the Shape of Business group
Joined Groove for virtual co-working sessions
Joined 3 Slack communities (Neol, The Old Girls Club, and Freelancing Females)
3 in-person networking events
Professional & personal development
1 conference
2 workshops
1 creative residency program
1 summer sabbatical
The things making me shout HUZZAH!
Tools
Groove for co-working
It’s been a bit of a slow start to get into grooving regularly, but I really love the founding team and community’s authenticity and values.Dock for client experience
I’ve just started playing with their client portals and onboarding flows but so far I am liking what I’m seeing — more to be shared on this soon!
Podcasts
Books
Film & TV
Music
Serendipitous discoveries
How is 2024 treating you?
We’ll see how the rest of 2024 shakes out, I’ll plan to do a full year in review retrospective at year’s end. In the meantime, I’d love to hear how your year is shaping up. If there are other things you’d be curious to see in this type of review, you can join our chat and let me know!
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Such a beautifully holistic review! I love "feelings over figures" and how you've included life and work in the same conversation. Adding "A Year in Practice" to my book list!
What an epic wrap up Sarah! Glad we could kick off your 2024 with a little magic ✨