It’s been an unusually quiet week between Christmas and New Year. Quieter than usual. Joy McMillan Glass is less than a year old and there isn’t a Boxing Day sale to deal with – that’s one part of my previous business I don’t miss.
Mainly it’s been a chance to stop and relax. Since starting Joy McMillan Glass last January there’s been a lot going on. Any small business owner will tell you that when you’re the person who does everything there’s plenty of variety (a good thing) and never quite enough hours in the day (not at all a good thing). That makes time feel precious, and not something to be wasted.
One thing I’m noticing is a lot of chat about goal setting. About setting out grand plans for the year – and more – ahead. We’ve all heard that failing to plan is planning to fail, right?
Here’s as good a point as any to out myself as a BUJO loving planner. Why? I’m keen on a to do list. I like to know what my week looks like. It lets me make sure I fit in the jobs that I’d otherwise happily ignore. It lets me batch jobs together and save time. It keeps things ticking over and saves stress. It keeps me focused.
But big plans and goals for 2024? Right now, there isn’t anything that’s catching my attention. That feels like a nice place to be.
Let me dig into that a little more. While I’m looking for new wholesale accounts I don’t have a specific number in mind for new galleries I’d love to stock my work or new wholesale accounts I want to sign up. Why not? Because these aren’t things that should get counted that way. I could sign up 20 new wholesale accounts who buy a minimum amount from me once – or one wholesale account where my work flies off the shelf. I’d sooner have the later one – and that’s where goal setting numbers fall flat for me.
In 2024 I’m going to commit to one goal. To fail more.
Much of the inspiration from this came from hearing Liz Mosely talking with Katie Chappell (https://www.katiechappell.com/) about 100 rejection letters on The Building Your Brand Podcast. (https://www.lizmosley.net/podcast). It’s one of my go to podcasts when I’m melting glass, and I always come away feeling a little more optimistic and a little smarter.
Right now, this business is less than a year old. It feels like the perfect time to take some risks. So, in 2024 I’m aiming for 100 fails. What will those look like?
Some of them will be rejection letters. Some of them will be things that I try to make which don’t work. They might be ideas so bad that I’ll look back and wonder why I ever thought they were a good idea. It could be trying something different on Tiktok (https://www.tiktok.com/@joymcmillanglass). It might even be a collaboration which very much doesn’t go to plan. There are lots of ways to fail.Why this rather than some specific business focused goal? I’d like to be having more fun in my business. I’d like to be more open about the stuff that isn’t working as well as the stuff that is. I’d like to take more chances. I’d like to let go of the things which aren’t working out quicker instead of sticking it out to the bitter end. I’d like to focus on learning things rather than outcomes. I’d like to build more resilience about having things go wrong. It feels right.
I’ll likely do a round up on here every now and again, and I suspect that some of the fails will provide great behind the scenes content for social media. If you’d like to follow along you can find me on Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook.
What about you? Do you have grand plans for 2024 – or are you doing things differently?