Five Changes I’m Making to My Business in 2022

As I enter into my fifth year as a full time website designer, I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the positive changes I’ve made in my business since transitioning it from a side hustle into a full time gig, as well as identifying the areas where improvements are still needed. 

My focus has never been to create the “perfect” business because, in my opinion, perfection isn’t real or attainable (and frankly striving for perfection can cause a lot of unnecessary stress). But improving and adapting is possible so without further ado, here’s what I’m focusing on in 2022. 

01. Limiting the amount of time per week I’m spending on client work

This is a BIG one. Since starting my full time web design business, I’ve been lucky enough to rely on word of mouth and a bit of search engine optimization to find enough clients to fill my schedule. As a one-woman show and being the type of person who has a hard time turning down work, this has led me to overfill my work weeks to the point that, over the last couple of years, evening and weekend work sessions have become the norm. More time in front of my computer has meant less time exploring, less time with loved ones, and less time taking care of my physical and emotional wellbeing. It’s not sustainable and while I truly love what I do, it’s not how I want to be spending all of my waking hours. So in 2022 I’m committed to being more mindful about the work I’m saying yes to. Curious what this specifically looks like? I’m aiming for no more than 35 hours a week spent on client work. I know from experience that this amount of client related work means that I’m left with enough time for personal interests and dare I say, time to focus on my own business. 

02. Blogging Consistently

I know, I know. What biz owner doesn’t have the goal of blogging more? I’m adding this one to the list because after reviewing the traffic I received to my website last year, I realized that a growing amount of my website visitors come through blog posts. I also know that blogging is a great way to build credibility and trust with potential clients. It also can act as a resource library for existing clients. I’d love to be able to say “great question - I wrote a blog post about that which you can read here.” So what does “blogging consistently” mean? I’m aiming to publish a blog post every 2 weeks, with the ultimate goal of increasing the frequency to one a week in 2023. 

03. Growing website traffic using Pinterest

Another insight I had while reviewing my 2021 website analytics was the untapped potential of Pinterest. At the beginning of last year, I had created a couple of pins about a website I had designed with a link back to my portfolio. When I was reviewing my website analytics I realized that one of the pins had been generating quite a bit of traffic to my website throughout the year. Unlike the consistent amount of effort that other platforms like Instagram and Facebook require, I’m impressed by Pinterest’s ability to keep producing interest, even months after posting. Set it and forget it, now that’s my kind of marketing! So what’s involved with growing website traffic using Pinterest? Well first, I need to learn a bit more about the platform so I’ve signed up for a course about growing traffic with Pinterest. Once I finish the course, my plan is to block off a couple of hours a month to create new pins about recent portfolio additions and blog posts.

04. Launching my new website

After spending most of my time designing and building websites for my clients, I rarely ever feel the desire to update my own website (which is the main reason why my portfolio page is severely out of date…). While I’ve been performing mini makeovers on my site over the years, I know that it needs a full overhaul to make it more reflective of my style and the current focus of my business. I’m also taking this as an opportunity to upgrade my website from Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1, the newest version of Squarespace. Work is currently underway on the new website and I’m hoping to have everything migrated over and be able to hit the publish button at the end of Q1. 

05. Streamlining Services

I’ve spent the last couple of years getting really clear on the services that I want to be offering clients and now I’d like to take that clarity and streamline my services even further. I launched a new website package last year that I’m rebranding into the Two Week Website service and I feel like there is a lot of untapped potential with this offering. My focus this year is to create a really clear internal process for delivering this service so that I might be able to eventually explore bringing in some outside support. While I don’t know what this looks like quite yet, I’m starting to come around to the idea of welcoming in support so that I continue growing my business and helping more people.

So there you have it, the five changes I’m making within my business in 2022. While I could probably add a few more items (okay, maybe a lot more) to this list, these are the top changes I’m focused on and the ones I feel will make the most difference over the course of this year. I’m slowly learning that everything doesn’t have to happen all at once and by choosing a few key areas to focus on, the chances of slipping into overwhelm and inaction are less likely. 

Now it’s your turn. What are you focusing on during 2022 to grow your business? Let me know here.