Business Journal: a place to celebrate wins & reflect - 35th Edition

November was a little less busy business-wise than I hoped, but I’m continuously learning to roll with it. November’s highlights included putting together a new video about working with museums, celebrating Small Business Saturday and 15 years post spinal-fusion surgery, and designing three new stickers for the Chicago History Museum.

The Big Wins

• Created a new video to highlight my interest and ability to work with museums. I attended the Museum Store Association’s Midwest Chapter meeting, which inspired me to put together this page.

• Promoted shopping locally through sharing Shop Local Chicago graphics and offering four Small Business Saturday specials. In case you missed the specials, you can find them here. I opted out of one-day-only specials, so there’s still a chance for you to support Lettering Works and save!

• Attended the Chicago Department of Aviation’s Airport Expo and connected with Yolanda Woodruff, who helped me see the progress I’ve made in getting noticed in the airport space over these past three years. Fun fact: it takes the average business 3-5 years to break into the airport industry.

General Updates + Accomplishments:

• Celebrated 15 years post spinal-fusion surgery. I put together a list of 15 things that I’ve accomplished in the second half of my lifetime, since I had the 11.5 hour corrective surgery. You can read it here.

• Created three new stickers for the Chicago History Museum: a 36 Broadway Bus, a CTA bus sign to match the one outside the museum, and a 22 Clark bus. I also restocked the Chicago History Museum, Garfield Park Conservatory, and Paperish Mess for the holiday shopping season.

• Enjoyed art and culture in Chicago. Highlights included attending two broadway musicals: Wicked and The Lion King, an aluminum pour at Comfort Station in Logan Square, a plant swap and bingo night with the Avondale Gardening Alliance, the Museum of Ice Cream, and a Smallpools concert at the House of Blues.

• Restored my habit of listening to a Blinkist summary every day. I’ve gotten away from intentionally learning something each day, so bringing this habit back and sticking to it really helped me feel productive and continue learning.

• Took trips to both Peoria, IL and St. Louis, MO. Daniel and I made a trip to Peoria to visit with friends and see our friend Barbie Perry’s first solo exhibit at Buchanan Center For the Arts in Monmouth, IL. We also ventured to St. Louis to celebrate Thanksgiving with Daniel’s family.

• Co-Hosted the last Sunnyside Chats of the year. We planned a breakfast-for-dinner themed holiday party to connect, celebrate our wins, and share in the small business struggles that 2022 brought.

• Failed to generate my regular revenue. (I know this is a space for celebrating wins and accomplishments but I also value transparency.) November and December are usually really big months for me so I’m hoping that I can do more in December and that the things I’ve been investing my time in developing behind the scenes will pay off soon! I’ve been working towards doing more meaningful work and determining what is next for Lettering Works, so I am feeling some growing pains here.

November was filled with a lot of fun personal things and time with family and friends. I am working on building out a new trade program for artists and refreshing my general messaging so I can be more values-aligned in my work. I have some availability for branding projects to begin immediately and am still running a few Small Business Saturday specials. Got questions? Reach out to learn more.

In December, I’m looking forward to getting some more design work on my calendar and reflecting on another year in business (one that I experienced a lot of personal growth).

Thank you for being here, for supporting me, and for following along with my entrepreneurial journey.

PS - Have a project you’d like to chat about? Grab your free 20-minute project consultation + ensure your project gets on my calendar in 2022. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, + brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful + impactful things together.