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2020 is finally over and I can honestly say I will not miss it. Not even a little.

I wanted to do some pretty raw reflections for the end of the year because let’s be honest, this year has been unlike any other year in most of our lifetimes - and not in a good way.

I am 100% about being positive and having an optimistic attitude. I bring those qualities to the table 95% of the time with everything that I do, on occasion, to the annoyance of my husband who likes to see things as they are right now instead of what they could be. Hah!

The truth is, though, that even I can’t pretend that this hasn’t been a terribly hard year. There’s been a lot of tragedy, anger, and overall bad-ness that I don’t think we can or should casually shrug off like it didn’t happen. That doesn't negate the fact that there have been some wins, of course, but this is one time where I don’t think the wins outweigh the heaviness of the year.

With that being said, I’ve been reflecting on my personal life, as well as business and blog growth. I wanted to look at them separately because they’re not quite the same, although permanently working from home blurs the lines a lot more than when I was working in an office!

The Personal Details

I say juicy, but I don’t know how accurate that is.

To give perspective to just how much this year has been for me (and in our house):

Quarter 1: January - February

Began job discussions with who we’ll call New Company C

Best friend asked me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding in the fall! Aw, so nice! (Little did we know that COVID would mess all of it up and postpone the wedding.)
New Company C makes me a fabulous job offer that drastically improves our quality of life; Started new role at New Company C
Hubby’s grandfather moves out after staying with us unexpectedly for 4 months
Threw hubby a surprise 30th birthday party!

Quarter 1: March

** March gets its own month because...well, you’ll see **

2 weeks of jury duty - first time ever being called - for a murder trial. He was guilty. I was gutted.
First day back from jury duty (I’ve only been at New Company C for a month at this point) we were all called into the conference room at lunchtime and sent to work from home due to fears over COVID
COVID lockdown begins
Hubby gets major mouth surgery a day before the surgeon postpones all non-medically necessary procedures due to COVID
Took some time over a warm weekend to mulch and put flowers in our tiny front garden area - something I’d been wanting to do since we moved in in March 2018
Hubby leaves miserable job to pursue self-employment
March 31 my daily log says, “New day ahead tomorrow! A whole new month even! So glad this one is over…” Oh, girl…

Quarter 2: April - June

Lockdown continues
My birthday! - Olive Garden takeout wins lockdown birthday
Got our exterior trim painted
Walked in lots of new nearby parks as a way to get out of the house a little
Furloughed from my brand new job at New Company C
Began regularly doing morning pages journaling

New floors to replace our disgusting carpet!
News of race riots across the country - I write on May 30 “How can this still be happening in 2020?... We need to change and we need to be better.”

Mini getaway to Evansville - just one overnight; first time dining in a restaurant since lockdown and it was scary
Adopted puppy Maxwell - he was only 12 weeks old. 6 pounds of cuteness and sharp teeth!
Helped my dad move to a new house
Registered Capturing Your Confidence as a business with my county!

Quarter 3: July - September

Had the gut feeling that New Company C wouldn’t be bringing me back - furlough extended - so really ramped up business endeavors with intention to go full time on my own
Charlie has to get his teeth cleaned, which costs as much as a mortgage payment (who knew?!)

Migrated my website from WordPress to Squarespace - the move was ugly and complicated, but isn’t the new site pretty? ;)
Officially laid off from New Company C
Offered a role as Executive Contributor for Brainz Magazine - and accepted

Went on our first big vacation in years - we rented our own cabin in the woods in Gatlinburg! Very few major sight-seeing places to avoid crowds, but the mountains were beautiful, as always, and we can’t wait to go back again
Our 4 year wedding anniversary!
Able to work outside with my best friend (who also works remotely) a few afternoons when the weather was fair!

Quarter 4: October - December

Maxwell gets neutered & has surgery on his cherry eye
I invite Holly to be a regular contributor on the blog!
Hubby begins working in partnership with Shipt

Maxwell gets eye surgery #2 because he escaped the cone in October and damaged the stiches
Election day - waited 4 hours to vote. At least it was warm and sunny!
Picked an absorbently expensive healthcare plan and signed up!

Hubby diagnosed with sleep apnea

As I was putting this list together, I thought to do a reflection of each month, but honestly? The truth is that in March I was just completely bombarded with event after event that was so hard to deal with. Then I got furloughed in April (later to be permanently laid off), so I feel like the rest of the year has been trying to deal with the hand I was dealt and making the best of the day and/or the week.

I am a firm believer that we don’t need to compare trauma and “one up” each other with who had it worse.

This isn’t meant to be a sob story, goodness knows there are people who have had it much much worse than I have! But I am a firm believer that we don’t need to compare trauma and “one up” each other with who had it worse. Even just listing out the good with the bad has been a process of realization that we went through all of this! I’m still here, my husband and boys are still here, and thankfully our families have been safe this year as well.

I’m grateful, but ready to move on. Ready to create a new, brighter future next year!

The Big (Small) Business Milestones

Personally, this year has been full of ups and downs, but for my business, changes have been trending up! When I was furloughed, I made the decision to work on my business full time - it was one of my goals from early in the year to replace my income by the end of the year, and it was the perfect opportunity to make sure I would actually like working for myself and making all the decisions.

I can say 7-8 months in that I LOVE it and I don’t have plans to go back to a 9-5 job! I’ve been able to more or less replace my income and I love making the decisions, even when there’s a lot to do. I have big plans for next year and one silver lining of 2020 was that it gave me time not just to figure out how business works and what it looks like, but to actually do it full time. I know this is something I wouldn’t have otherwise jumped into so quickly, but I’m thankful that I’ve been able to make it work and am proud to be back on the upward trend financially and career-wise.

Here are some of the major milestones that happened in 2020:

Officially registered as a business
Got an official business address
Opened up a business bank account
Created a safe way for people to pay for products and services
Created infrastructure to support business growth (i.e. all the admin stuff you need to run a business - like tracking where your money goes and what projects are due when, etc.)
Rebranding
Invested in professional development
Connected with a ton of amazing entrepreneurs & grew my professional network like crazy
Collaborated with other entrepreneurs
Was asked to do many guest posts
Became an Executive Contributor at Brainz Magazine & named to Brainz Global 500 List as an expert in my field
Transitioned from “side hustle” to full time business owner with paying clients!
Brought on a contributor to support the enormous growth Capturing Your Confidence has had
Became active on Medium

I’m sure there’s probably more, but I think that’s plenty! It’s been a year full of vertical growth, and I’m so excited not only for how much I’ve grown but how much I’ve learned in the process. Hands down one of my favorite things has been meeting other entrepreneurs and like-minded people and connecting.

One thing I do miss about being in an office is the chatting, but I’m thankful that I’ve been able to make some business friends, which has made things less lonely.

I’ve also very much enjoyed the intentional learning I’ve done through courses. If you know me, you know I love learning! I always have, and I always will. I’ve figured out that I really like self-paced learning, although some of these have live components. It’s nice to be able to vary what I’m learning about.

I will be the first to admit, though, that I may have overdone it a little in my excitement to learn. I am still working on several of these, and the others took much longer than anticipated. As it turns out, when you’re the only one in your business, you have to do everything, even the really boring stuff. Hah! So, to be able to learn with courses, you have to be very intentional about what it is you’re learning and when you work on it.

Having so many options left me a bit overwhelmed and trying to figure out what was most important. Ultimately, I will finish all of them (many of them I’m close to completing) and I’m glad I invested in them, but I’ve learned the hard way that I may not need every course I want to take right away.

Courses Enrolled In:

Blogging Blastoff 2.0 by Heather & Pete Reese of It’s a Lovely Life

When I started blogging way back in April 2019, I took Heather & Pete’s free 5 day Start a Blogging Business course. It changed my perspective on what blogging could really mean and do. I also regularly participate in their free monthly 10K Traffic Challenge, which is great for meeting new people and growing my network! So it makes sense that after so much interaction with their free products, I purchased their signature paid blogging program called Blogging Blastoff 2.0. Although I’ve since decided that I don’t want to make my main income as a blogger, I learned a ton of valuable information from the course.

The Funnels Academy by Christina Bernhard

As I began to clarify what I wanted my business to be and what I was offering, I came across Christina’s course The Funnels Academy. At the time, it was in beta and I was in the first group to go through the completed program. It was amazing, and I know she’s continued to update with the feedback she got during the beta testing. My testimonial is even on the sales page! Check it out here.

List Builders Society by Amy Porterfield

I took some free webinars with Amy on email list building and I love her energy. Everything is simple! Email list building is so important for online businesses, and Amy is definitely at the top of the industry, which I feel is a great reason to take advice from her. I’m still in the last stages of this course, but it will be done by the end of next month. So worth it - and I made some new friends to boot! Read all about it here.

The Work Online + Travel the World Course by Cassie & Shay of The Bucketlist Bombshells

When I signed up for The Work Online & Travel the World Course, I’d been following The Bucketlist Bombshells for about a year. Every time I saw their emails I thought about investing and I just wasn’t quite sure. When I finally did take the leap, it was so worth it! I recently finished the course, and out of all of the courses I’ve worked on, this one has easily been one of the best investments. It’s helped me get the business-y side of my business set up and a more clear idea of what I want to offer. They even inspired me to redo my website late this summer! Check it out here.

The Marketing Seminar by Seth Godin

When I signed up for The Marketing Seminar with Seth Godin this fall, I’ll admit that I had hesitations about being able to keep up. One of my clients was getting a group together for it and offered me a great deal to join the team in the seminar and I felt like I couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity with such a successful marketer when marketing is one of the things that’s hardest for me - it’s definitely not something I would call a strength...yet.

Although my fears were correct in not being able to keep up with this rigorous course, there is SO MUCH VALUE. The first 100 days are live and then you get 100 additional days to review and continue to go through the material. I’m still pushing through, but even with the what feels like small amount I’ve done so far (it’s not, really, but compared to the amount available it feels like it!), I have been able to clarify things I’ve been struggling with since I started blogging almost 2 years ago - wow! Read more here.

Transparent Sales by Taylor Lee

I stumbled upon Taylor’s Facebook ads sometime during the summer right after I decided to replace my income full time. I thought - who could better help me with sales than someone who makes 6 figures a MONTH sometimes?! When I began to dive in, I was empowered but also overwhelmed. I wasn’t quite ready for the powerful information she was giving about how easy and not slimy sales can be. But, I’m still so thankful that I purchased the course because now that I’ve worked on the other things I needed to get in place and clarify first, I’m ready to dive in and start fresh next month. I can’t wait!! I love getting her emails and seeing her social posts. Check it out here.

Confidence Coaching Certification by Louise Anne Maurice of Get Results Coach Academy

Last, but certainly not least is the confidence coaching certification I thought *for sure* I needed to be successful as a coach. I purchased this on a whim, and although I haven’t done too much with it, I am looking forward to digging deeper because I do think it will help with structuring how I coach. Because it comes with a certification at the end, and a directory listing, I think it will be most valuable for networking purposes, but I LOVE studying (clearly) and I’m really into learning more about confidence - it’s at the core of my business. Read more about it here.

Having said aaaaaall of that, it wasn’t my intention to go THAT extensive with my learning this year. HAH. Many of the courses were purchased in a time before I really knew what I needed, although I don’t regret any of them because they’ve all been helpful. It also helps that I follow all of these people’s email lists and saw when the courses went on sale. ;)

Top Blogs & Published Writing

Interview with an Author: Dr. Vanessa Rapatz

Interview with an Author: Margarita Meyendorff

6 Creative Time Management Strategies to Keep Writing this Holiday Season

7 Reasons Writers Need Growth Mindset

4 Simple Steps to Stop Unnecessary Rewriting

These blogs did really well this year & it was exciting that multiple interviews were the most viewed! I’ve loved chatting with authors all year long, and I’m pleased to say that there will only be more from here!

You can check out a full list of my guest posts and published writing here. It’s a brand new page that I’ll be updating when I have new content that’s not on the blog - I’m pretty excited to keep sharing my work in new ways!

Looking Ahead

2021 is going to be another big year! I have very positive vibes going into the year, and I plan to make the most of a brand new year by hitting the ground running. While I won’t be sharing income and financial goals, I do have a number of other goals I’ll be working on, which I think will be pretty exciting.

Without further ado, here’s some of what’s on deck for next year:

More content in general: This is something I’ve struggled with since I started the blog, but I am going to be pushing hard to get to 2 consistent pieces of content every week! Now that I have help, it will be easier, but it’s on the top of my mind because I keep hearing that you want more!
Classic book review collection: Super pumped about doing a deeper dive into the classic lit world again. As it turns out, English majors read a lot of classic books - especially lit majors like myself! But, it’s hard to find a solid book review that’s not as detailed SparkNotes but still has depth beyond “this was great!” or “this sucked.” So I’m glad to be starting a middle ground book review collection.
5 day free organizing your writing course: I’m SO pumped to be putting this together! I’m hoping to debut it at the end of January. It will be all about organizing your ideas so that you can actually start writing (instead of putting it off - it’s okay, we all do it).
Paid writing course!: Last, but certainly not least, I will be launching a writing course this year! I’ve been back and forth a couple of times on which course I want to build this year (I have so many ideas!) but know that it’s coming. Also, if you have anything you’d like to see, by all means email me right now at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or go here to let me know. After all, I’m here to help you!

Anyway, so that’s 2020 in a nutshell! All crazy 12 months. I secretly feel like from about March to November was actually the longest month on record, though, and not separate months at all. I know that 2021 is going to be different, and I’m so ready!

How was your year? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.

Let’s build a brighter tomorrow - together.

Reflections on a Long A** Year