There are 3 questions that I’m going to answer in my Annual Review:

1. What went well this year?
2. What didn’t go so well this year?
3. What am I working toward?

What went well 

2019 and 2020 were all about streamlining and consolidating but I wanted to go even further. My branding partner, Annie Franceschi of Greatest Story Creative, really hit it out of the park this year with our big branding project!

Last year I made the decision to stop marketing my consulting services altogether and my goal was to transition to 85% income via affiliate marketing, online store sales, and my training programs. I did leave the remaining 15% for my one existing client and the occasional project, but my goal was to not take on any more long-term clients.

In a nutshell, I worked with Annie to:

• Consolidate my 3 websites (VirtualAssistantTrainer.com, LisaRWells.com, BusinessBuilderShop.com) to just one
• Rebrand VirtualAssistantTrainer.com with a new theme, fresh colors, and cohesive font scheme. I also had to change it up to more of a store rather than that of a service provider (this was HUGE and took me an entire strategy session with Annie to really wrap my head around)
• Move my online store from BusinessBuilderShop back to VirtualAssistantTrainer and with a new store name, logo, and store graphics. This is my third time moving the digital store (sorry about that), but it totally makes sense to have its home back at VATrainer.
• Update all my products, blog posts, pages, and add transcripts to my Systems Sunday videos (all 127 of them!)

Even with all of that going on, I was able to create 11 new products for the shop and record 24 Systems Sunday episodes!

No longer a “rider of two horses,” it feels so good to have this level of clarity and focus as I head into a new phase for my 16-year-old business. It has a lot of work and I’m still not completely done.

I also changed my business name from Coast2Coast to Wells & Co. so that I was finally able to make Wells Woodwerx official.

Wells Woodwerx is our side-hustle that we started in September 2019. We rent a booth inside of a building that houses about 90 other artisans. We started with rustic wooden flags and now sell outdoor wine/beer tables, floating wine holders, wine caddies, custom retirement gifts… lots of fun stuff. Last year was hit and miss but this year we made enough to cover our $150 booth rent EVERY single month and add to our Boat Fund 🙂

Personal Growth. My favorite programs and events this year:

• RelationshipU with Stacey and Paul Martino. This is a year-long coaching program that I started in July 2020 and re-upped in 2021. In addition to online videos and two Q&A calls each month, we also have multiple online and in-person events. I traveled to Jamaica in March for “Breakthrough in Paradise” retreat and Boise, ID in September for the live immersion meeting. I continue to work on my triggers (name them, own them, solve them), and even stopped arguing politics on social media! Yay me.
• Eric Edmeades’ WildFit – I LOVED this program! I started in early September and ended right around Thanksgiving. It’s not just a weight loss program, but a health transformation program. No counting calories as it focuses on the basics and eating real food (and I bought coconut milk by the case!). It’s been a few weeks since I completed the program and the ‘sugar monster’ did make a comeback, especially during my vacation and then Christmas, but I will get back on the train by New Year’s.  Oh and NO exercise required.
• I took 10 weeks of Spanish classes! Learning Spanish has been on my bucket list for decades and I’m so glad my local community college offered it. Wearing a mask was a bit tricky, but I learned enough to make my way around the Dominican Republic and order Banana Mamas like a pro.

What didn’t go so well

My income took a big hit this year as I transitioned away from client work, as I knew it would. My plan was to replace the revenue from the other passive income streams. My mistake was forgetting that there is nothing “passive” about running an online store and marketing my programs and products. I held very part-time hours this year for sure. -_-

I also wasted WAY too much time by not having a set schedule. Honestly, my time management skills are not great. I am on time, make enough time to get things done, but could be so much more productive with what I do with my time! If there’s nothing pressing, then I will find something else to do that is more fun than writing copy.

Social media is still a thorn in my side. I don’t enjoy social media and have avoided it this entire year. I know it’s important for marketing, especially since the shop that houses Wells Woodwerx is marketed heavily using Instagram by the store owner (and we are also expected to, but crickets). I still haven’t found that sweet spot.

What I am working towards for 2022

My words for 2021 were ENJOY THE MOMENT and I really think I did just that this year. I had a lot of downtime and time to reflect on what I want to do going forward now that I’m in a state of semi-retirement. This “in-between” state is perfect for exploring.

My word for 2022 is EXPLORE.

The way my business is set up allows for freedom and flexibility and I’m so grateful for that.  I want to explore…

…learning a completely new skill: genetic genealogy. My mom has been doing this for a few years since she retired and it’s fascinating. She even helped solve a 34-year-old murder case!

… the world by going to new places and having new experiences. My husband and I have been contributing to our boat fund for a few years so that we could buy a bigger boat and this year may be the year! Our 27′ sailboat is a good weekender, but we are looking for another boat in the 34′ range for bigger and longer adventures.

…how I can use my gifts and talents to give back and volunteer. I reached out to the dog rescue organization and am back on their list to foster. It will probs be another foster fail, who are we kidding. I also want to volunteer with a paranormal ghost hunting team, but it’s a high bar believe it or not! I applied last summer for all of the open positions and my unique brilliance is yet to be a fit, but I will keep checking back because I am confident there is something in that group that I’d be perfect for.

That’s all for now! As always, thanks for reading. Happy New Year!

Lisa