2013 was a challenging year, personally and professionally. I learned a lot. About me. About other people. About expectations. And about assumptions. At my company, DBE, a few of us have started referring to 2013 as the year of the assumption. Which means, as we are a learning organism, 2014 will be the year of communication and understanding.
On the challenging side of the business, the changes that I started to put into place in 2011 had some positives and some areas where improvements were still needed. 2012 was a year of digging deep into myself to see where the issues that were keeping us from experiencing “real” growth lay. In 2013, I turned the magnifying glass elsewhere, and, with the aid of some new power players, kept uncovering all kinds of issues and areas for improvement.
The team is rocking and we’re about to start a wave of hiring to staff to the levels we need, in the places we need them, for the growth we are experiencing. That feels good especially when I look back on what it took to get from “there” to “here.” I’m encouraged by what I’ve learned about people. If you look hard and closely, you can find the right ones to work with you. I feel very lucky for the ones I have now—and they know who they are because I thank them just about every day.
As the year draws to a close, and not wanting to jinx anything, it looks like 2014 will be at least 50% ahead of 2013 in terms of revenue and profitability.
2013 was very stressful, even when things were going well, and it definitely was a tough year for my body. First it was a series of problems with the nerves in my mouth, requiring repeated root canals and oral surgery. Then in the spring, my digestive system went haywire. In preparing for testing, I learned that a person can develop lactose intolerance (I thought it was something one had a birth—or didn’t). Once that was resolved, I injured my left knee (ripped muscle) and then had problems with both knees (they’re on the mend). Then I had a solid week of not being able to sit, stand, or walk right from extreme lower back pain (I literally jump out of bed every morning since I was a kid…one morning, my legs were ready but the rest of me wasn’t). As the year wraps up this evening, I am thankful that I can enjoy food again, and I am walking normally on flat surfaces (stairs are still a comedy show). It makes me really appreciate the saying, “When you have your health, you have everything.” I’ve taken steps to improve how I balance my energy and have joined the gym right across the street from the development where I live.
Speaking of which, one of 2013’s stresses was the move from New Jersey to Newtown, Pennsylvania. The company is still based in Plainsboro, but the new house is about a 25 minute commute. It’s lovely here in PA and the people are very congenial. Though the move was crazy with all the usual nonsense that I’ve come to expect from moving, once we were in, all has gone relatively smoothly. The views are wonderful, the neighbors are friendly, and I love being able to cook in the new kitchen (the oven in the last house kept setting off the smoke detectors).
Wil graduated from high school and started college this year, and he didn’t like that we moved further from his part-time job, college, and girlfriend, so one of 2013’s challenges was adjusting to seeing him less because he stays at his dad’s house more often to be closer to the rest of his world. He doesn’t like driving on highways (he got his Aunt Barbara’s driving anxiety genes, which I suspect were all directly transferred from my mother who made driving an extreme sport every time she got behind the wheel) so he doesn’t stay here often, and that is a big transition for me at a time when there’s a lot of other transition in my life.
Rachel got an apartment in Brooklyn in August and that was a major stress too. Not just for her, but for me, riding shotgun. OMG. She can make me look like a calm person. I learned a lot from her apartment hunting escapades so when the time comes for an apartment in NYC, I have a better sense of what to expect.
For 2014, I’d like to keep working hard and seeing my company grow. I want to be an even better mother, girlfriend, and friend to those in my life, and I want to feel like I’m making a positive difference in the world, even if it’s only on a small scale.
I’d like to focus more on my personal—not just professional—development. I’ve learned (and am still learning) to set and achieve goals in incremental steps. Success happens best when you have the time and opportunity to reflect on the little wins along the way so that you can leverage them to win more. So in 2014, I’m going to focus on learning to meditate for health, to find time to write a little since I’m not going to find the time to write a lot, and to exercise regularly to reduce the stress that my life generates and to feel better while I’m enjoying this ride.
Good-bye 2013. Hello 2014!
