When I look at our goals for 2020, I can’t help but chuckle (ok – maybe also cry a little) at my naïve 2019 self. Of course, no one saw the freight train of 2020 coming, right?
Just for good humor, let’s recap the goals we shared last year as we rang in the new year.
1. Give hugs: See each member of the team physically at least twice. Some I’ve never met in “real life.”
2. Grow smarter (and slower): After a crazy growth year in 2019, we wanted to slow it down and grow by “only 50%.”
3. Get better at saying “no.”: Say no to potential opportunities that are not aligned with where we are headed as a business.
Well, we got one out of three. For 2020, I’d say that’s a pretty big win. Champagne time!
Let’s start with the win – we have 100% improved on saying no to opportunities that don’t make sense with where we are headed as a company. In 2019 we took a hard look at our numbers and realized our inefficiencies were killing us. We analyzed what worked and what didn’t. And, even through the pandemic, we knew that saying “yes” to every opportunity was not the right call. So, we stayed strong. And we can already see it paying off.
Now for the goals that were burned up in the dumpster fire of 2020…
Hugs. We aren’t the only ones who didn’t meet our 2020 hug quotas. But the fact that it was literally our #1 goal to get everyone together in person makes this sting more than it normally would. Two canceled trips, including our first-ever company retreat, hurt our hearts (and our wallet) bigtime. The silver lining here is that we have always found a way to connect while working remotely, so we were better equipped that most to maintain a healthy company culture when the pandemic started.
And of course, as a company centered on engaging with large groups of people, our gross sales have gone down closer to 50% rather than up. And as bad as that sounds, we are grateful for the 50% we do have. Our industry, which is a subsector of the live events industry, was one of the most severely impacted this year.
But let’s not get stuck in the doldrums. There are some pretty amazing things that happened in 2020 as well. We landed a dream client, GT’s Kombucha, who matches not only our passion for high-quality, healthy products, but is also the kind of client that allows us to do what we do best – building highly-effective teams of Brand Ambassadors that work with us on long-term projects. Their team has been amazing to work with on every level.
In our downtime, some of our team even helped kick of a completely new division of our company called beCAUSE minded. I won’t get into the details here, but it’s fresh, exciting and unique concept that combines my personal passions for social justice, self-care and giving gifts.
So, it wasn’t all bad. But we are ready for the next chapter. As we move into 2021, we are focusing on the future and setting new goals for Health and Fitness Activations.
Here are our primary objectives for 2021
1. Rebuild
2. Reinvent
3. Rejuvenate
Rebuild:
While we were able to weather the storm of 2020, like most businesses out there, we need to get back to the point of being profitable sooner than later. 2021 will be a year of rebuilding. We’ve got practical, methodical steps to achieve this and have already been taking steps toward this goal.
Reinvent:
We know when things may never go back to a pre-covid normal. So, we will need to adapt to
the new realities. Right now, we are focusing on how to effectively introduce our clients’ products to consumers who want to know about them! Our goal for 2021 is to create at least 3 new programs that will achieve this goal without relying on large-scale events and in-store demos.
Rejuvenate:
I hope this is on everyone’s 2021 goals. This year has beat most of us up in a pretty major way. Now it’s time to rejuvenate. We always put our goals into SMART goals. So, for us this means:
· highlighting wins weekly on our team calls
· executing an internal team event, in-person if possible, and virtual if not, that restores our connection to ourselves and our team. I see hiking and massages in our futures.
· implementing our company reading program to bring in steady flow of fresh ideas
There are a thousand and one things we don’t know about 2021, but we are excited to write a new chapter. What are your 2021 goals?
