Since we discovered Chris Guillebeau’s annual review, our new year’s resolutions haven’t been the same. This year we went all out, and took some serious time away to think about what’s happened with our business in the past year, and how we can make things better for the next.
 

It starts with a look back at 2011 — the things that went awesomely, and the things that didn’t pan out how we wanted them to.
 

HERE’S WHAT WENT AWESOMELY FOR US IN 2011:

 

• Found a great recycled fabric supplier.

 

• Wrote about 2x per week on our blog continuously.

 

• Built up readership and made a ton of new friends.

 

• Shannon went to WDS.

 

• Kristin went to the biggest trade show in the USA.

 

• We saw each other four times over the year — including an awesome trip to New York, an awful trip to Asheville, a random trip to San Francisco, and the photoshoot for the Versalette in Austin.

 

• Both of us quit our “day jobs.”

 

• We launched a super-successful Kickstarter campaign.

 

• We had a small part in spreading awareness about sustainable fashion and got people thinking about their consumption habits.

 

AND THEN THERE ARE THINGS THAT DIDN’T GO SO AWESOMELY:

 

• We got into one huge fight.

 

• We chose and trusted a supplier who couldn’t follow through.

 

• We didn’t invest in as many great professional services as we should have (and were let down often).

 

• We spent money on the wrong things.

 

• Had trouble setting a schedule and creating work/life balance. (Who says working in your pajamas is fun? It sucks.)

 

• Rushed into our Kickstarter, and probably should have prepared the details with our manufacturer more.

 

• Over-promised in terms of color selection on our Kickstarter; in the end, we were unable to use two of the colors we had originally chosen.

 

• We sucked at time estimation.

 

• Spent too much time discussing things on G-chat, and not enough time focusing on one task at a time.

 

We had a good year, overall, but there are certainly some lessons to take from 2011 to make 2012 that much better. For all you fellow entrepreneurs out there, we’ll be sharing the things that we plan to do better or change in the coming year on Thursday. Keep an eye out — we’d love to hear about your business goals for 2012! {r}

 

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