The 2015 work year is ending for me a bit sooner than usual with a surgery I will be having tomorrow. I wanted to reflect on what my small business has done this year and what we have to look forward to in 2016!
Year Review:
- On January 1st, 2016 my books will officially be distributed by a new company, IPG in Chicago. I will forever be grateful for Partners in Holt, MI for helping get started on this journey.
- I welcomed Liza May to my team this year in the Spring as a VA (virtual assistant). She has helped tremendously and I am so thankful to have her on my team.
- In September, I started working with a sales rep, Laura Gravett from Elisabeth Everly & Co. I am thrilled to see where this new partnership will go in the new year!
- In January of this year I joined a Mastermind with podcaster, Natalie Eckdahl with Biz Chix Podcast. We continued together, along with Physician, Speaker and Mindfulness Expert Dr. Romila Mustaq and started a new group around April 2015. We were joined by Liz Covart PhD, an Historian and creator of the popular podcast Ben Franklin’s World as well as Katie Krimitsos, the creator and entrepreneur behind Biz Women Rock. Meeting with these women each week this year has helped me grow and take challenges that I know I wouldn’t have without the support and expertise of others.
- Spaghetti In A Hot Dog Bun-The Musical had two successful tours in 2015 with production company Stars Within Reach out of NYC. They have added a few shows to their line-up for the 2016-2017 school year!
- The World Reading Festival invited me to be their visiting author again this year in Lakeland, Florida. We turned it into a family vacation, it was a blast!
- I released a new book, Chocolate Milk, Por Favor in April this year. It won a GOLD Mom’s Choice Award and is making a difference in classrooms across the country with it’s message of celebrating diversity!
- This year I started a new book project with an NFL player. Stay tuned for details on the release of this new picture book, hopefully around May of 2016.
- In the Summer, we ran a Kindness Contest that inspired close to 100 Random Acts of Kindness to take place!!!
- This fall I started a Private Facebook Group called Empowering Kids with Character. A place for parents and teachers to collaborate and discuss important topics on supporting children on their journey through life and providing them with important skills and tools to tackle tricky situations with positive character. The following is growing and the connections between group members is inspiring!
- Thanks to information I learned from the amazing Nicole Walters, I opened my own Amazon Store where I recommend books and products that make a difference! It’s great to have all my favorite products in one place for others to check out.
- Finally, I took some risks in the world of social media. I played with Periscope for a few months and made some meaningful connections. I also started regular Instagram Challenges and Twitter Chats as a way to connect with my audience.
In 2016:
- My business is a proud to sponsor Multicultural Children’s Book Day which will fall on January 27th, 2016. I love the awareness this initiative is bringing to the world of children’s literature.
- Stay tuned for a dynamic interview series that will begin in January for parents and educators. The interviews will be exclusive to my Private Facebook Group during the 6 week series and will feature experts in the field of Character Education. Afterwards, the interviews will be available to the public. Join our private group here if you want to view the series!
- In March I will be presenting at the MRA. This is an honor for me because I attended this amazing conference many times as a teacher.
- In May, I will be attending my first IPG Sales Conference and I am geeked about learning more about the publishing industry!
- My family has a few vacations planned. This is where I reset and gain momentum for future projects (I do this weekly with my early morning workouts too!)
- I am booked for March is Reading Month as far as school visits go. I will continue to schedule visits for April and May as well as Virtual Visits which really gained popularity in 2015.
- In the summer of 2016, I will be releasing a course for authors and publishers titled “How I sold 25,000 Books in Six Months”
I hope you find time between now and the New Year to reflect on your 2015 and look forward to GREATNESS in 2016!