2021 Recap & 2022 Goals

December 31, 2021

December 31, 2021

I love taking time to reflect and reset, so much that I do it every month, but a yearly recap is a whole event. So here we go. A recap and goals for Christie Evenson Design Studio, a design studio for fitness professionals.

Business

Streamlined my processes & client experience

At the beginning of 2021 I joined the Designer Essentials Club, which really helped refine my processes for both my clients and myself. I actually put my CRM, Dubsado, to work in a way that worked well for me by creating on-brand forms for every step of the process. This has made collecting feedback and sending proposals, contracts, and invoices so easy. I also started using Asana to keep tasks, feedback, and messages all contained in one spot. Originally I thought I didn’t need something like this since I stay pretty organized on my own, but I love including the clients on these Asana projects so they can see where we’re at in the process and stay clear on what I need from them and when. It’s also for bringing on other collaborators/contractors (more on that below).

Launched the Fit-Pro Launch Lab

This was a huge undertaking and accomplishment this year. I knew that anyone who wasn’t quite at the level for custom work needed more than just a website template. So I created the Fit-Pro Launch Lab with on-demand videos, monthly calls, and guest workshops to give them the tools and knowledge they need to create their own brand and website. It was so exciting to see the first students go through the program and launch their websites. (check out one example here!). I have big plans on how to develop this program more for 2022- the Q1 group is starting together on January 17. Learn more here.

Connected & collaborated

One of my big goals for this year was connecting with other entrepreneurs in the industry and I’m so happy I did. Through joint webinars, collaborations, and mutual support, I’ve connected with:

Continued to invest in education and coaching

Ever since last year, when I decided to finally start investing in my business, I’ve become obsessed with finding ways to improve my design skills, client processes, and business mindset. It has consistently paid off and led to growth every time. This year I invested in these programs:

Dipped my toe into outsourcing

The first half of this year was packed with client work, which was so fun and exciting. And it felt like the perfect time to try outsourcing some work. The first contract-based hires I made were to a VA and junior designers. I quickly learned I probably wasn’t quite ready to hire. Despite having plenty of work to get help with, I didn’t have the time to properly onboard and go through the initial transition of hiring. I was also in the middle of changing my own processes so bringing someone else into the mix just made things more complicated. It was a great learning experience and gave me some insight into how I’ll approach this in the future.

Experimented with working with just one client at a time

After feeling a bit burnt out in the first half of the year I was inspired by Telltale Design Co to try working with just one client at a time. I loved the idea of holding space for rest and creativity so that I could approach every project feeling fresh. Of course, this would mean working with less custom clients in year and only taking on the bigger, in-depth conceptual projects. But those projects that start from brand strategy and go fully through branding, website, and collateral is the type of full creative direction that can make the most impact for the businesses who want to invest. I’m so excited to switch to this model completely in 2022.

2022 Goals

Working with just one client at a time.
I loved this structure of work in 2021 and plan to fully commit to this in 2022. This means I’ll only be working with 9 custom clients for the whole year (if you’re interested, schedule a discovery call here).

Launching the Fit-Pro Launch Lab in groups four times a year.
Rather than leaving the program open for students to join anytime, I’ll be opening and closing the doors so that we can create more structure and camaraderie with each group. I’ll also be offering more direction and guidance each week to stay on track and get students’ websites launched in 10 weeks.

Contracting out work to complementary entrepreneurs to create a mini agency.
Rather than outsourcing design work, I’m excited to start offering projects that include things like copywriting, SEO, marketing, and social media management. We’re basically creating a mini agency of like-minded fitness-focused experts.

Continue creating more visibility for the Fit-Pro Launch Lab
This year I’d really like to focus more on expanding my reach to keep growing the FPLL, through being a guest on podcasts, giving workshops in other courses, and hosting quarterly webinars.

Fitness & Wellness

Completed an olympic distance triathlon

After my first Sprint triathlon in 2019, I was so excited to try an olympic distance. That goal was postponed when races were canceled in 2020, but I was so excited to get another chance this year. Read the full race recap here.

Hit a Mile PR with the Nike Chicago Windrunners in Project Find Your Fast

Over six weeks, we followed a training plan and came together for one weekly practice to get faster. We started with a mile time trial and finished with a final mile race. I improved my mile time from 7:42 to 6:58 minutes by the end of the six weeks.

2022 Goals

Run a half marathon.
This was a goal last year, but I ended up deciding it wasn’t a priority. Plus the half marathon I really wanted to run, the lululemon SeaWheeze in Vancouver, was cancelled/virtual only. Fingers crossed for this year!

Run a sub 3-hour triathlon.
This goal was in the back of my mind this year, but with 90-degree heat (and it being my first race at that distance), I just focused on finishing.

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