That awkward moment when I was going to start this blog with "long time no post" but I did that for last year's blog... I have to admit 2022 was not my year, I did try but a lot happened out of my control and the last couple of months have been so scary...
I ended up doing this personal piece to end 2022 as I realised that my biggest win was surviving the year, and that's ok. I woke up on 1st Jan full of dread but today I'm feeling so pumped up to begin 2023 with a BANG!
I thought first of all I'd look over my goals from 2022 and see how I did. I think it's good to look over previous goals and see what worked and what I can bring forward into 2023. ✔ Expand my Etsy shop stock & hit 1,000 sales! I did indeed achieve this! As of 23:59 on 31st December 2022, my Etsy shop had a grand total of 1316 sales! I even started making animated emotes and badge flairs like I wanted to. Sadly, I didn't do the streaming schedule templates, but that's something I can bring into 2023 with me.
✔ More freelance design work I did a LOT more freelance in 2022. I ended up working on a total of 43 different projects, with over 60% being returning clients. Also, most of the projects were big rather than being 1-2 emote designs. I got to work on some amazing stuff this year too, including merchandise, my first PNG tuber, my first website and NDA pieces. I loved the variety and hope I can achieve that in 2023.
✔ Total Rebrand and Website overhaul I also did this one! I even wrote a blog post about the whole rebrand breakdown. I loved doing this and it helped me feel so refreshed and excited to expand Ellyish Studios, like having a make-over or buying a new wardrobe... but for my identity online.
✘ Producing more pre-made graphics on more sites This is something I sadly didn't achieve. I ended up not sure what to produce, and with freelance client work being so busy during the year I ended up focusing on that. I think that was a good thing as I got to still be busy with work, so I'm not too sad about this one.
? Be more productive I'm honestly not sure if I was productive this year or not. It feels like this goal was set up to fail for me as I can't judge my productivity well. Even if I achieve 2 days' worth of goals in 1, I'll always think "why didn't I do more?". I also have other reasons why I feel like I wasn't below...
✘ Focus on me Sadly I didn't get to do this but it was for good reason. My dad currently suffers from leukaemia so I wanted to make sure I was there to help care for him and offer support for my mum. This meant putting myself second which I didn't mind doing, especially during the last couple of months as my dad ended up quite ill (a bit too scarily ill, like needing hospital ill).
Overall, considering how horrific the year was, I think I did quite well. Of course, this year I want to "go hard or go home" and plan out all the goals I want to achieve for this year. This list will also have some personal goals, rather than just being all work-related:
1) Hit 3,000 total sales on Etsy (1684 new sales, average 140 sales a month).
2) Expand to sell new products in the shop that aren't Stream related.
3) Set up a RedBubble to have another income coming in & sell physical items.
4) Have 200 items for sale on Etsy (Currently have 108).
5) Have over 50 freelance client projects.
6) Launch another free Pride set on Ko-Fi.
7) Update the website with 2022 client projects.
8) Work on my first collaboration project.
9) Hit 400 followers on Twitter.
10) Hit 600 followers on Instagram.
11) Hit 30 followers on Pinterest.
12) Make a newsletter for the website & start posting monthly blog posts.
13) Be kinder to me & write daily positives about myself.
14) Start a sketchbook & be consistent with it.
15) Start making time for creative hobbies.
16) Start creating Youtube videos & hit 30 subscribers on Youtube.
17) Exercise more & lose 40lbs.
18) Get over my travel anxiety by going out more & driving more often.
19) See my friends for the first time since 2019.
20) Have a social media posting schedule & share new styles of posts.
21) Organise & clean out my work area (Including digital; computer, phone etc).
22) Share a personal artwork monthly (whether it's fan art, DTIYS or original).
23) Be more organised with making product ideas ahead of time (eg. holiday-themed items).
I want to thank everyone for all your love & support this year. Whether we worked together or you just follow me on social media, it all matters to me and I wouldn't be where I am without you. Thank you so, so much ♥
Do you do New Year's Resolutions? Whether you do or not, let me know what you want to achieve this year in the comments below! I want to wish you all good luck and I wish you all the best for 2023, let's kick this year's ass ♥
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