525,600 Minutes

One year ago today, I was unemployed and desperately trying to figure out what came next. After being laid off from my corporate HR job a year prior to that, I found myself running out of savings, getting zero bites on job applications (I have thoughts on job hunting in the age of AI, but that’s a whole other newsletter), and feeling like I needed to do something to shake things up.

I had taken on a (very) part-time job doing social media for a local swim school a few months prior, and it occurred to me — if this swim school needed help with their socials, surely other small businesses did too, right? I love writing, I love playing with clip art (I am forever a Kid Pix kid), and I’m chronically online. This seemed like something that could work.

I was freaked the fuck out, tbh. Because like, yeah, people start businesses all the time, but what percentage of small businesses fail in their first year? (Spoiler: A lot.) And I wouldn’t have the overhead of, for example, opening a storefront and buying physical inventory, but I still had to pay for things like a website and the Fancy Zoom that let me stay on a call for longer than 40 minutes. Would I even make enough money to cover that?

Another spoiler: I did!

I launched Golden Poppy Digital a year ago today with an Instagram account and a dream. And over the last year, I’ve served more than a dozen small businesses (half of whom are long-term retainer clients); I’ve made five figures in revenue; I own my own trademark (!!); and I’ve met countless incredible people who are fellow small business owners and solopreneurs.

Is there still lots of room for growth? Absolutely. But am I happy with where I am currently? Hell yes.

I’m my own boss. I set my own schedule. I pick and choose who I work with. I get to set an example for my kids of living my values, and of paving my own path.

And as I move into Year 2, I have lots of plans for this little business. That means big investments (🤑), but also big ideas … and big community.

I could absolutely not have done this without my family, friends, and business community. Your support this past year has been invaluable, and I’m so grateful to have you along for the ride.

Year 2? LFG 💪🏻

🍪 We are still in the throes of Girl Scout cookie season! My kiddo is doing an incredible job — she’s sold almost 400 boxes of cookies so far, FAR surpassing her original goal of 200. I’m super proud of her hard work and enthusiasm, and am excited to see what she and her friends choose as their reward for hitting their troop sales goal.

⚾ Baseball is back, so you can expect me to be insufferable through the end of October 🙃 To be clear, we’re rooting for both the Giants and the Mariners, but the goal is to get the Mariners to the World Series this year. Please start reaching out to your local Etsy witches now.​

🎤 I’ve transitioned my emotional regulation singing from Adele to Kacey Musgraves’ foundational 2018 album, Golden Hour (which this newsletter is partially named for, if I’m being completely honest). “Rainbow” has long been a favored song in my house (it makes a frequent appearance at kids’ bedtimes), but the whole album is really fantastic, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t already listened to it!

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