things we did during our 3rd year in business that tripled our revenue

*halfway through a cupcake and with light blue icing all over my mouth* Oh me? How am I? Honestly—I'm great. CCco. turned 3 yesterday, and if you couldn't tell by the cupcake, I'm still reeling from it.

This was, by far, our best year yet. Aside from hosting our first company retreat, signing dream brands, and working alongside incredible colleagues, we doubled in client load, and more than tripled our revenue. But it wasn't easy, and here are some of the changes I made to get us there:

cleaned house

Ever heard of the quote that says 'if you want to fly, let go of everything that weighs you down'? The concept sounds easy and I'm sure everyone can agree, but actually doing it is much harder. I got mega-specific with the types of clients I wanted to work with (who are they? how do they interact with us? are they respectful of scope of work, boundaries? etc.), and parted ways with clients that didn't align. This made room for our dream clients to step in.

invested in branding

I know, I know—it's tough to take one's own advice. I invested in a new website and in brand photography, and became religiously consistent with publishing content on all channels. We made it a point to treat CCco. as our most important, needy, and demanding client, and set up the same workflows we use with our clients. No excuses, no 'putting it off for later,' 100% focus, and all hands on deck.

networked a ton

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Building connections and friendships comes easily to me, and once I started pouring the same dedication, intention, and attention to forming professional relationships instead of only personal ones, things changed. I set out to create meaningful professional relationships that could lead to referrals and partnership opportunities. I joined local networking groups, said yes to any and all speaking engagements, and was extremely intentional with who I connected with.

leaned on experts

I feel like entrepreneurs get so used to wearing all the hats that it takes us a while to realize we don't have to. I decided to focus only on my area of expertise, and outsource everything else (as much as possible). I leaned on ad experts, photographers, and sales coaches, and read books, connected with mentors, and ingested content from experts in the field I admire.

I could go on for hours about a bunch of other stuff I did, but this covers the most important parts. Thankful for another year of chasing this (not so) little dream of mine, and to be doing it alongside amazing people. Excited for our 4th year!