February 2025

What does my word of the year have to do with business growth and development?

For many years now, I have chosen a word of the year. Choosing a word of the year is a powerful practice. Here are five reasons why:

Focus: A single word can help you concentrate on a specific goal or intention for the year. It serves as a guiding principle that keeps you aligned with your aspirations.
Clarity: It simplifies your resolutions by distilling them into one clear, actionable concept. This can make it easier to remember and integrate into your daily life.
Motivation: Having a word of the year can inspire you throughout the year. It acts as a reminder of what you want to achieve and the mindset you want to cultivate.
Reflection: It provides an opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth. Choosing a word requires you to think about what you truly want to focus on and why.
Consistency: It helps maintain consistency in your actions and decisions. Whenever you're faced with a choice, you can refer to your word to ensure you're staying true to your intentions.

Have you thought about what your word of the year might be?

My Word This Year: Linger
Why "linger," you might ask? This word repeatedly kept showing up in songs, books, and conversations. One of my favourite songs, "Linger," was re-released over Christmas, bringing back memories of a significant event that changed the direction of my life 30 years ago. I find myself contemplating the impact of change and how time gives us the opportunity to heal, grow, and evolve. After some research on the meaning of the word, I could see the universe was inspiring me to linger longer both personally and professionally.

What do I want to achieve in the next one, three, five years? What mindset do I want to cultivate? What do I want to focus on and why?

Here are a few ways I am incorporating "linger" into my life this year:

Revisiting my values

In December, I attended a workshop called “Develop Your Personal 'Purpos' Manifesto.” The workshop uses tools from The Dublin Conversations and was hosted by Andy Green, a UK-based pioneering innovator and creativity expert. The Dublin Conversations uses new knowledge, thinking, and tools that enable you to be more purposeful in your decision-making and life choices.

By “lingering” longer over the Purpos tools, I have gained a deeper understanding and insight into what I value now, at this stage of my career, life, and business development.

The Purpos Tools are free and are a great resource. If you would like to understand more about the program send me an email.

Helping individuals and organisations achieve their goals

Investing time in our clients by lingering and learning through conversations and activities that enhance business growth. Spending time with our clients will allow us to discover how we can support them better. As we have been advised in various business development and planning workshops, 60-70% of our new business should come from our existing clients. Yes, the theory is more than half of our new business dollars should come from clients who are already engaged with our services. Nurturing these relationships is imperative to your success as a business owner.

Do you have a system in place to generate new opportunities from your existing clients? This is something we help our mentoring clients with all the time. Contact us if you would like to know more.

Cultivating a creative practice

In 1995, I graduated with a Fine Art Degree majoring in Graphic Design. During my time at university, I explored a wide variety of disciplines including photography, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and painting. While I use my creative skills in this business, I do feel more like a project manager than a creative. In the coming year, I want to develop a creative practice that allows me to linger over the creative process through mixed media art; painting, drawing, collage, and mark making. I want to embrace the journey of learning new techniques and exploring creative expression. Creativity to me brings colour and calmness into my world. It helps clarify opportunities and provides time for creative thinking.

Here are some examples of what I how I have been experimenting with this new found passion.

Do you have a personal passion you would like to invest time nurturing? I would love to hear about it.

If you need business support, creative brand assets, website development, or if you would just like to talk about how to stay motivated and passionate about your business for 27 years, reach out. I’d love to start the conversation.

Let's start a conversation