Only a few days of 2017 to go and if you're like us your head will still be in a spin and you'll be wondering "where did 2017 go?" But now as the countdown begins for the New Year we thought it was time to reflect on 2017 and those five goals we set to help keep us focused on business and personal growth and a bit of an update on where we are with them (it's a journey, not a race), so lets see how we went... 

Number 1:

We want to be at the forefront of innovation for our clients so each of us is embarking on our own training programme so we can continue to grow and learn something new. Alongside other training, I've just signed up for the No Challenge, and while it's giving the team many a laugh it's great to actually put yourself out there so you celebrate getting a No.  What I've learned so far, getting a "no" is not the end of the world, not challenging yourself is!  

How did we go?

We all love learning new skills and being able to deliver the best and most innovative service to our clients (and the No Challenge was absolutely fantastic, we have converted it to a retail training module if you are keen to try it out in your store) and will continue to learn until we last draw breath. Over Christmas, we have signed up for so many training programmes I'm not sure the family will be getting a Christmas dinner, but our clients will be ahead of their competition! 

Number 2: 

It was there last year and it's just as important that we keep check of our work/life balance and be present with our families when we are not in the office! Our families and cats need to see more of us (other than laying over the keyboard for attention, that's the cats, not the family) and it helps us recharge for the next day. We are also keen to learn new ways to unwind and switch off so when we are in the office we are delivering at the highest possible standard.   

How did we go?

Probably should ask the family and cats this one, should we leave it at it's a work in progress and one we'll work on harder next year (there is always next year!)

Number 3: 

Give Back.  While we are only a small business we want to give back to our community this year and help a charity with their fundraising. Not only will we be using our skills to help build a stronger community for our families, it will also give us the opportunity to network with like-minded businesses. 

How did we go?

We are really proud of being part of our community.  This year we helped The Hastings Karamu Rotary club give back over $70,000 to the community through promoting two main events.  Along with three great friends, we also started the Gang of Four and were involved in a charity fundraiser for an amazing woman in our community.  It's a great feeling to be part of something which supports people less fortunate than we are and we can't wait to continue giving back in 2018.

Number 4: 

Get our training programmes delivered!  We have a huge amount of training programmes we are ready to launch to help your small business grow and succeed in 2017.  So why are the Connect Plus programme's better than anything else out there? Approachable Content, Ongoing Support and Follow Up and Price! We can't wait to start delivering them! (Finally) 

How did we go?

While we continued with our training we still have some work to go to deliver them as we see them rolling out.  It's really important to us to have content which delivers results at a price that small business owners can afford and we've made some great progress in the right direction on goal number 4. 

Number 5: 

Be Us!  There are so many things a small business agency can do but we want to focus on what we love doing and doing lots of it.  Come the end of 2017, when you think Retail Digital Marketing, you'll be thinking, Connect Plus. Being Us is also about who we are as a brand and we want to showcase more of that throughout the year.  

How did we go?

Thanks to our new branding from the gorgeous George at Blackdog Design we are more us than we have ever been, the crazy cat lady club! In terms of Retail Digital Marketing, we made a big line in the sand with becoming Shopify Experts and we have more retailers on board than ever before. 2018 is going to be an exciting year for Connect Plus and we can't wait to roll out our next retail digital marketing initiative to assist small-medium retailers to achieve their goals.

So a few of these are going to carry over to 2018 and that's OK as we made progress on them and are excited to see delivery to a high standard and leading the pack so we know that our clients are going to have their best year ever!

How did you go with your 2017 goals? We would love to know xx