Is it just me or did 2019 fly by?
I know that’s SO cliche to write, but I can honestly say that there were months in this year where I would blink and they’d be over.
At the beginning of this year, I knew 2019 would be a turning point for my business. I ended 2018 on an incredibly high note after spending 3 days with my business mentor, Amy Porterfield, in San Diego. (That’s Amy and me pictured in the photograph above!) That trip lit such a fire in me to serve my audience in a fresh, new way!
Working through my goals for 2019
While I was at Amy’s coaching event in October 2018 and in the months following, I started laying the groundwork for revamping my Instagram for beginners course… and I mapped out the launch of my content membership.
I’m happy to report that the course revamp will be completed in a few weeks (the entire course is being re-recorded and updated for 2020)… and my membership launched back in May! You can read the story about Beauty Content Pro here.
Other than working on my course and membership this year, I also decided to scale back on working with clients for social media management and consulting. This year, I intentionally only worked on social media and influencer management with just one client, which has been great! ??
For the first five years of running Melton Digital, I juggled three to four clients at a time, but this year, I scaled back and have been so grateful to give my full attention to working with just one DREAM client! Best of all, she’s local to the DMV, so I’m able to be more hands-on and feel like a part of her team.
Grad school, ministry… and ME time!
Something else that I’ve been quietly working on behind the scenes is completing my masters at Howard University School of Divinity! Some of you may not know this, but I was accepted to HUSD back in 2016 when my son was just 15 months old.
I started the M.Div program at HUSD in January 2017 and have been completing my core courses over the past two years. In 2019, however, I added a full course load with ALL of my classes on campus (no more online classes.) This means that I have essentially been working “part-time” when I look at the number of hours that I work on my business throughout the week.
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To add another layer to my crazy schedule, I got an email out of the blue to come and audition for a cycle instructor role at Life Time Athletic. I had been applying for this position for over two years — yes TWO years!
I applied in 2017, 2018 and again in January 2019 all while I was teaching cycle at a small studio based in a corporate gym. Fast forward to summer 2019, and I get invited to do an initial audition, have two phone interviews, I get hired (yay!)… and then have to go through two months of in-house training, certification, and another audition to get placed in a permanent schedule. That’s all behind me now and I am SOOOO happy to be teaching at Life Time!
This couldn’t have come at a better time because they offer so many great programs for KIDS, which has been perfect for Josiah. (If you’re a mama whose looking for somewhere you can feel comfortable taking your kid, I absolutely recommend seeing if there is a Life Time near you! This ain’t sponsored, this is just me looking out for the working mamas out there!) ?
I teach on Wednesdays at 6:00pm at Life Time in Columbia if you want to come ride with me!
This is blurry picture, but this was my first day teaching at Life Time. There are FIFTY bikes in this studio. Ahhhh!!
So yeah, this year has been a whirlwind!
Between school full time (and let me tell you, theology at Howard is NOT an easy program), working with one client for full-service social media management, teaching cycle (which is my all-time favorite hobby and I refuse to give it up! It’s my ME-time and does so much for my self-care)… and mommying a vibrant, bouncing pre-schooler…. ya girl has been busy! I
And best of all, I can honestly say I have so much JOY in the work I do with my client’s projects, being a Howard graduate student (there is NO better university in the whole world… don’t debate me on this! #TheRealHU), spending time with my kiddo, and being on the team at Life Time. I LOVE all these things, truly I do!
Transparency moment
I will be honest, I hesitated in writing this post because there is a little voice in my head that tells me, “Nicole, you need to focus on growing your business full-time. You should be farther ahead in your business by now. People are going to think you’re flaky for slowing down your content. You will look all-over-the-place if you talk about spin class on your business blog” and so many other things. I recognize these thoughts are flat-out LIES, and as soon as they cross my mind, I have the tools to shut them down and fire back with what I know is true.
I’ve intentionally slowed down on a few business things in this season and I am okay with having to take a step back temporarily. I slowed down on Instagram and IG Stories. I paused my Facebook Live series for a few months. I said “no” to several projects, podcast interview requests, speaking engagements, and client inquiries.
But in saying “no” to some things, I was able to say “yes” to my big dreams of pursuing ministry and accepting a cycle job at one of the premier fitness organizations in the country… both of which have been on my heart for years! ?? (And I need to workout anyway, so I may as well use it to make a little extra pocket change. LOL)
And because God is so generous, as soon as I decided I was going to enroll in grad school full-time this year (I was part-time in 2017 and 2018)… Howard awarded me with not one…but TWO scholarships! This was even more confirmation that I was making the right decision to spend more time on my grad studies.
I saw this post on Amy’s Instagram page and it sums up EXACTLY how I have approached this year!
So, what’s next!?
As my year of slow comes to an end, here are the projects I’m working on for early 2020!
1. Beauty Content Pro will reopen at the end of December. Memberships are quarterly and you can get on the list to learn more here!
2. My Instagram course is being rebranded and re-recorded. You can click here to sign up to be notified when I go live in 2020!
3. I’m celebrating the 3-year anniversary of my Purpose In Beauty series in 2020. I have LOVED doing this series in February for the past two years. For the third series, I’m adding some small group coaching to the mix where we will talk all things business and branding for Christian beautypreneurs. I will have a small group so we can stay connected and inspire each other to live our purpose as sisters in Christ!
4. Just for fun! If you live in the DMV and want to come work out with me in AMP Cycle, I teach Wednesdays at 6:00 pm at Life Time in Columbia, MD! Cycle classes are free for Life Time members, or you can get a free class pass here!
