This year has been an interesting one for me. I've learned lots of things. I've invested money into my business and myself. I've gained some insight that I think you'll find useful to guide you and set some new interior design business goals for 2015. Not all of these will apply to you, but I learned so much this year that not sharing all of it would be a mistake.

#1 Pick goals and create a vision board

It's amazing what you can achieve when you focus on your goals. I found that when I created a vision board for myself that I either achieved one of the goals on it or it allowed me to get even more clarity on the goals I had and revised the next version of the board.

#2 Focus on one thing

You must have a focus and they can't be everything on your vision board. Multi-tasking is a myth. Write out your goals, prioritize them and write down all of the steps you need to do to accomplish the goal. If you don't know what the goal looks like at completion, how will you ever know if you reached it?

#3 Get confidence

Throughout my life, confidence has been something I struggled with. I used to absorb criticism from people who didn't matter and make that my truth. In 2014, I decided to throw their bullshit thoughts in the trash.

To gain the confidence I needed, I took action. If there was something I didn't know, I learned how to do it. If there was something I wasn't sure I was good at, I got feedback from the parties that mattered and adjusted as necessary.

I also started a song playlist filled with songs that inspired me to raise my energy level and mindset to know that I could achieve anything I wanted to. If there is a will, there is a way.

#4 Buying Courses Can Delay Growth (and waste your money)

When you have mastered the basics of doing business, stop buying courses and seek personalized help. I have bought more courses than necessary and sadly lots of them are shit. But shit to me may be gold to you. I've gotten sucked into the pitch, bought the course and got disappointed with the content because I didn't learn anything new.

#5 Careful Who You Hire

Be careful of who you hire to help you with your business, a genius copywriter can make a mediocre expert look more helpful than they really are

This year I have hired quite a few people to hire me with my business and some have been good and some haven't. I'm not going to call them out, but you really need to do your research when you hire someone. Just because they have a slick website and good marketing, doesn't mean that they will be able to help you reach your goal. And this is where being clear on your goals before you seek help comes into play.

#6 If something doesn't feel right, shitcan it

If you try something but you can't muster the energy to stick with it, shitcan it.  Life's too short to continue to do things that you don't love. Do everything with love and for love.

#7 Stop procrastinating

Procrastination, laziness, and apathy are your worst enemies. If any of these take a prominent role in your life, your first goal must be to get rid of them. You don't want to look back at your life and say: "Well, shit. That was a waste of time."

#8 Embrace your gift

You have a gift and so does everyone else. But their gift isn't your gift. It may take some time for you to uncover fully what your gift is. You won't discover it until you start doing something with it. And I will guarantee you that you will see things that you thought were parts of your gift become things that you put to the side. While we have many talents, becoming a gifted expert should be your goal.

#9 F*ck Fear

Fear is a nasty four-letter word. It doesn't serve you. You must instead ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen if I did this. And most of the time those fears we have about an outcome never materialize. Instead, think of the possibilities.

#10 Success isn't for everyone

This isn't to say that everyone doesn't have the same chance of being a success. Instead, it is to say that not everyone will take the opportunity. Some people are content to be unsuccessful. They don't seek internal motivation to reach their dreams. And you can't do anything about it. Just make sure you surround yourself with people who have big dreams, not the small thinkers.

#11 Go all in

If you are ready to commit to your dream, your gift, and bringing it into the world - go all in. I love Steve Harvey's quote on this:

I might be in this place right now, paying my dues and mastering my craft, but my dreams are out of this world!”  -Steve Harvey, "Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success"

#12 Read lots of books

I've read lots of books this year that have inspired me and changed the way I think about life and business. Do the same.

#13 Don't work with a-holes

And I don't just mean the a-hole clients. I mean a-holes that you're considering hiring to personally help you with your business. Just recently I was on the phone with an "expert". They called me 2 hours too early for our appointment time, then called late for the actual appointment time. This expert was rude, didn't listen to me and wanted to just direct me to purchase their course.

No thanks. If they are just looking for your credit card number and aren't hearing what you're saying, eff that.

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