Anecdotally, 2023 was a weird year for a lot of people in small business. There was lots of talk early on about a recession, drops in inquiries, and shake ups in service offerings. While we had an objectively good year here at Due West Design (about 15% growth over last year), it was a little different than previous years and has made me reflect a lot on our business model and strengths. One thing I am learning over the years is that nothing stays the same and change is a constant. The better you can adapt to it, the better off you will be.

Several months ago my allergist referred me to speech therapy in an attempt to solve an ongoing breathing issue (basically my inhale/exhale capacity doesn’t line up correctly). After meeting with Alex Roper, Speech-Language Pathologist, M.S. CCC-SLP, she quickly ruled out vocal chord disfunction but we found a surprising number of ways that working together could help me as a small business owner.

Holy cow, I feel like I blinked and 2022 was gone! I always love reading about how other small businesses do things behind the scenes (I always learn so much!), and started doing my own recap last year too. I don’t usually set huge goals each year so much as try to fine tune the next baby steps to move the business forward. Hope it’s helpful!

One of the best parts about working from home is the ability to have your pets nearby while you work. We’ve been working from home for the last six years and have tried lots of different pet beds for our crew. Here are our favorites!

The last several months have been a substantial period of growth with our business and it felt like a good time to reflect on what got us here and how we plan on shifting into the next phase ahead. If you’re an aspiring designer or online service based business, my hope is that some of this will be helpful for your own journey. There is so much advice (and noise!) online about building a business and I wanted to reflect on what has actually worked and helped to move the needle for us since we’ve launched.

Wow, what a year! I always love reading about how other small businesses do things, which is why I wanted to put together a recap of the last year. It’s been exciting, busy, and at times exhausting, but we’ve learned a ton and have big plans for 2022!

It’s that time of year again! And we’ve got gift ideas for all of the freelancers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs in your life. Whether it’s something for your business bestie, clients, or even, ahem, yourself, here are some of our favorites!

Isn’t this why we got into business in the first place?

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.” ― Seth Godin

You’ve probably heard some variation of this quote before, and now that I’m squarely in my forties, I feel like I truly understand it. I’ve started to look at this idea from a few different angles…

Maybe it’s the extra hour of daylight or the new blooms on our daily walk, but spring always feels like an opportunity to refresh your surroundings and shake the dust off. The same can be true for your business! Our latest blog post shares some of our thoughts on spring cleaning for your small business.

This last year has been unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Full of new challenges, new opportunities, and lots of important lessons. Meg here! I decided to round up John and Jenn (our developers) to reflect on 2020 and what we’re looking forward to in the year ahead.