2021: A Year in Review
Forgive me for oversharing here, but I took some big steps out of my comfort zone this past year.
I wrote every one of these down in January 2021 as my big goals for the year.
It was my first year of true goal setting - and let me just say, goal setting works. haha.
Here they are:
Launched a Website
I worked all summer long to get (this website) up and running. I really, really wanted to do it myself - and almost, hired it out several times. I’m so glad I stuck with it though (through lots of you tube tutorials and googling). It is all done by me! Now, I know all the ins and outs and can update it however I want. There is a lot of freedom in that.
Reached a 1,000 orders on Etsy
What?? This was a ginormous goal for me this year - and I literally smile every time I think about achieving this goal! This has been such a pat on the back for all my hard work with my paintings. Now, I can’t wait to hit 2,000 orders.
Original Mallard Duck Painting
Started selling Original Paintings
Yep - you heard that right. I’ve never sold my original work before! This year I did! I love selling original work now and am looking forward to doing much more next year.
Featured on a Podcast
The Storied outdoors podcast had me on the show this past fall of 2021. This was a small but very personal goal for myself this year. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. I’m not always super great with “the words” so I was pretty nervous. When I look back on it, no, it wasn’t perfect. Far from it. I could have said quite a few things better or clearer, but I learned a lot from the process. I have 2 great, new friends (Brad and Brian) out of it and learned how to better share my story. You can listen to it here:
Storied Outdoors Podcast - Emily Johnson, Artist
I also was a featured artist on the Etsy Success Podcast. This was submission based feature. I wasn’t going to submit my bit, but then decided, what do I have to lose? Nothing. I was pretty proud to have that one minute clip on it!
Completed an Art Marketing Course
I completed Making Art work by Emily Jeffords last spring. This course was a giant step for me. I have been selling my art for several years, but I was really wanting to step it up a notch. In January of 2021, I had completed a year of selling only fish on Etsy - and we had the best year - but I knew I could do more and wanted to grow, so I signed up for the course. It was a 12 week course teaching how to go about selling your art. I met so many great art friends through it (they are from all over the place - Cananda, Michigan, London, and Connecticut) and was so encouraged in my art journey. I would highly recommend it to any artist wanting to make it a full time gig.
So what are your goals this year?
I have mine written down and ready to go.
One of mine is to do a lot more of this kind of stuff (adventuring with my family:).
Happy 2022 friends!
