Happy New Year!
2018 at Northbound was a year full of change and growth. We formed new relationships with wonderful clients and helped them add value to their businesses. We’ve added new people to our team who have brought both expert skills and joy to Northbound. We visited NeoCon in Chicago and got a close look at global design work. We’ve enjoyed the creative community in Grand Rapids, attending events like Creative Mornings and hosting workshops to continue our professional development.
2019 has big shoes to fill.
That said, we are well on our way to making sure that it does. Like we (and other very smart people throughout history) have said before: no one accomplishes anything without first setting a goal. Our overarching goal for 2019 is to continue to participate in, and enrich our growing, vibrant community through our work with local businesses. Here are our New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Work with more local businesses that impact West Michigan.
We don’t have to look very far for inspiration. Luckily, it’s all around us. Grand Rapids is growing so quickly, that it seems like every day we hear about a new company joining our community. These companies are spearheaded by passionate individuals who choose Grand Rapids for the same reasons we did: the people, the art, the beer, and the proximity to incredible works of nature. Working with neighbors and friends makes work so much more rewarding because we all share the same general goals of using our talents and passions to add to our community. Are you thinking about pursuing a passion and starting a business here? Tell us about it in the comments!
2. Professional Development.
Marketing and Design are fluid industries that must adapt to new trends and technologies. These tools help us tell our clients’ stories to the right people. As purveyors of these crafts, we do not have the luxury of resting. We have to keep up so that we can deliver the absolute best solutions to our clients. We do this by allotting time every week to learning. Whether it’s tutorials on new ways to use our software, testing new software, listening to podcasts, or reading articles on strategy or books on design work, we are excited to be able to enhance our skills. We hope to continue to do this in 2019 and focus our learning on our clients’ specific needs. How do you continue your professional development? Is this a priority for you this year?
3. Recycling.
Earlier this year we noticed a problem in GR. A lot of us want to recycle and care for our environment, but we don’t really know how. And worse — it’s a pain to learn and do it right. We took the time to learn ourselves and created this printable that is specific to Kent County to help educate the community. This year we want to spread that message and do our part to live more sustainably and honor the source of most of our creative inspiration. We hope you join in on this one especially. Download our guide for a head start.
4. Community Engagement.
In 2018, we started attending Creative Mornings and networked with Grand Rapids creatives. These events have not only enriched our perspectives on creative business strategy and growth, but have taken us to venues we had never visited prior. We learned about organizations working to better our community and spoke with well-known illustrators and typographers in the area. This year, we hope to attend more events like Creative Mornings and venture outside of our own industry. If you have any networking or community events you think we should attend, let us know in the comments! We’ll see you there.
What professional resolutions have you set for 2019? If you’re looking to grow your business, or reach your ideal audiences, let us know! We are excited to meet your needs within your budget. Get in touch.
