This year stretched me, grounded me, and grew me in ways I didn’t see coming. Some decisions felt like jumping off a cliff and hoping a parachute would appear. Others felt like the quiet, steady kind of brave—choosing the long game over the quick win.

But all of them, in their own ways, made SWDC stronger. Made me stronger. And created more space for the life and business I actually want to be building.

Here are the decisions that changed everything for me this year—hard, beautiful, uncomfortable, wildly worth it.

01. Shifting My Work Schedule to Part-Time (So I Could Be Home With My Youngest Two)

This one… whew.

Pulling my youngest two out of childcare and restructuring my entire schedule so I could be home more? Easily one of the hardest decisions I’ve made as a founder.

There’s always that guilt battle:
Am I doing enough for my business?
Am I doing enough for my family?

But here’s what I landed on: they’re only little for so long.
The snuggles, the snack requests, the tiny shoes by the door… they’re not forever.

Working part-time hasn’t been my “forever plan,” but it’s been exactly what our family needed this year. It forced me to build stronger systems, trust my team more, and focus on the work that actually moves the needle. And personally? It’s given me time I’ll never regret choosing.

Honestly… it’s been the biggest blessing behind the scenes at SWDC.

02. Treating Our Own Business Like a Client (Not the Perpetual Back Burner Project)

If you’re a creative, you know: your own brand is always the thing that gets pushed to “next week.”

This year, we stopped doing that.
We treated ourselves like a client. Deadlines. Strategy. Consistency. Deliverables. Actual time blocked in our calendars, not hopeful scribbles in a notebook.

And what happened?
We came alive again as a brand.

Our marketing got sharper.
Our systems got stronger.
Our vision got clearer.
Our voice finally reflected who we really are.

Taking ourselves seriously has honestly been the quiet power move of the year.

03. Putting Ourselves Out There Even When It Feels Cringe

This one’s for every business owner who has ever hit “post” and wanted to hide under a table. Same.

But here’s the truth: visibility grows opportunity.
Cringe grows clarity.
Consistency grows trust.

This year, we showed up more… messy, real, imperfect, human.
We posted more behind-the-scenes, more founder moments, more honest thoughts about running a small business. And every time it felt cringe, something beautiful happened:

Clients connected deeper.
Our audience grew faster.
Partnerships found us.
People saw us.

I’ll take a little cringe in exchange for a lot of growth any day.

04. Offering Healthcare to Our Team (AKA: One of the Hardest Decisions as a Small Business Owner)

No one talks enough about this one.

Providing healthcare as a small business is hard.
Financially. Logistically. Emotionally.

It is one of the most meaningful ways to show your team you value not just their work… but their wellbeing, their families, their futures.

We did it anyway.
Because strong businesses are built on strong people.

And this decision—though heavy and complicated—was one of the proudest moments of my year as a founder.

05. Investing Our Own Money Into Brands We Believe In

We’ve always treated our clients’ dreams as if they were our own, but this year, we put real skin in the game.

We invested financially in brands we believe in.
Brands with heart.
Brands with grit.
Brands building something bigger than themselves.

It felt risky. It was risky.
But it also felt aligned.

We don’t just make beautiful designs.
We build legacies.
And sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is say:
“I believe in you enough to invest in you.”

These partnerships have been some of the most rewarding we’ve ever taken on.

06. Creating a “Creative Sabbatical” Benefit

This might be one of the boldest policies we’ve built…ever.

We took a cue from churches, which offer sabbaticals as a space for rest, renewal, and recalibration, and brought it into the small-business world.

Not everyone is having babies.
Not everyone fits into standard leave structures.
But everyone, at some point, will walk through a hard season that asks something of their mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual capacity.

So we decided to offer a creative sabbatical.
Time to step away.
Time to heal.
Time to rediscover joy, inspiration, and wellbeing—without fear of losing your job or your footing.

Because a healthy team isn’t built on burnout.
It’s built on rest, restoration, and respect for the whole human, not just the employee.

07. Choosing to Share My Faith as a Business Owner

This one took courage.

For a long time, I kept my faith tucked quietly behind the scenes of my business.
Not because I was ashamed of it (!) but because I didn’t want to alienate anyone or make people feel “othered.”

But this year, God moved loudly in my life, in my business, and in the decisions I’ve made as a leader. And it felt wrong not to acknowledge the source of that guidance.

Sharing my faith hasn’t pushed people away; it’s attracted deeper connection.
It’s opened conversations.
It’s brought alignment.
It’s helped me show up with conviction, clarity, and purpose.

I’m building a business with integrity.
With intention.
And with the values that anchor my life, not just my work.

The Thread Through All of It: Choosing What’s Right, Not Just What’s Easy

This year taught me that “hard” isn’t a sign you’re doing something wrong… it’s often a sign you’re doing something meaningful.

Choosing my family.
Choosing my team.
Choosing my values.
Choosing visibility.
Choosing rest.
Choosing belief.
Choosing long-term alignment over short-term comfort.

These decisions stretched me, but they also strengthened everything I’m building.

Here’s to a year of courage, clarity, and creating a business that honors both the work we do and the humans we are.