2023 in Review: Pondering the Possibilities of 2024
It hasn't been an easy year. 2024 will also be tough. But there is opportunity.
As the curtains draw on 2023, it’s time for a reflective gaze on this rollercoaster of a year. It’s been a wonderfully varied journey, with opportunities that have stretched my horizons (and sometimes, my patience, hee hee!) and left a lasting impact.
Contributing to Mental Health First Aid Australia, delving into regional mental health, supporting older men, and tackling workplace mental health issues, was a highlight. As an advocate in mental health and disability, I am always happy to support the organisations that drive community awareness.
I was a part of the team that saw Girls on Fire Australia offer the first Rainbow Program for LGBTQIA+ teens on the Northern Beaches. Their camp was a huge step forward in inclusion! And to see them expand from New South Wales to Victoria and New Zealand with pilot programs was simply amazing.
I worked with wonderful coaching clients across disability, small business, interiors, education, and freelance sectors. A six-month commitment to South Coast Arts fuelled my passion for helping local artists achieve their goals and gave me the chance to meet some inspiring Illawarra-based coaches. I am excited to continue this in 2024.
Partnering with Jessica Harkins as Unashamedly Six is always a delight. This year, we took centre stage at the International Festival of Death and Dying, with a campaign on planning for end-of-life scenarios when things don’t go according to plan. It’s now a fully realised summer campaign via A Good Death (Australia) website (and free booklet) and our Instagram. It’s comforting to know a necessary conversation is now amplified. We look forward to seeing what tangible change it brings. And we’d love to hear what you think.
Meanwhile, the Freelance Jungle continues to give much needed self-care, education and support to Australian and New Zealand-based freelancers via our Facebook group and beyond. Through a diverse array of activities, including full day coworking workshops on social media marketing, crowdfunding, and business development, we worked to inspire freelancers to transform their ideas into reality within a day. We also offered Patreon-powered and free classes on events management, talking about tricky subjects, finances, client management, and more.
A collaboration with Australian accounting package, Rounded, on Hug a Freelancer, saw us addressing communication challenges between clients and freelancers, and looking at ways we can come together to solve more freelance challenges in the future. It was a privilege to bring so many people in business together for events, conversations, and via customised content, including Carolyn Stebbing from Little Village Creative and Ta Pod host, Craig Watson.
My journey as a mentor led me to work with Patreon creatives from all over the world, helping them work towards their goal of being full-time creators through accountability and a powerful community of support. This, and flying the Patreon crowdfunding flag here in Australia, will continue in 2024.
In the realm of architecture and building supplies, I collaborated with a startup agency, Eaves Content Agency, crafting operational, marketing, and community strategies. It was a chance to return to agency life and explore innovative methods to engage leads in the building supply sector, work on community building, and return to the art of pitching (which I must admit, I didn’t know I had been missing!).
It was amazing to work with Penny and Tess from Eaves to contribute to the success of the 2023 Illawarra Festival of Architecture and Design through effective communications, marketing, and live event social media management. There’s something wonderful about a sell-out crowd, satisfied sponsors, and a thriving community eager to discuss the challenges facing Australian housing, construction and architecture.
Looking ahead to 2024, the horizon appears both exciting and challenging. A focus on financial literacy, stress reduction, self-care, Gen X, the tricky subjects I love in mental health and end-of-life, and a spotlight on the Illawarra region are already on the cards. There are so many business challenges to address, like changes to social media and SEO, the rise of AI, inflation, natural disasters, labour shortages, and the ever-present threat of cyber-attacks, it’s hard to figure out where to focus next.
But I know one thing for sure - business is changing.
We’re transitioning into a new world that’s all about being adaptable, innovative, creative, and compassionate, rather than just focused on making money. We’re ushering in an era of quiet ambition, thoughtful work, and a more intelligent and less wasteful way of doing business.
Conditions like this mean if we want to do more than survive, we need to support each other. That means we have to take challenges like mental health, climate change, accessibility, and inclusion seriously. It means saying goodbye to scarcity and competition and saying hello to abundance, collaboration, community cooperation, and transparency.
And honestly, I’m so happy to see it. Despite the challenges, this is an era of a more gentle version of opportunity.
Let’s welcome the changes and challenges that lie ahead.
Thank you for being a part of another exceptional year. My next availability is mid-February 2024.
Have a safe, prosperous and relaxing summer break. And I’ll see you next year for content marketing, strategy, coaching, community management, and more in Australian freelancing