Welcome to the first of my new quarterly newsletters!
As a part of my new strategy for TDC (including a "leaner", more direct approach to marketing), I'm aiming to achieve MORE by doing LESS. I'm refining our service offering, and making calculated decisions about where to focus my energy, time and resources.
As I've not been in communication for a while (and, as usual, I have lots to say!) the length of this newsletter is longer than a standard email. If I listen to the advice of marketing experts, not many people will read this through to the end.
To be honest, that's perfectly fine with me, as the people who do are the ones who matter!
DOING IT OUR WAY
On Sunday 12th January 2025 I married the love of my life, Brendan, in an intimate gathering of our families at The Prince of Wales Hotel in St Kilda.
It was a perfectly imperfect day, that involved last minute changes to plans (moving the ceremony from St Kilda Botanical Gardens to inside at The Prince Hotel, due to torrential rain), a car crash (my sister had an accident on the way to the wedding, but was 100% OK) and a heart-melting moment where my beautiful father (who has advanced dementia rendering him largely non-verbal) stood up to make a speech, struggling to get the words out, but only managing a couple (there wasn't a dry eye in the room, and the loving sentiments from Dad radiated powerfully to Brendan and myself).
From the start of our planning, we decided not to get "stuck" on the details, and chose to remain focused on the big picture of what really mattered: celebrating our love with our families. We couldn't have been happier with the way the day unfolded.
The following Friday we gathered almost 100 family and friends for a "Post Wedding Party" on the rooftop at The Prince Hotel. This was a chance for us to celebrate our union with the other significant people in our lives, providing us with an opportunity to split the celebration into 2 parts to ensure that we got to involve our whole circle of important people, whilst not overwhelming our aging parents.
Not everyone understood our choice to separate the ceremony from the party, but we knew it was exactly what would work for the two of us. We were overjoyed by the choices we made and the way that both events came to fruition.
DOING IT DIFFERENTLY IN 2025
Any of our members who attended my keynote speech in August last year for the KBDi Annual Conference would have heard about my plans to do things differently in 2025.
Following on from my father's stroke in March, and his subsequent rapidly progressed dementia, my priorities have dramatically shifted. Time (the most precious of all resources) with my parents has suddenly become so much more valuable. Last year forced me to really dig deep and prioritise what truly matters to me, and how my businesses can move me towards these priorities.
Of course my 2 businesses (The Design Coach and MR. MITCHELL) are still massively important to me. I also have important goals for both businesses, as work is still a huge source of reward for me (emotionally, intellectually, socially and financially).
However, I know first hand how hard it is to juggle the commitments between personal and professional lives. It's not a simple matter of deciding that I want to spend more time here and less time there. There are practical and financial implications to the choices I make. In order to make changes that are viable and sustainable, a good deal of analysis and planning need to be undertaken. Sacrifices are required and hard decisions need to be made.
Today I want to share how the change in my parents' situation has provided me with an opportunity to create a different path forward; one where I'm choosing to make my businesses work for me, not the other way around.
MY PERSONAL PRIORITIES FOR 2025
If you've been married, you know how much planning goes into an event (or events) that flash by in a matter of precious moments. Our wedding events took over 12 months to plan, and we chose to do things simply!
At the time of our engagement both my parents were strong and healthy, living independently in a retirement village in Geelong. How much can change within a year! Without a doubt, the most special part of our wedding day was sharing it with our families, especially our parents. It really highlighted the importance of celebrating moments with the ones you love, being present and focused on the gift these memories carry.
The #1 personal priority for me this year is to spend more time with Mum and Dad. With a move into specialist dementia aged care in Melbourne for Dad, and a move into a low care facility close by for Mum, we're fortunate to have both parents within easy reach. Both have their own specific needs, and we (I'm lucky to be one of 4 siblings all here in Melbourne) try to visit both of them (together and separately) at least a couple of times each week.
Even though these visits give me immense joy, without adequate planning, time slips by and "life" (aka business) gets in the way. To properly commit to making regular visits to my parents, they need to be scheduled into my calendar, just like a business meeting. They need to be prioritised over the demands of other, seemingly more urgent priorities. This takes consistent, unwaivering focus.
Equally important is to ensure that I create time with my new husband! I'm fortunate that he is also someone who prioritises family, so has been incredibly supportive over the past year with my parents. In December Brendan and I moved into our newly purchased apartment in Abbotsford, so 2025 has started with a sense of fresh new opportunities and experiences. A big priority is to enjoy our own design journey as we customise the interior to make it our own.
MR. MITCHELL PRIORITIES FOR 2025
It's no secret that my interior design business MR. MITCHELL has taken a back seat to The Design Coach over the past few years. Over Covid, demand for my coaching services exploded and TDC quickly became the "main hustle" more than the "side hustle".
Despite a lack of attention given to marketing and new business development, 2024 brought me some wonderful projects, including a magnificent new build in East Melbourne (in collaboration with Herbert and Howes Architects) and a rural new build in Wurruk, Gippsland (in collaboration with Winter Architecture) as displayed in the render of the Dining Room and Kitchen above.
A frank conversation with one of my favourite clients Vijay (owner of our Toorak Project) early in 2024 drew my attention to the lack of "me" (my skills and values) in the MR. MITCHELL business branding. Vijay's delicate yet direct critique of my branding ignited a fire within me to make 2025 the year where my interior design business soared to new heights.
At our Melbourne Design Conference in August last year, workshops hosted by the incredible Mim Fanning, Fiona Killackey and Sarah-Jane Pyke further reinforced this renewed passion for my business, in particular the way I would represent myself and what I truly believe in (follow me @mrmitchell_interiors to watch my 2025 journey unfold).
Already underway are a number of exciting internal projects including a brand refresh, a series of videos (featuring a couple of my lovely clients, including Vijay) highlighting my values, process and business pillars, and a new website to hero all of this new content.
A major priority for 2025 is to build a strategy that takes this exciting new content, and connects it with my target clients. This (in no strange way) brings me to my priorities for TDC in 2025...
TDC PRIORITIES FOR 2025
I love TDC. Nothing will ever take me away from my mission to contribute to the Architecture and Design Industry in a way that educates, inspires and connects small business owners.
A major highlight for 2025 is our Palm Springs Trip coming up in only a couple of weeks, where we're hosting 18 designers and architects for the world-renowned Modernism Week in California. This will be a dream come true for me and the TDC team (and our beautiful delegates).
I LOVE WHAT I DO, but if I want to shift my priorities, something's got to give!
For a number of years now, I've presented a vast array of services to our members, including 1-on-1 coaching, free group coaching, coaching programs, online courses, special events, international trips and retreats. On top of this I've committed many hours to creating and managing a successful Scholarship Program (hello to our 3 incredible scholars!), have dedicated resources to fostering a free Social Club for our members, and have travelled nationally and internationally to connect with current and perspective members.
Although it's taken a huge amount of my time, I don't regret a single second and would do it all over again. However, I know I can't do everything. To genuinely focus my attention on the other areas in my life, I have needed to make some dramatic changes. This required the aforementioned sacrifices and tough decisions.
Ultimately, I decided that in 2025 I was going to strip back all of my services to the core of what I do - coaching small business owners.
I knew that the only viable format for this would be a group coaching program, where I would dedicate one full day per week to get amazing results for these members, whilst still providing time to pursue my other personal and professional priorities.
Then I had an inspired idea to share my transformative journey at MR. MITCHELL with this one, special coaching group. Not only would I be coaching the members to get results in 2025, I would be leading by example, walking the talk, side by side with them, sharing my journey - the wins, the losses and everything in between.
In an almost biblical "aha moment", the skies opened and the sun shone down on me (OK, I know that' going a bit far, but humour me) and our 2025 Group Coaching Program was born!
The tough decisions that needed to be made included pausing popular TDC services, including our Scholarship Program, Social Club and all other coaching programs, trips and retreats (with the exception of Palm Springs!). A big part of running a business that gives you the life you want is saying no, or "not right now". (That doesn't mean we won't reinstate these services again in the future).
So, how does this all come together for me next year?
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
How do I take all of these ideas about how I want to spend my time this year, and make it happen? How do I structure my businesses to support me in these quests?
There isn't a simple tool or template (no "silver bullet") that enables easy access to these answers. The simple truth is that it takes a lot of research, analysis and planning. It involves the right combination of:
Soul Searching (to really establish what my priorities really are)
Auditing (to understand my currently position: branding, finances, pipeline, allocation of time)
Goal Setting (to set targets and provide direction)
Financial Forecasting (to ensure my plans are viable)
Strategy and Planning (to make achievable plans to get there)
Consistent Review and Analysis (to make sure I'm on track to get there)
I wish I had a magic formula to make this work for every TDC member, but it doesn't exist (beware of "coaches" who make these promises!). The fact is that it takes focus, discipline and persistence.
If the thought of doing this alone makes you feel overwhelmed, consider joining our 2025 Group Coaching Program.
We still have 2 places available for the right designers/architects who want to achieve great things this year, working with an incredible bunch of supportive talented TDC members. To find out how the program can work for you, send me an email to hello@thedesigncoach.com.au and we can schedule a time to chat.
That's all for now. If you've read through to the end, thanks for sharing my story.
Wishing you and your loved ones a year filled with many special moments.
Stay well, and always be kind!
Cheers,
Andrew
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