LINDSAY’S LETTER: GROWING THROUGH REFLECTION
Lindsay’s Letter is a monthly note of encouragement & inspiration to our creative student community about navigating a growing business, finding a supportive community, and life lessons learned along the way. We are happy to share this with anyone who considers themselves part of this Student-Made community!
Spring is in full swing!
Although the new blooms of this season are here, they also come with the nearing end of the school year. Isn’t that interesting? While the weather is warming up and excitement to be outdoors on your campus is at its peak– everything that this year has held is starting to wind down. It’s a time of new beginnings and completion, all at once.
Well, If this sounds like a bit of a tough concept to navigate, I hope this letter helps.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that an experience isn’t truly valuable unless you spend time reflecting on it–
What exactly did I do?
How did it impact me?
And where will I go from here?
I think this theory holds a lot of truth. We spend most of our time day-to-day in the state of “doing.” Doing school, doing our small business, doing our management position, and doing the 101 other things that come with college life. It’s rare that we make time, or even find time, to step back and reflect on how we’re being impacted along the way.
But it’s in these moments of reflection that we really learn about ourselves, and feel a deep gratitude for where we are right now.
This month is the perfect time to begin stepping into the reflection process. And as you begin to look back on everything you accomplished this year, and where you hope to grow more next year– I will be doing the same with my team at Student-Made. Much like you, the school year is when we’re focused on getting into the rhythm of a productive routine, completing our tasks, and trying to improve little-by-little each day.
While we are excited about all that we have accomplished this year, we are eager to break it all down, consciously reflect, identify areas of needed growth, and plan for the next year ahead. It’s in this process where the energy for positive change and true forward momentum is created.
If you’re a Creator,
Then maybe it’s time to reflect on the little moments that shaped your path in a big way. Like that moment of extreme fear or doubt in yourself that you overcame. Or that moment when you made your first sale. Or that moment when you started dreaming about what your business could become in the future.
Maybe you even decide to dig down into specific action steps– making a new plan for improving your product collections, or your marketing strategy, or your profit on each sale. Or maybe planning how you can better leverage your connections in the Student-Made community, or take advantage of more opportunities next year.
If you’re a Manager,
Maybe you’re reflecting on the sense of confidence you’ve developed in your role. Or those times you really helped your team thrive. For next year, maybe you’re thinking about how to be an even stronger member of your team. Or what you can do within your role to help this group of creatives do even better than this year.
No matter what you choose to reflect on– we Are ALL in the same place. We are all working toward forward progress.
We know Student-Made is just one piece of your everyday life on campus, and we are so grateful to be a part of your journey. Your engagement in this is what makes it possible for us to keep making forward progress toward our mission– to provide you with the most valuable opportunity for growing your business as a student. And to provide the best hands-on experience for our student teams leading the charge.
We’ve already begun receiving your Recommitment Forms, and are so excited to see more! We hope that you’ll utilize this tool in your reflection over the past year, and that you’ll share some feedback on your experience with Student-Made that can help us do our own reflecting.
Just like you, we’ll be looking back on all that this year has brought us and taught us– energized to make this community even more connected, impactful and successful together next Fall.
Take this attitude of reflection with you all month… Screen Saver Style.
