Before I recap 2023, I feel it necessary to briefly tell you how 2022 ended as it sets the stage for 2024. Unexpectedly, 2022 ended in utter disappointment. Disappointment in both personal and business relationships. At first, I was confused and upset by both, but as 2023 rolled on I became more and more appreciative of it all. 2022’s disappointments opened the door for me re-learning what was truly vital to me in 2023.
2023 was an up and down year to say the least. My highs were extremely high, and my lows were truly low.
Personally, I watched my daughter’s wedding come together to be a beautiful, intimate event that will be a fond memory to look back on for a lifetime to come. During the planning and carrying out of her wedding I damaged relationships that I luckily mended along the way. I truly enjoyed taking a very positive step in healing the relationship between my daughter’s mother and myself, something long overdue. I say the lack of desire (at this time) to mend damaged relationships justified. Sadly, I witnessed a relationship, a bond that should be stronger than any, destroyed over choices that still leave me baffled today. Highest of highs, lowest of lows.
Vīdl had a challenging year, but one that I believe will set us up for future success. I had to make decisions that brought me countless nights of little-to-no sleep. We said goodbye to vīdl’s luxurious home in the Valley, which was much more space than what we needed and a money drain to say the least, and said hello to a new smaller location in Ballwin. We downsized staffing to a level that will allow us to grow…and hopefully hire back those we had to say goodbye to. We finished the year with a strong month for B2B (business to business), Fund Raising, and NP (non-profit) sales, but fell very short in our D2C (direct to consumer) sales. However, we started new relationships with individuals that are excited to help us grow our community and become stronger in that area. Highest of highs, lowest of lows.
What both areas of my life proved to me, and helped me to focus a lot of attention on this year, was there is truly nothing more important than family. What became so clear to me was that in the highest of highs and in the lowest of lows my family was always there. We banded together and overcame everything that was thrown at us. Along the way we welcomed in new family, both literally, and figuratively.
As we enter 2024 our focus, both personally and with vīdl, will be on strengthening meaningful relationships. We will be on a mission to remind those important to us just how vital that are and challenge ourselves to be vital to those around us.
Joining us on this mission is as easy as asking yourself the question “who’s vital to you?”.
Cheers to a new year and new beginnings!