Instead of writing one post analyzing 2008-2009, I thought I would split it and look at last year in this post with another looking at what’s coming up for skysoclear in 2009.

First off, I’d like to say a huge thank you to our first clients, our trusted friends and family – you’ve all contributed to the success of skysoclear and I hope we continue doing great work with you. I must give a special thank you to the one and only Steph who’s helped build the business up with me.

skysoclear started life proper in May 2008, shortly after the birth of my now 7 month year old daughter Ruby. Since then we’ve worked on many websites, items for print, brand identities and we’ve produced a couple of videos.

Being a new business owner, 2008 was a big learning curve for me. Never again will I underestimate the amount of time it takes to do all the work behind-the-scenes, promote the business, attend meetings, research and producing client work – all on a daily basis. No matter how quickly I seem to work, I find there’s never enough hours in the day!

Working from home does have it’s advantages. My commute is minimal (I call it a corridor commute) and my overheads are pretty low too (handy for an economic downturn!). I actually follow a more rigorous routine than I’ve ever done, which I may list in a future blog post, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I am a bit of a workaholic (even worked a bit over Christmas – sorry family!).

The greatest satisfaction I’ve had so far is when I send a design off to a client and while it’s probably exactly what they asked for, they ask me to approach it from another angle. I love being challenged and with every project we complete, I feel that I’ve learned so much – not just in my own skills, but also how to do business and how to deliver good work.

One essential piece of information I’ve gleaned over the year is that every client is different. For example, some clients prefer to use tools such as Basecamp to get things done, some prefer email and one particular client prefers phone. Every client is different and should not be treated the same.

One thing I’ve had difficulty with is how I personally get things done. I’ve gone from pen and paper, to post-its, to applications such as Things, Remember the Milk and To dos in Mail – and then I mix between them all! One of my resolutions for 2009 will be to find the right Getting Things Done mechanism for me – and stick to it!

So that was 2008. It was a good year, but I have a sneaky suspicion that 2009 will be even better. Check back soon to see what our plans are for the Year of the Ox later this week!

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