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Hi there.

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It's Sue.

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And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME, over on Instagram at gift biz,

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unwrapped, choosing a theme word that will direct your year.

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Have you heard of this concept before?

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It's similar to the idea of identifying a major goal and

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then developing tasks and activities underneath that goal,

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with the idea that once completed your goal will have been

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achieved. The difference between that and an annual word is that

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an annual word goes deeper.

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There's usually an emotional element included in your word,

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even though on the surface,

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it looks very business oriented.

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I also find selecting an annual word to be really clarifying

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and calming.

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It allows for reflection on your performance over the last year

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and opens up your mind to dream and project what you

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want for your future.

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It's a beacon of sorts to walk towards and also a

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filter to help prioritize all the things that you could work

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on in your business versus what you should work on to

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get your desired results.

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I'll tell you about my 20,

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22 word in a minute,

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but first let me share some of my prior year's words.

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This may give you ideas as you consider what your word

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could be way back in 2018,

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my word was growth.

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I had recently come out of beta testing and updated my

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maker's MBA program.

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And this was the year for me to launch it in

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a big way.

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If you're not familiar with this makers,

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MBA is my group coaching program and the signature course in

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my business.

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I also published my book that year.

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So mission accomplished.

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Those were two big projects that assisted with my business growth.

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My word really helped me do this because it kept me

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forward-thinking when things got tough,

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I give myself an a for that year in regard to

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my word,

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then came 2019.

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The word I chose was visibility.

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If you know me,

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well, you won't believe this,

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but as much as I loved speaking from stage and presenting

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in classrooms,

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it wasn't the same thing with social media.

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This was the year I decided to focus on expanding my

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reach and get more eyeballs on my business.

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I give myself a C I did get more comfortable with

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going live on social,

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but struggled to be consistent with Instagram stories.

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I also had personal things to deal with that year.

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I lost several people close to me,

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including my dear mom.

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And honestly I did the best I could the whole year

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wasn't bad.

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I was on the midday news in Chicago,

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which was a big deal and written up in a couple

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of trade journals,

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but I didn't achieve all that I wanted.

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And guess what?

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That's okay.

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And I'll say the same thing for you,

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a goal,

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or in this case,

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my word for 2019 is something to strive for a compass

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to navigate your efforts.

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And sometimes you go off path,

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life happens and the plan has to change.

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Therefore, the results change too,

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but a new year presents new opportunity,

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right? So the next year just happened to be 2020.

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And we all have stories to tell about our plans for

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that year.

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Once it became clear the impact that the pandemic was having

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on our world,

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I switched my annual word to be support.

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I saw in our gift biz community,

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that there was a lot of fear and uncertainty out there,

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not only with the virus,

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but also the focus on serious racial issues.

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None of us knew where this year would lead.

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But one thing I knew for certain there is strength in

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community. So I doubled down inside gift biz breeze,

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my private Facebook group to offer support.

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I went live three times a week to answer questions,

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led conversations on tough issues.

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And we brought guests in to assist with these discussions.

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I'm so honored and proud of all our Breezers that's you,

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if you're already in the group,

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because the sensitivity,

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inspiration, and assistance that was offered during that time and still

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is today is I almost don't even have a word for

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the bonds being created there.

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It warms my heart beyond measure,

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seeing all the beautiful interactions happening there.

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So I'll say my word support for 2020 was a success.

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Next step 2021,

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I decided I could do better with visibility.

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So that word got a repeat trade shows started to open

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up again,

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which presented speaking and teaching opportunities.

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Plus I made time to plan and reach out for publicity

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and print key learning here.

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You don't have to wait for them to come to you,

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reach out yourself and present a story that would be valuable

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to their audience.

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I talk about this in more detail with Amanda in episode

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2 0 1 and 2 89.

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If you want to unpack that a little bit more anyway,

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all of this worked out beautifully.

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So I'm pleased with my performance against my visibility word.

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Now onto this year 2022,

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my word is definitely going to need a little bit of

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explaining the word is letting go and know I'm not letting

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go of my business or letting go of the results I

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plan to achieve,

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but I am letting go of things I can't control.

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I'm going to be vulnerable.

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And I'll give you a peek inside my heart here and

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tell you the main reason for this word.

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I attach so much ownership to other people's results.

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That it hurts me really deeply when actions don't happen.

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The silly thing about this is that I can't take those

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actions for other people.

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I can only provide opportunities and training and point people in

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the right direction on how to take advantage of the helpful

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courses or tools that I create an offer.

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I've recognized for some time.

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Now that I invest too much of myself in things that

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I can't control.

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Let me bring this around to something that may make more

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sense and is more relatable to you in your handmade business.

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You obviously create your products.

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So you control the quality characteristics and visual appeal of your

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packaging. You also control the pricing and the marketing side.

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In other words,

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where people will see your creations and have the opportunity to

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buy places like your website,

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your presence at face-to-face shows or pursuing wholesale.

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What you can't directly control is whether people will buy and

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or use the product in its intended way.

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This is where I get caught up.

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When I open up a maker's MBA each year,

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I'm very focused on how many students enroll.

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There are always a few who I've had conversations with.

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Who've told me how much they want their business to succeed,

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but then when it's time to enroll,

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they don't then other surprise me and sign up.

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When I wasn't expecting it,

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I'm filled with joy.

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When I see who does join the class,

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some are expected and some aren't,

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but it's an emotional roller coaster.

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After that,

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I'm super invested to ensure that every single student sees results,

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but I can't control that.

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And I keep trying,

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I can't make people do the work.

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And in your case,

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you can't make people buy your product.

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But what we can do is observe,

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revise and adjust to make everything we put out the best

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that it can be.

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The key is for me to remember that I have the

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ability to affect someone's result only so far.

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Some portion of their success is entirely up to them.

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I need to let it go from an emotional end and

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focus on what I can affect,

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not what I can't.

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This opens up my spirit to be excited about all the

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women who are seeing success through my entire ecosphere and not

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dwell on the ones who aren't taking action.

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So for me,

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2022 is about letting go.

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As I've been talking,

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has the strategy of having a word to theme your year

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sparked an idea.

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What would your word be?

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I like to post my word somewhere so I can see

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it regularly.

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It provides reinforcement to keep me focused.

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One year I had it painted on a rock that sat

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on my desk last year,

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I printed it on ribbon.

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I haven't decided what I'll do with my word this year,

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but I'll let you know.

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In fact,

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I'll post it over on my gift biz on wrapped Instagram

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account for you,

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a focus theme word for the year.

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It's powerful,

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it's directional and the results can be transformative.

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Try it.

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That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

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And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

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of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them,

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and they bring us both so much happiness.