My 2024 Wrapped

It has been a wild year, at Schenker Creative Co. When I sat down to write this final blog post of 2024 and thought back on my year I was overwhelmed with where to start. Last December, I selected the word Determined as my inspiration for the year ahead. I had decided to really focus on building up my business from a side hustle to something that could sustain me full-time.

I quit my job to run Schenker Creative Co. full-time at the end of February, which has been an incredible adventure. I didn’t realize that over my first full year in business, I would also survive a breakup, a tumultuous election, and the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina.

Somehow, in the midst of all of this, we worked with incredible clients on some very cool projects. And that is what we will be celebrating this year!

This year, I gave four presentations about How to Visually Communicate Your Ideas More Effectively to teach audiences and test ideas as I wrote my book. I published my book under the same name in November of this year as both an E-Book and a physical book.

We worked with 12 clients on 26 projects of all sizes in 2024.

A few times each month, we shared words and visuals about our curiosities, culture, and current events. There were eight email newsletters, and 14 total blog posts shared. This included guest posts from our associate Chris Maxey, ENU’s Beth Cichon, and the “planning curious museum person” Betsy Loring.

This year I hired two part-time employees. The best decision I made for myself as a business owner has been to outsource.

People have mixed feelings about how to grow and manage expenses when you start a business. In January, I brought on Ruth as a part-time business coordinator to support the administrative side of running a business, and it was the best decision. The faster that you as a business owner can figure out where your skills are, and be open to outsourcing and suggestions in other categories, the faster you will succeed.

My second hire was Chris, a part-time associate who I trained in graphic design and who now supports me when a project timeline exceeds my capacity so that I can enjoy a vacation knowing that work has not come to a full stop.

This was particularly important as I adjusted my time to teach 2 courses at the Clemson Design Center in Charleston and maintain work-life-balance.

While the financial growth of my business may be slower, I know that I am building a more sustainable business and lifestyle for myself. Realizing that I’ve created a life for myself that I love is the greatest joy of 2024!

Thank you to all of the people that made this year possible. I am so lucky to have worked with the most wonderful clients this year. Here’s what people said about working with Schenker Creative Co. this year:

“Taylor and her team made it possible for our mission, evidence-based programming, and past projects to be visualized on a single page. We particularly appreciated her ability to consider our various audiences, use her expertise to make the visuals engaging and colorful, and to synthesize our small team’s vision.” - Nonprofit board member and volunteer

“On-time delivery. Clear and frequent communication. Thoughtful and attractive design.” - Estelle Chan, Senior Director, Fairstead

“Taylor was professional, prompt, and made my visions come to life! Absolutely would recommend her & Schenker Creative Co.” - Lindsay, Manager of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Three Mile Island Camp

Thank you to everyone who made our 2024 great. I look forward to growth in 2025.

Happy Holidays!

xo,