I think that we start every year by saying, “Last year was a year of growth.” We’ve been so fortunate to see our client base grow and to have developed some long-term relationships with companies that we love. But last year was an amazing amount of work.
There was a moment last week when I said to Jaclyn, “I am not even sure how we accomplished all the work we did last year without the help we have now.” She laughed and said, “We worked. A lot.”
Our word for last year was “Creativity.” We really thought that 2022 was going to be the year we had space to focus on creative endeavours within Scriptorium and in our personal lives. Working a lot of hours on meeting client work deadlines didn’t leave a lot of space for that. But we did carve out a few spaces for creativity last year and that has made all the difference.
Last year, we participated in Alberta Women Entrepreneurs' (AWE) Bold Leadership Program. This is the second time we’ve participated in an AWE program; both times the program has helped us to level up our business. Through the Bold Leadership program, our expert advisors guided us to technologies that gave us tools to formally organize which gave us the space to grow. It also gave us the time and space to work on our dream project: Sidelight, our new brand for live (in-person and online) and self-directed online courses. Everything we are doing to support our team gives us the space to build our learning platform.
For a couple of hours a week, we found the space to learn and explore our goals and dreams for the company. Choosing to make space for this creative thinking was hard, but essential. The practical discussions about finances and operations helped us to define our roles and to formalize our planning and internal processes. And we had just enough breathing room, to realize we needed a bigger team. A lot bigger.
We started 2022 with four people. Jaclyn and I worked more than full-time and were supported by two part-time writers. We are entering 2023 with a team of eight. Five full-time writers, a part-time writer, and two student interns. This is the team we needed to fulfill the work with our clients and to create the space Jaclyn and I really wanted to work on a dream of ours.
This is why we really wanted to focus on “sustainability” this year. For us, sustainability means a lot of things. It means that we build this company into something that lasts and endures. I love what Scriptorium has become and I want to see it continue. But we also want to see it continue in a way that reflects the things that make it a special place to work.
We’ve seen a lot of companies grow quickly and then struggle because they don’t have processes and systems in place to support a growing team. This is often when we are called in. To help growing companies build the policies, procedures, and training that they need but don’t have time to do on their own.
Knowing this, we want to grow with intention and maintain what matters to us, including our:
Corporate values
Company culture
Integrity and work quality
Work/life balance
We want to prepare for sustainable growth and make sure our systems work before we stretch them. Now that we have this amazing team, Jaclyn and I have the space to work on our systems without compromising the quality of our work for clients. To do this, we set some 2023 goals for our leadership team:
Train and Strengthen our Team. We are making sure that our amazing new team is strong, supported, and trained so we can continue to provide the quality of work our clients have come to expect.
Focus on Core Values. We are creating a space for our team that maintains our collaborative and supportive company culture and exemplifies our core values.
Grow with Intention. We are building systems and processes that will support our team and clients so we can plan for sustainable growth.
Build Sidelight. We are combining our writing, teaching, and instructional design experience to develop courses to teach people how to be better writers in the workplace.
A few weeks ago, I left for a vacation. That usually means I either bring my computer or feel deeply guilty for leaving Jaclyn alone with all the work. I still worried about being away and I did stay in touch, but at the end of the week Jaclyn sent me a note that just said, “I love our team.”
This is what we want to protect and sustain. We want to do the work that we do well for clients who understand the importance of what we do, with a team that we not only feel confident in but that we love. That is what makes our company our happy place.
We believe that each of our writers brings an important set of skills that work together to make us a diverse and capable team. We love what we do and bring a creative problem-solving approach to all our projects. We can help you find the right solution for your projects. Contact us to book one of our team members to work with you on your writing and instructional projects.
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