A Message from Yellow Brick President and CEO Kelly Guzman
As I reflect on 2018, it’s surreal to contemplate everything that has happened with Yellow Brick, and where we are today. In less than a year we went from a concept to an amazing little company. I have been blessed to work with colleagues who I absolutely love and have had a blast developing our new products and tools.
Starting a new business is a terrifying leap of faith that causes you to reflect often, challenge your thinking, and push past your fears in order to move ahead. As we end this year, I’ll share some of my highlights, lessons learned, and how they are shaping our game plan for 2019.
It’s alright to be afraid! Use your fear to your advantage.
The most frequent question I hear from everyone is: “Aren’t you afraid of…. “fill in the blank”?” The answer is “YES! Of course, I’m afraid.” But my fear of being static is a bigger fear, so I keep moving. When I’m working with our team, I ask myself: “What will happen if I don’t change? Or we don’t change?” This has helped us grow as a team and push through with the goals we’ve set as a company. We have been blessed to have clients who believe in us and we are forever grateful to them!
Know what you want and go after it!
I spent a lot of time mapping out what I wanted and how I wanted it to look. It was also helpful to know what I DIDN’T want! Once I had these lists- it was easy to develop the plan for our future.
Challenge your thinking and be bold.
It was hard for me to literally have a blank slate and say “Ok, go!” Where do you begin? How do you start? I had to step back and come up with a process that worked for me. This year I lived in my passion planner https://passionplanner.com/ The planner helped me to dream big, identify and prioritize my goals, and then implement the plan by breaking it down to manageable timelines. The planner (plus nudging from a friend) was instrumental in pushing me to take this leap. If I didn’t put the plan in writing, I’m confident I’d still be trying to figure out what to do.
Don’t make assumptions
I’m a huge fan of the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz http://ardenbnb.ca/agreements.htm and this year, in particular, I was constantly validating and revalidating my beliefs, thoughts, and assumptions. Each person has a story and only they know all of it. Take time to understand what is important to each person and make decisions based on what you believe is best.
Always do your best
Back to Mr. Ruiz and the Four Agreements. Every day is a new day. You have a choice to have a great day or not so great day. Sometimes your best is awesome and sometimes it’s just “meh”. Dig in and do your best.
Be Thankful/Gratitude
I’m so very grateful to the 8 individuals who took the initial leap of faith with me (and gave up many weekends to make this possible): Mark, Ann, Kathy, Christina, Ali, Lynn, Melissa, and Christian. Also, to the supporting cast of my mom (Linda), Erica, Michele, Carole, Chris, Ryan, Jonathan, Erika, Paul, Kim, Mary, Felicia, Gus, Deb, and Patrick who have been incredible resources and cheerleaders to us.
We couldn’t have done this without our clients and their support. Huge thanks to the leadership from Norton Sound Health Care, Cedar Sinai Medical Center, and El Camino Hospital for believing in our team. I am forever grateful!
We have lots to accomplish in 2019 and will be sharing our journey with you in our next newsletter.
In the meantime, have a safe and happy holiday season. Take advantage the few days away from work to recharge and start planning!
Kelly Guzman, MN, RN