If you’re reading this, chances are you’re somewhere between packing orders, trying to keep the studio tidy, attending family events and pretending your inbox isn’t overflowing.
December hits super hard when you’re an Australian maker in business. It’s busy, emotional and often chaotic. It’s the end of the school year, it’s the beginning of summer, there’s gifts and events and all kinds of shenanigans happening.
Before the calendar flips over and you catapult straight into “New Year, New Me, New To-Do List,” there’s one small but quite powerful step we encourage you to take. Stop for a moment, reflect and celebrate what you achieved this year.
This isn’t about forced or toxic positivity or writing inspirational quotes in a notebook. It’s about acknowledging your work, your perseverance and the small sparks that kept your business moving.
Reflection is strategic, too. It gives you more clarity for the year ahead, and it reminds you that you’re not building your business “by accident”.
Why reflection matters
Most makers underestimate just how much they actually achieve in a year. You might remember the big wins, but those smaller victories are the ones that often reveal your progress.
For example – the new stockist who emailed out of nowhere. The wholesale order that scared you a little but you did it anyway. The market weekend where everything clicked in to place. The customer who wrote you a message that made you teary. The new product you launched even though imposter syndrome was yelling in the background.
Pausing to capture these moments is essential because they form the foundation of next year’s decisions. When you can see your strengths, patterns, capacities and boundaries clearly, you make smarter choices. You begin planning from actual data and real evidence.
After the year most makers have had, you certainly deserve to see the fruits of your labour.
Reflect without overthinking
Not everyone loves journalling or spreadsheets, and that is so fine. Reflection like this doesn’t need to be a big deal or even that time-consuming. It can be practical and brief, in fact sometimes it’s better that way.
Make a simple wins list
Grab a piece of paper or open your notes app and list 5-10 wins from the year. They do not need to be “award-winning”, they can even be tiny.
Maybe you…..
- Raised your prices.
- Redesigned your market stall.
- Tried a new supplier.
- Posted on socials more regularly.
- Finally sorted your packaging.
If it helped your business grow or stress you less, it counts.
Review your numbers
This isn’t about being judged by your accountant, it’s about understanding where the energy and funds went and where it paid off.
Look at sales patterns, market performance, website traffic spikes, wholesale enquiries and your most engaged social posts. These are clues because they show you how and where people found you, who it is that values your work and where your time is best focused next year.
Revisit your milestones
Think about the work itself. What did you design, refine or improve? What skills were strengthened? What experiments were worth it? Makers often forget that creative growth is just as important as financial growth. Both matter for you and that means both deserve celebrating.
How to celebrate
Celebration can feel awkward when you’re used to just getting on with it, but acknowledging your effort matters. It reinforces that your business is a real and worthwhile endeavour and that your work is meaningful.
Try one of these:
- Share one achievement with your community on social media
- Treat yourself to something that genuinely feels rewarding, even if it’s something for the business.
- Write a note to yourself to read in January or when you’re having a tough time next year, reminding you of what you’ve already achieved.
- Take a day off without guilt, doing something relaxing.
Reflection before planning: why the order matters
If you’re anything like us, and forward-focused, it’s super tempting to jump straight into goal-setting for 2026.
Planning without reflection however, is like packing for a trip without checking the weather first.
By reflecting first, you anchor next year’s goals in reality. You avoid repeating patterns that are unhelpful or even damaging to the business. You understand your capacity clearly and you can then make space to prioritise what actually supports you, rather than what the internet tells you should matter.
Reflection grounds your planning because you’re building upon the foundation of a full year of knowledge, momentum and lived experience.
Congratulations from us
To every maker who has worked tirelessly this year, who has shown up even when exhausted, who has created beauty in between school runs, day jobs, late nights and early mornings… well done. Truly.
You’ve built something with your own hands, your own ideas and your own courage. That deserves recognition. It deserves pride. It deserves celebration.
The year ahead will bring new opportunities and fresh possibilities, and we’ll be right here cheering you on. But for now, give yourself permission to pause. Reflect. Celebrate. Honour the year you carried, the growth you achieved and the resilience you showed.
You did good work in 2025, so now take a moment to recognise it for yourself.
Have a safe and enjoyable summer break, we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
