2021: Agility and Growth
Every year, on December 31, I reflect on the year that has passed and set goals for the year ahead. 2020 was a year of reflection, change and transformation (last year’s reflection can be found here). It injected new meaning into our business, our value and our industry as a whole. It set us on the path for 2021: the year we got to apply what we learned from 2020.
As I reflect on the year, there are some very crucial lessons we learned:
- Agility
Things were not consistent in 2021.Between 2nd, 3rd and 4th waves of Covid, schools opening, closing down, re-opening, vaccine mandates introduced, working from home, going back to office a few days a week, back at home, etc., we learned a new skill set: staying agile. It became more important than ever to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to adverse circumstances with understanding, patience and persistence.
- Company Culture
The key to a successful business, is the team they grow and nurture. Remote work has challenges both when it comes to creating a strong and loyal team, but more so, when it comes to collaboration and company culture.Company culture matters – making sure our team feels aligned, comfortable, passionate, and driven became even more important at a distant.
This year we had virtual show and tells, reel contests and two in-person events: our summer holiday picnic, and our holiday dinner.
- Our Value
We have come to truly know our value – we know our competitive edge, we know what we bring to the table, we know our differentiator. We are a boutique service – we are performance and results oriented and we offer a level of service focused on quality.
These 3 lessons remained dominant in every accomplishment achieved in 2021; and for the sake of reflecting on those accomplishments, here goes:
- Our Team
Over the last 12 months, we have grown our team to 13 full time employees and have been able to recruit fantastic talent. The pandemic allowed us to broaden the geographical barriers of hiring locally– this was a very advantageous as we are now able to recruit talent outside of Toronto. We have brought onboard team members in New Brunswick, Gravenhurst, Milton, Hamilton and Windsor.Our team is our greatest asset. Not only are they talented and invested in their own growth and ability, they truly go to the wall for our clients and have developed fantastic client relationships that we value whole-heartedly.
- US Clients
In 2021, SocialEyes penetrated markets south of the border.We are proud to say that we are now bringing our skill set in to the USA and working with various clients in professional services (realtors, law firms and brokerages) in the following states: Chicago, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Maryland and Colorado.
- SEC In-Person Gatherings
This one feels like a huge achievement! We got to meet (most) of our team in person twice this year for social events! Some of our team members have never met in person because we have been operating virtually since March 2020.We had our summer picnic and our holiday dinner in person – and it was so nice to be together, laugh, joke and see each other (not over a screen!).
- Media and PR
We are so excited to be included in the following directories/rankings:Business Talk Magazine – 10 Most Dynamic Companies to Watch in 2021
Insights Success Magazine – 10 Most Empowering Women in Business in 2021
2021 Corporate Excellence Award by Corporate Vision Magazine
Below is a list of other articles contributed to various publications including a few new publications: New York Weekly, YFS Magazine, Attorney at Law Magazine and Day Law Library:
REM – Real Estate Magazine Online: 5 Holiday Marketing Ideas for Realtors
New York Weekly – Marly Broudie Sheds Light on the Power of Taking a Leap of Faith
Business Talk Magazine: SocialEyes Communications Inc. was featured in the upcoming issue
REM- Real Estate Magazine Online: 5 Ways Realtors and Brokerages Can Use Digital to Boost Sales
Lawyer’s Daily: Podcasting for Lawyers
Social Media Examiner – How Marketers Can Respond to Apple’s iOS 14 Privacy Update
REM – Real Estate Magazine Online: Branding for Realtors in 2021
Women of Influence: 4 Stress-Free Tips for Getting Comfortable Discussing Your Pricing
YFS Magazine – The Benefits And Challenges Of Remote Work
Attorney at Law Magazine – Best Practices for Lawyer Lead Generation
Day Law Library – 4 Tips for Utilizing LinkedIn Effectively for Attorneys
REM – Real Estate Magazine Online – 5 Real Estate Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021
Attorney at Law Magazine – 4 Digital Marketing Trends for Attorneys and Firms for 2021
Insights Success Magazine: Marly Broudie was named one of the Ten Most Empowering Women
- Team Charity Initiative
Every year around the holidays, we like to support a charity. In 2019, we threw our first charity gala in support of Sick Kids Hospital. In 2020, we launched Eli’s (Market) Place, an online holiday shopping platform to shop for a cause for the holiday season, donating proceeds to Eli’s Place.This year, our team launched the SEC Holiday Toy Drive -every team member went on a little shopping spree to find toys to donate to their local toy drives – and we were able to donate toys and spread some joy in Toronto, Etobicoke, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, New Brunswick, Milton, Windsor, Mississauga and Gravenhurst.
See here.
2021 was a precedent-setting year. It was a year of goal-setting, growth and implementation. It was a year of learning to be patient and understanding, while focusing on what’s ahead.
We are very excited for what 2022 has to bring.
Until next year!
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