To be honest, I’m not. I’m inspired by how 2020 is wrapping up, but I’m not all that surprised. I’ve watched you since the pandemic struck, and you’ve been remarkable.

Here’s what I’ve been witness to since early 2020.

• You and your team reacted quickly when the lockdown hit
• You made sure your team had everything they needed at home — extra monitors, better chairs, etc
• You reached out to your clients with a very genuine desire to help and stayed by their side as they navigated the craziness of COVID
• You started working double shifts to help clients, counsel your team, and face the financial truths
• You made the difficult decision to crunch the numbers and watch them every week so you wouldn’t be caught off-guard
• You started beating the streets — reaching out to former clients, the prospects in your pipeline, and anyone who responded to your outbound efforts
• You chased down the PPP funds so you could ride out the storm
• You created new offerings that would help your clients climb out of COVID’s grips
• You found new ways to do old marketing tactics that worked in this weird moment in time
• You made some difficult decisions and faced some hard goodbyes that broke your heart but protected your shop
• You buckled down and created some truly helpful content that served your audience and attracted new people into your community
• You hosted zoom cocktail hours, trivia contests, and karaoke debacles to keep up your team’s spirits
• You landed some new clients and figured out how to onboard them even though you’d never met them
• You kept up the crazy hours, working nights and weekends to keep everything running and your team calm
• You guided your team back to the office in a safe and sane way (or this may still be on your to-do list for 2021) and reveled in the energy, collaboration, and joy of being back together
• You brainstormed with clients to help them see the opportunities within the crisis and maximize them
• You celebrated every win (big or small) with your team, and you’ve shouldered every loss in private, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up
• You have clawed, crawled, and kicked your way back to profits, and now you are not only surviving in 2020, but you are thriving in it. For 90% of you, that means financially thriving. But even if you’re still working your way back money-wise, you’re thriving in other ways.
• You have set yourself up for an amazing 2021

No wonder you’re tired, and no wonder I’m not surprised. You’ve been amazing.

Have you done it all perfectly? Probably not. But have you done it all with a full heart and the best of intentions? Have you run yourself ragged to take care of your clients, your team, and your family as 2020 is wrapping up?

The answer to all of those is a resounding yes. So you shouldn’t be surprised. You are right where you deserve to be because you earned it. With every late night and moment of worry. I hope you’re proud of yourself and what you’ve done. If you’ll permit me to say so, I’m incredibly impressed and proud of you.

All this as expressed and said by our good friend and association leader Drew McLellan at Agency Management Institute, AMI, check out Drew and his association!