Hello mothers and others,

Happy New Year! It’s Sarah here, jumping feet first into 2022. 

Last Friday, we welcomed the new year with a Town Hall for our entire team of coaches. It was amazing to review together where we started 2021 as a company, and where we ended the year. We have changed and grown so much as individuals, as a team, and as a company. In the last year we’ve reinvented our branding, created two beautiful websites, successfully onboarded a team of dynamic and diverse coaches, and helped companies support their working parents in a myriad of ways. But the thing I’m most proud of is the way we have been able to pivot and change, based on what our clients, potential clients and the market has been telling us. 

It got me thinking . . . being a part of a startup has taught me so much. Here are the top 3 things we learned in 2021:

The gift of an essentialist mindset. Greg McKeown, author of the game changing book, Essentialism, writes that essentialism is “making the wisest possible investment of our time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution, by doing only what is essential.” There is a method, McKeown writes, to this mindset, and it consists of three steps: explore and evaluate, eliminate and execute. How many of us lose time and energy on things that don’t really matter to us? Things that won’t move us forward personally or professionally? 

On a personal level, I realized that if I acted like everything was important, nothing was. Being a coach is so creative, and I can see possibilities everywhere. But I realized that in order for LUMO to be successful, we can’t do everything. We can only do what is essential. 

Getting outside of your comfort zone. In 2021, one of the big things I was responsible for was raising money for LUMO. This is something I’ve never done before. Over the years I have grown comfortable asking people to pay me a solid rate for coaching and leadership training, but asking for money for my dream, for my vision for parents in the world, was another story altogether. Like most new things, the first time I did it was scary. The second time, it was a little less scary…and so on and so on. Now, it’s a part of what I do. It’s a skill I developed. Not only am I extremely proud that I was courageous enough to do something hard and scary, but in doing that, I gave many people in my life the opportunity to support me and my dreams. And they did!

Be flexible and unattached to your “way.” This is the big one. Over the course of the last year, we’ve talked to some of the biggest companies in the United States. I shared over and over the work we do in the world, and how we are committed to supporting mothers with our signature online program, etc. The biggest bit of feedback we received after “this is such a great idea and so needed” is that “this program needs to be for all parents, not just for expecting moms.” So we listened. We took the feedback, made the changes and are now updating our online program to match the needs of the clients we wish to serve. As a result, we are working on a robust pilot for one of the largest companies in the world. The learning for us? Listen hard, and be agile. What doesn’t bend, breaks.

What did you learn in 2021? What are you hoping to learn in 2022?

Here with you in leadership and parenting,

Sarah and the LUMO team