As another year has come to a close, I can’t help but reflect back on all of the amazing things that have happened for myself and my team here at JMG PR these last 12 months. Hard work got us here, but the plans were laid out long before the year ever began.

“Goals help you channel your energy into action.” – Les Brown

For me, setting goals has always been important; it’s how my company came to life. I’ve often said during panels that I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur, not because I didn’t want to, I just never thought it was an option. The inspiration came when I decided to leave my previous job and someone said, “why don’t you start a company,” and so I did. 

Goal setting is what gives me direction in life, both professionally and personally. In doing so, I am able to steer my ability and talents on the path I want to take and the tasks I want to accomplish. Whether it’s landing a particular client, getting placement in a specific media outlet, or brainstorming with the team, everything I do has an end result.

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.” – Mark Victor Hansen

Setting goals allows you to measure your progress and see how far you’ve come. When I look back to the day JMG first launched, I’m in awe of how much has been accomplished. Yet I know there is still so much more to come, and so many new avenues to explore, coming up with ideas and getting them down in writing helps to keep me focused. One of the ways in which I do that is with the help of my personal day calendar. A friend gifted me with one last year and since then I’ve been hooked! Along with keeping track of my goals, it allows me to set a benchmark on when I’d like to accomplish the goals I set. I find that giving myself a target also allows my focus to remain steady.

“If you are lucky to be someone’s employer, then you have a moral obligation to make sure people do look forward to coming to work in the morning.” - John Mackey, Whole Foods

Recently, I sat down with the team to get some insight on what they think we can improve on in 2019 and what goals they’d like to strive for. I wanted their insight because they are a part of JMG PR and they, too, have a voice; it’s important for team morale to allow everyone a seat at the creative table. Not only does it strengthen relationships, it allows us to grow together, which for any business is the ultimate goal. And you never know who may have the next great idea.

“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.”  —Norman Vincent Peale

Aside from setting professional goals of how much growth and expansion I want to reach within this next year, I am setting personal growth goals. To help keep me focused, I’ve started using a chart to see where and how much I need to work on within each category. As the year progresses, I know that new goals will be added.

Just some of what I have laid out for myself in the new year:

❖    Spiritually – Monday thru Friday I plan to take 5-10 minutes out of my day to start meditating. I believe it’s important to give yourself a time stamp and an amount of time so that you can commit to whatever goal it is you’ve set for yourself.

❖    Personally – Studying my Italian once a week for one hour.

“To Accomplish Great Things, We Must Dream as Well as Act.” – Anatole France

And as I lay out my goals for another year, I look at all 2018 has brought me and I know I want to keep the momentum moving upwards. Some of this year’s highlights included:

❖    BELLA New York’s airing of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

❖    Being named one of New York Real Estate Journal’s Women to Watch in 2018 for our real estate division

❖    Receiving the New York Best Award 2018 for PR

❖    Coyote Ugly Saloon’s 25th Anniversary Party where they offered to place our logo on the step and repeat - almost a year later and I still think to myself, “how cool was this!”

❖    Media trips to Switzerland, DC, Quebec City, and, the latest, Seattle for BELLA Magazine.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

One of the things I love most about this business is the amazing relationships I’ve formed and the opportunities they bring. While most publicists do not write for magazines, one of my long-standing clients, BELLA Magazine, has allowed me to share my love of travel, something I plan to do more of in the coming year.

As I continue to work on setting my goals, I’d love to hear from all of you on what you have planned for 2019!

“The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” – Melody Beattie

- Jenna