Every year I do a recap on the previous year. The theme for Gossip Genie in 2016 was change, for better or for worse, many changes took place. Each Genie has a month dedicated to them based on the positive changes they brought to the team.
In January, I returned from maternity leave and as every new mother knows, the transition back to work is difficult. My life had completely changed, my priorities changed and my outlook had changed. It took me a bit to get settled but about 3 weeks in I have never felt more empowered from my new title as working mom. I have such pride in my company and my staff that I can’t wait until the day my daughter, Liv, understands what mommy worked so hard to build. Gratitude was an underlying theme this month because I was able to adjust my hours and days to maintain what I think is a wonderful work-life balance.
In February Gossip Genie turned 6 years old and we put together this exciting timeline of events. It’s amazing to think that from an idea and zero dollars in the bank, I was able to create something that is now nearly 7 years old and employees 7 people with nearly 30 clients.
March was an exciting time at Gossip Genie, we had the chance to manage the social media for The Vision Council’s Expo East event thanks to Anthony. It was a test run that ended with a yearlong contract to manage the social media for the entire organization. Anthony knocked it out of the park in New York with Dana and Stephanie. In September Anthony was invited to manage the Expo West event and did the entire show solo.
April is dedicated to Kristina because she earned her status from intern to account manager in record time. Kristina fell into the position of managing the work of about 3 people and doing it well. I was and still am in awe of her ability to multi-task when it comes to managing her client accounts. It has been such a pleasure watching Kristina grow and change at Gossip Genie, she is a true team player and someone we all respect and admire. Kristina is a great writer and graphic designer, here is an absolute must read she wrote about how to stress less.
At the beginning of May, the Genies were in Dallas, Texas covering The National ProStart Invitational. This marked the sixth year in a row Gossip Genie has covered the event, live, on social media. This year, we introduced Snapchat into the mix and also used Facebook Live to cover some of the more important moments at the event. The National ProStart Invitational is the country’s premier secondary school competition focused on restaurant management and culinary arts. Our blog has a full recap as well as tips to cover a live event on social media, read the latest post here.
In June, we moved into a new office to accommodate our growing team. Armitage was our home for 4 years and now Halsted is our home for the foreseeable future. This change in location started a new chapter for our team and we love the extended menu options it brings for our daily company lunches together. Read more about our June adventure here.
July is dedicated to Shannon, we had a void at Gossip Genie with the impending departure of our beloved Dana Geisser. Dana moved to Ireland to go back to school for marketing. Shannon joined our team and was an instant fit. From day one, Shannon rocked her accounts and as a result, secured their fate as Gossip Genie’s ongoing provider of social media. A word I would use to describe Shannon is lovely, just being around her on a daily basis is a pleasure. Special shout out to Kristina for making the introduction to Shannon. Learn more about Shannon here.
Per Kristina’s network, August is dedicated to Keenan. As I said before, Kristina was doing the work of 3 Genies and suggested a solution to allow her to work more effectively. I am a problem solver but when a coworker comes to me with a problem and a solution, I can’t help but love them. Kristina suggested Keenan as an intern at Gossip Genie. Full disclosure, I put the outcome of his performance on Kristina because I was coming off of a series of mis-hires and did not have the time or energy to try and integrate another mis-hire into our culture. Thank goodness for Kristina’s dedication to Gossip Genie and Keenan because he turned out to be a homerun hire. Keenan is a wonderful addition to our team and brings so much talent to our already super talented staff. The speed at which Keenan was able to acquire the Gossip Genie method of doing things has been impressive. The past few months of getting to know Keenan has been such a pleasure both professionally and personally. I like to tell Keenan that not all heroes wear capes but to understand what I mean; you have to be a Genie. Learn more about Keenan here.
September was all about Anthony, although, he deserves the year dedicated to him due to his admirable and inspirational professional growth. If Gossip Genie was a car, Anthony would be the engine. It was in September that I decided to promote Anthony to VP of Social Media. He literally started from the bottom now he’s here. The promotion was effective in October and he has blown us all away with his higher-level account management, employee management and dedication to Gossip Genie. Read this epic blog post by Anthony recapping his 4 years at Gossip Genie.
October is dedicated to the return of Anneliese. I applaud her for taking a 3-month sabbatical to focus on herself. Anneliese leaving was a change that I had a hard time accepting and her being gone was a change I disliked. I was hopeful that she may return and when she did, she was refreshed and ready to work hard. Anneliese wrote a beautiful blog post about what Gossip Genie taught her in 2016, you can read it here.
November is dedicated to Taryn. Taryn joined our team bringing with her a lot of experience and assuming the open position from Anthony’s promotion. Taryn joined Gossip Genie when we were going through extensive personnel changes and adapted to our reeling environment well. She has been a breath of fresh air, collaborative and creative with a ton of experience to share and we have already all learned so much from her. The future is bright with Taryn on our team and we can’t wait to see what positive changes she brings in 2017. Taryn sums up 10 reasons she loves being a Genie in her first blog post.
December is dedicated to all of us because despite all of the changes the year brought we rolled with the punches, embraced the unknown and ended the year with an incredible team and client roster full of tremendous accomplishments and significant results.
Jacqui,
I have enjoyed reading your recap. Your accomplishments are noteworthy. I am proud to be the father of your trusted and loved colleague Anthony. I have enjoyed watching him grow as a contributor to the company and an individual over the past several years. No doubt your tutelage and mentoring have played a big role in his development and success. Keep up the great work! All my best to you and the Genies
Greg