It has been a year since I returned my corporate laptop and unpinned my running bib for the rat race. (I was always at the water station anyway.)
I thought once I left my job, I would get visible, expand, and put myself out there, but the last year has been one of contraction, settling, and trying to reclaim presence.
Part of that journey has been a retraction from the online space. I’ve been more quiet digitally than I have ever been. I deleted the Instagram app on my phone. I limited my overall social media exposure. I have written sparsely on my blog (hello again!). And my newsletter has been nearly non-existent
As I was pondering my next steps last year, the word “hyperlocal” came to mind as a desired focus and has become an unofficial strategy.
Quite the opposite of “digital,” hyperlocal meant to focus on my community and my immediate geographical area. The word came out of my desire to shrink my sights, become more grounded in my locale, and build relationships with people I could be in physical presence with.
Perhaps a bit romantic and naive, I wanted to explore what it meant to grow a business without the internet and a focus on a digital audience. Since last April, I have offered in-home postpartum doula services, taken over managing a local, in-person networking group of women in business, and spoke at the local Black History Month celebration (with more future involvement to come!). As I look ahead to professional endeavors, hyperlocal still feels important.
It has been in my personal arena that I have most benefited from my hyperlocal focus. In December, I started hosting lunches for friends in my home. It has reminded me how much I love feeding people and bringing them together. Being able to indulge this part of me that has been in hibernation since well before Covid makes me want to continue to see how I can continue to build community.
So much can happen in a year even though i look around and see how much is the same. An orbit around the sun has cyclicality in it but growth still does happen, albeit sometimes invisible and indiscernible to the tired eye. As I hopefully regain my blog legs, I look forward to exploring more topics that have come to mind in this last orbit.
