For a while, no New Year’s reflection felt important enough. Because 2024 was …a lot. I want to reflect on it. Reflection is the antidote to my default mode of diving headlong into the next thing – without savoring what I’ve already accomplished or even pausing to appreciate what I’ve walked through.
My vision board for 2025.
The “Before and “After”
I lost my dad in February 2024. The man from whom I got my research brain, my outward-pointing ears, my emphatic hand gestures, and my propensity for breaking into song at random moments.
Even though he never worked in the corporate world – he was a professor by night, of New York City history, and by day he worked for the New York Department of Environmental Protection – but he was always interested in my work, down to minute details, and never more so than when I started my business. One of our last conversations was about urban heat islands, a topic I was immersed in while writing a white paper for Avison Young. Not what most would consider a riveting father/daughter chat.
I was so lucky to have a father like that.
His death crushed me. It was the ultimate “before” and “after,” as I’m sure anyone who has lost a parent can understand. It reshaped how I think about family, work, and time. And, frankly, the “why” of it all.
When Your Old Business Model Fits Like Tight Jeans After Thanksgiving Dinner
Amidst my grief, Hannah Miet Consulting gained momentum —and then momentum beyond my capacity as a solo operation. I eventually hired an editorial assistant, who allowed me to stop context-switching (jumping from, say, my strategic vision for the year to updating a spreadsheet) and also, on an emotional level, made me feel supported —way less alone in the “solo” part of “solopreneur.” I changed my business model. I began redesigning the business from the ground up, a process that is still ongoing.
Bagel Schmearstein
Expanding my business was also joined by new family dynamics — I assumed the role of family financial manager while raising a mischievous poodle puppy named Bagel Schmearstein (yes, there’s a story there*), my first real pet as an adult. It was a balancing act, and one I didn’t always get right. But I could feel myself growing through it on an almost physical level, and that was reassuring.
*Bagel is named after the puppy my dad had in his 30s, a Beagle named Bagel. And Schmearstein because…Schmearstein. Obviously.
From Solo Consultant to Micro-Agency
In 2024, I transitioned Hannah Miet Consulting toward what I’m calling a “micro-agency” model to meet increased demand.
Here’s the gist: My clients still interface with me alone, but I have ~30% more bandwidth to take on projects by outsourcing tasks that don’t require my direct expertise, and partnering with other experts on things like design and business development when clients need a broader scope. This allows me to stay squarely focused on my role as a strategist and client-facing lead while also growing the business. It also means that I’m always on the lookout for talented freelancers who can help.
This shift wasn’t easy, and I’m still learning how to optimize this model, but it has already made the workflows much smoother and has allowed me to do more of the work I love.
I’m a Communication Coach. Oops.
Coaching wasn’t in my original plans – until one of my clients informed me that I’d been coaching him on positioning and communicating his new CRE business to the market. Referrals led three more clients with similar needs to my proverbial doorstep, and I began the work of formalizing my services as a positioning and communication coach toward the end of the year. This work has been so meaningful to me — seeing people realize they have something to contribute — and helping them do it.
I’m also an “Award-Winning” Marketer. Lemme Try to Say That Without Shrinking.
GlobeSt. named me a 2024 Woman of Influence in Marketing and Communications. I took action that was contrary to my instinct to hide under my desk – my knee-jerk hesitancy to take up space. I promoted the award more, instead of less. I attended the award ceremony and the associated Women of Influence conference in Lake Tahoe – where I met so many brilliant women in commercial real estate.
Hannah Miet at the GlobeSt.
Women of Influence conference,
courtesy of GlobeSt.
Hannah Miet and Shanti Ryle
at the GlobeSt. Women of Influence awards after party,
hosted by CREXI, courtesy of GlobeSt.
Hannah Miet at the GlobeSt.
Women of Influence conference,
courtesy of GlobeSt.
Hannah Miet at the GlobeSt. Women of Influence conference, courtesy of GlobeSt.
Hannah Miet at the GlobeSt. Women of Influence conference, courtesy of GlobeSt.
Hannah Miet and Shanti Ryle at the GlobeSt. Women of Influence awards after party, hosted by CREXI, courtesy of GlobeSt.
I was also interviewed for the CREXI podcast, a Women of Influence series hosted by the absolutely lovely Shanti Ryle.
It’s not easy, but here I am, stepping into my own power. While cringing as I type, “stepping into my own power.”
Jewish AF
My dad dying unexpectedly so soon after October 7, 2023 – when myself and a lot of Jewish people I know were still grieving – was hard to process. My dad was my moral lighthouse in a lot of ways, especially on Jewish matters. I felt a little lost, and I began exploring – and connecting more deeply to – my Jewish identity.
As I was processing, I yearned for more Jewish community. Bridging these with my professional life, I joined the Jewish Federation’s real estate and construction group (REC) and began attending other events. This group does amazing philanthropic work and is at the forefront of caring for victims of the fires.
I also returned to similar themes in my creative process and, right on New Year’s Day, a copy of the Charleston Anvil (Issue #19) arrived in the mail with a very Jewish poem of mine published within it.
Results, results, results
I continued to collaborate with clients new and old, many of them in commercial real estate (my main niche) on content marketing and thought leadership (my main specialties), achieving trackable results such as a 91% increase in unique visitors for one client within a month of our engagement kicking off.
I share all of this not to brag but rather to show how growth can come from pain and loss – or, at least, occur simultaneously with it. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m grateful for everything 2024 taught me and excited for what’s to come. Here’s to a brighter and more resilient 2025!