7 Types of Business Growth I’ve Experienced

Smaller, steady gains add up

Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash

I reached a couple of milestones in my author journey recently that tell me my author business is growing. However, they’re not your average growth markers. I wasn’t on the best-seller list, nor did I receive an award, but they’re milestones nonetheless. I share them to offer the perspective that smaller markers are just as meaningful.

Here are seven signs of growth I’ve experienced this year.

1. I monetized my Gumroad newsletter twice, i.e., two different customers bought a resource after I included them in emails. This was a huge win for me since I got nowhere with my Kit newsletters.
2. My ultimate bundle on Gumroad, offering all my self-publishing resources in one shot, has had two sales within the last month. One of those sales was the result of an email newsletter.
3. I decided to run a keyword research contest on my YouTube channel. I was hoping for a few entries but received one. Even though this one entrant won by default, she seemed thrilled. I was thrilled to do keyword research for her via Publisher Rocket and offered category suggestions as a bonus.
4. My YouTube channel reached 200 subscribers. It hit 202 at one point, but I lost two shortly after. As of July 16, I’m at 201 again. I’ve been growing it since April 2024 with a nine-month break between now and then.
5. I’m at 4.2K followers on Medium.
6. My Sister Activity Book continues to get monthly sales. It sold every month this year — multiple copies some months — and all but three months last year. I created it for my nieces without any expectation of results like this.
7. I received my first two-star rating. This is not a milestone I’m excited about necessarily, but it didn’t break me, either, and I am happy about that.

None of these markers came overnight since I’ve been self-publishing since November 2022. Success — however you define it — is a process, and that’s what I want to zero in on. As I always say, the process needs more emphasis. Success takes patience and persistence, trial and error, research, and more. Though I’m not where I want to be, I’m further along than I was last year, and that means a lot.

If you’re not where you want to be, I trust this encourages you to keep at it and to define success your way. Along the way, look for milestones you can be proud of. They don’t have to be the same ones I’ve mentioned or what anyone else deems important, as long as they’re important to you.

If you’ve reached unique milestones that aren’t your average “big ones” — or maybe they are — feel free to share them in the comments. Those of us who read them will be sure to celebrate with you.

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