Category: Reflections on running my business

Well, this year has been exciting! I’ve met lots of amazing people! The changes that I made at English with Kirsty last year are taking shape and I’m now doing more of the things that I enjoy most! I did a lot of the things on my 2025 to-do-list and some things that hadn’t even crossed my mind at the beginning of the year! make a plan, but be open to discovering something even better along the way! It hasn’t all been easy, but maybe the not-so-easy times are where we learn the most…

What happened this year?

Quite a lot really! From travelling to Berlin and meeting some of my clients and friends to starting new things, such as the German networking for language professionals meetings – also a step out of my comfort zone!

I had the 10 year podcast celebration in July and I was so happy that many of my friends, former guests, and listeners came along to the online meeting. I also had a lot of fun creating the 10 ways in which we can learn series and I challenged myself by approaching some people who I thought might not be interested in a collaboration with my little podcast. I’m happy to say I was wrong – all of them said “yes”!

Last Friday I woke up to tags on 3 separate posts – someone who was talking about the podcast, someone who had attended one of my events, and someone who’s event I had attended. On the subject of events – as people are getting to know me, it’s also nice that I’ve been invited to relevant events and to feel included in that way. All these things make me feel connected and part of the community that I’ve been developing over the last couple of years.

Before moving on to the new year, I like to take a look at what was good and what I enjoyed. It’s too easy to launch into new plans and ideas without taking some time to be grateful and see what we actually achieved!

Last year was all about the journey. Some of the things that I was doing stayed the same, but I launched three new programmes and rewrote the texts on my site and social media profiles to better reflect my work with freelancers and small business owners, which is the focus of much of my work. I still have options for people who don’t fit into this category, but I felt that I needed to be clearer about some of the specific ways in which I could support people on their language journeys with English. So last year was about doing that.

This year has been more about community. Building my own – because the people with whom we spend the most time shape who we become! but also helping others to find theirs. I’m not trying to build an English with Kirsty community, but, through the free events and learning with others programmes, to provide places where people can come together and meet others. That could be other freelancers, other language enthusiasts, other people who want to develop their speaking skills. All of these activities are more enjoyable when we’re not alone.

I have no idea what my word for 2026 will be! Not yet…

What’s happening with my 7 main topics?

It’s true, I do a lot of different things. But most of what I do falls into 7 main areas:

1. Discover your voice in English – this is my language mentoring programme for those who want to look at where they’re stuck with English and let others get to know a version of themselves in English that’s closer to who they really are. Several people are going through the programme at the moment and I am really enjoying witnessing the transformation.
2. Reactivate your spoken English – English speaking skills for freelance translators group course. Each time I run this, we have different countries and specialisations represented, but many of the topics and challenges are the same. I’m glad I decided to run this as a group programme where people can feel safe enough to speak on relevant topics alongside 2 colleagues who are in the same position. With my support, it’s a way to build speaking confidence again so that they can be more visible with peers and future clients.
3. Amplify your voice in English – this one’s having a bit of an update. Previously it was for trainers and coaches who want to offer their current programmes in English as well. I still do that, but I’ve also added my preparation service for people who have public speaking events coming up, and I’ll be launching a new general public speaking course in the new year.
4. Find your own way in English – this is for the customised training packages that I offer, where people have specific language-related needs with which I can support them.
5. The podcast! This is still a big part of what I do and I’m excited about the content and conversations that I’m planning for next year. If you don’t know it yet, look for “English with Kirsty” wherever you usually get your podcasts!
6. Develop your English with others – this is still a work in progress because we’re splitting the conversation club in two. The club will remain for the freelancers as a place to practise spontaneous conversation in English about topics relevant to our businesses. The general conversation group will become the conversation cafe and get its own web page.
7. Free events – find community. This is where my free events sit – so the networking for language professionals in English and German + the language meet-ups for people who love languages. This may also get a local edition, but that’s not finalised yet.

So, still lots going on 😉

What are 5 things that I’ve learned this year?

And finally – a few things that I’ve learned and that will hopefully make my 2026 easier, better, and more fun!

1. You don’t have to have all the pieces in order to start! If you have a workable idea, don’t let perfectionism or the need to plan every detail prevent you from taking that first step and making it happen! Sometimes you’ll get better ideas as the journey unfolds/you gain new skills/meet new people.
2. You can learn by experimenting – start small! I didn’t want to commit to the German networking because I wasn’t sure if anyone would come. So I committed to one. People came. I did it again – and now it’s a monthly thing! If there’s a new specialisation, new area in which you’d like to work, new service you’d like to offer – is there something you can do to explore that before you commit? How would it feel to create some podcast content, write some blog posts or make some videos – even if you don’t show anyone at first? It would be a way to see whether you like doing it!
3. Usually the things we waste energy worrying about don’t ever happen. There’s not much more I want to say about that – but it’s energy you never get back and a way to really give your power away. I did it. It’s annoying. I want to do better next year!
4. You don’t see seeds growing when they’re in the ground! That sounds poetic, but I mean it in relation to all the things we do, especially as business owners or content creators. You never know who’s watching or listening. Metrics are great, and on good days, they can make you feel like you’re getting somewhere. But they are not the whole story because often people encounter us a number of times before deciding to get in touch. Sometimes they never get in touch – and that’s ok too if they are coming back and benefiting in some way.
5. Lots of people are available to help if you let them! With the emphasis on the last part! Not exactly one of my strengths, but I’m working on it and I’ve been touched by some of the kind and supportive people whom I’ve met or got to know better this year.

How about you? What have you learned this year?

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