That's a wrap. BCS in 2019.

If we were to sum up our year in a playlist, featured songs might include Rihanna’s “Work”, Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)”, and pretty much any song by Lizzo.

To say we had a lot on our plates at Brainchild Studios this year would be an understatement. While 2019 plodded along, we set goals, achieved them and put it on repeat.

In 2019, the way we operated changed through the seasons.

As many of you know, not all quarters are equal. Though this can be challenging for a growing agency, it provided us the opportunity to work with a group of new, amazingly talented team members. Over the course of 2019, we had nine new hires, including our first COO! On top of building our team, we provided new benefits including: quarterly continuing education bonuses, Lynda.com access, a 401k match, and we’re hoping to reach our financial performance goals to deliver on an end of year bonus.

We were fortunate to work with brands who have been with us for years and this year we also had the pleasure of working with nine, new clients! Check out some of the amazing case studies we lead to help our clients grow their businesses. With these new opportunities, Brainchild saw a 37% increase in revenue growth in 2019 from 2018 and our profit increased by 85% year over year as well. We are excited to set even higher goals for next year, aiming for 25% revenue growth and increased profit goals!

While our team works hard all year round, we acknowledge the need for a little rest and relaxation every once in a while. Thanks to our incredible Executive Assistant, we successfully hosted our second, Annual Summer Retreat and look forward to our first, very much earned, Team Spa Day in December.

And our team members aren’t the only ones ringing in 2020 with fresh faces. In 2019 we launched a new website for Brainchild Studios using our Express Website theme and includes all new photos from our first-ever BCS-branded photoshoot. We've been wanting to do this shoot for three years and it was such as blast to finally bring that to fruition! And also maybe check out our new nonprofit marketing, social media, and email marketing starter packages we launched to help small businesses and nonprofits get a leg up on their digital marketing game.

Our 2019 Top Five

While we probably wouldn’t share our top listened to songs of 2019, for fear of embarrassment, we are more than happy to share our top five awards. We are humbled to be recognized by numerous organizations for making an impact on local and global scales and our top five, in no particular order, include:

1. Stevie Awards - Women-Led/Women Owned Company of the Year (Silver)
2. Stevie Awards - Achievement in Work/Life Balance (Silver)
3. Wisconsin Inno - Wisconsin’s 50 on Fire
4. 414digital - Trailblazer
5. Bizstarts Honors - Inspirational Entrepreneur

Our 2019 #1

We’re proud to take home our top five, but winning a gold Stevie for Best Business Services Company of the Year with less than 10 employees is our number one. Our CEO and COO traveled to New York City in November to accept the prestigious award. Brainchild was recognized as the top organization in this category, out of over 1500 submissions from 25 different nations and we have our badass team to thank for getting us there.

When it came to the clients we worked with, boarders seemed to disappear.

Not only did we work with several national clients in 2019, our CEO and Director of Customer Research spoke at national conferences on the topic of marketing to Millennial Moms, a subject we also wrote three whitepapers on, showcasing the proprietary research we conducted throughout the year. We look forward to more opportunities like this to share our industry knowledge.

As the new year approaches, our exec team is working diligently to ensure our team is set up for even more success in 2020, by streamlining internal processes and making it easier than ever for clients to buy our products and services.

We’re excited to venture further into working with nonprofits supporting women and children, an industry we’ve worked hard to successfully establish ourselves in throughout 2019. In 2020 we will be launching a non-profit of our own, Brainchild Foundation. In an effort to walk the walk, Brainchild Foundation will provide funding to support women in business and education to inspire women and girls in entrepreneurship. Our vision is for women and girls to have the confidence, resources, and opportunities to build the futures they dream for themselves.

Is this where we drop the mic?

Thank you to all of our team members, partners and clients who made 2019 such an incredible year. We look forward to the tracks of 2020, hoping they bring even half the energy Lizzo did in 2019.