Happy New Year!  It’s 2020, and at Plan A we are rounding the bend to our first 10 years in business –  and I am so grateful.  As I reflect and think back to everything that has happened in the past year and since this journey started, I can’t help but become overwhelmed with gratitude.

With 2019’s enormous learning opportunities and never-ending growth catapulting us into 2020, the biggest take away is that gratitude is powerful. Living it and breathing it is good for the brain, for the soul, for business, for relationships, and for overall happiness.   

Over my years in business, I’ve learned how important expressing gratitude is. And while gratitude may be at the top of everybody’s mind during the holiday season, I think it’s very important to make that mindful decision to incorporate it into your business culture all year round. 

2019 was a year of trials, tribulations, game-changing decisions and leaning into discomfort. I am not the same person I was at the beginning of  2019 and the truth is I wouldn’t want to be. I am grateful for who I have become this year by embracing discomfort and choosing to grow through every experience.  I couldn’t have gotten here on my own – as every entrepreneur knows – it really does take a village. And boy, do I have a village!

Today I want to celebrate all that I am grateful for in 2019 – which will inevitably help us become the business we need to be in 2020.

Today I am grateful for:

1. My family. At the end of every single day, they are the people who celebrate my successes, support my failures and remind me that while my work is important, that work and life balance is equally important. They are the reason why I love what I do and without them this journey would not be nearly as fun. I am blessed with a small family and our love is mighty.
2. My team. We all know that behind every successful entrepreneur is a dynamic and committed team that has their back. This is no different in our office. My own team proves this point day after day and I would not be able to do this, or want to do this, without each and every one of them. Moving into 2020, with all the exciting opportunities ahead, I know that I have the best team of people we can find on my team.
3. The A Team. Our mighty pool of healthcare professionals are the main reason we have been able to bring our vision across the province and into two other provinces. We are and have always been exclusively populated with the best people we can find and it’s these people that have helped us to show our sector that we are here to help. I am so grateful to these people and our goal is to continue to give them a job that they can be excited about. 
4. Our partners. Our LTC partners have truly embraced our strategy and work with us to ensure we can give them the best back up plan possible. It takes work, on both ends, as well as open communication – and our best partners are there with us, each and every week. I love what we do and who we do it with and I am grateful to have had the chance to work with them in 2019 and look forward to continuing servicing them and learning together in 2020.
5. Our Plan A Owners. Plan A is a big can of worms – and there is no way we could do what we’re doing across the country without our dedicated owners. Our owners are made up of people who believe in what we do, who understand that integrity in our sector may be one of our most important virtues, that there’s no way around the hard work that goes into building our incredible pool and who know that flying in formation is the only way for us to help as many homes out as possible. I have learned a lot from them and I hope they learn from us. I look forward to seeing what we can do, together, in 2020!
6. My Coach. My personal energy coach has given me a space for invaluable personal development over the past 9 years. Through coaching, I have developed new strategies for communication, I have a sounding board and the support I need to make challenging decisions, I’ve learned to accept responsibility 100% of the time, I know what my strengths are, and I am excited to develop my weaknesses. Coaching is a personal and professional game changer and I am grateful for the time I spend with my coach. 
7. Our professional team. Lawyers, bankers, accountants, insurance agents, bookkeepers, marketing execs, and more…these are the people who help us to create a seamless franchise across the country and who ensure we are doing it the right way, all of the time. In any stressful situation, I can text these people at any time of the day and get a response. These people are crucial to Plan A’s success and they consistently help us to become the world-class business we aspire to.
8. Our business challenges. Without them, there would be no opportunities for growth. By embracing them we’ve learned how to overcome inevitable setbacks more quickly and we have positioned Plan A for long term success. We don’t hope for things to get easier, we hope that we become smarter, more resilient and more innovative as a result of challenges.
9. Grief.  At the end of 2018, I lost my dad suddenly and unexpectedly. My dad was one of my favourite people, my biggest support and one of my best friends. Being a very busy business owner and going through one of the most difficult times of my life, I found myself struggling to keep my head in the game. So I did the only thing I knew how to do –  I leaned into my grief. I spent some time alone. I questioned my own mortality. And I let myself feel whatever I needed to feel. I feel that by doing this, it helped me become the business owner I needed to become. I feel that I am entering 2020 softer, quieter, more accepting, and more loving than I have ever been. Grief helped me grow into a person I wasn’t before and while it was one of the most painful parts of 2019, I wouldn’t change the lessons that came with it.

Make gratitude part of your attitude – gracious interaction with the people in your organization, embracing difficult moments with trust, and expressing gratitude outwardly and often all go a long way to make you and your company thrive.

With 2020 here and ready to be written, what are you grateful for?

~ Sheri Tomchick, President of Plan A Long Term Care Staffing & Recruitment