Reflections on the first year in business

Today is the anniversary of a turning point in my life; the day I was let go from a contract at a large company and made the decision to finally start the zen kitchen. It's been an interesting year, and I've learned a tremendous amount about myself, being a designer and being a business owner in the process.

Some of the things I've learned:
1) When I truly want something, I don't hold back until I get it.
2) I can be very strategic when I want to be (and very lazy when I want to be as well)
3) Working from home isn't as fun as I always thought it would be. However, it's insanely rewarding in a way that working for another company never was.

Positives about the first year in business:
1) Although there were some rough/scary spots for a while there, I did very well for a first year in business; my earnings this year are significantly more than last year's.
2) Within about three months, I was able to start making the majority of my income from my own clients instead of depending on staffing agencies to get me work; within eight months, I pretty much didn't need agencies at all.
3) The move in September allowed a better laid-out space, which allowed me not only to take on better projects, but to take on an intern as well.
4) Said intern (Madelyn) has been terrific; she still has a lot to learn, but it looks safe to turn her into a junior designer next year.

Some challenges for 2007:
1) Keeping the apartment and studio organized when I'm busy is proving challenging; and the resulting clutter leads to problems at work. Must stay on top of that.
2) I'm seriously my own worst client. I have to keep in mind that projects for the studio are just as important as projects for paying clients, as the internal projects are what keep the client projects coming in.
3) Since I want to start looking towards expansion by 2008 (I'd like to hire an office manager, a project manager, and another mid-level designer, as well as building up my contacts for special projects: Flash folks, programmers, etc.), budgeting carefully and keeping my savings growing is going to be critical.
4) At some point, I need to find a work/life balance that actually works for me. One that involves things like exercise, cooking more than I eat out, and relaxing with a good book now and again.

Some things to look forward to:
1) After a very busy year, I finally am taking a week-long vacation in Florida.
2) I think I've finally figured out what I want the zen kitchen's new site to look like; now I just have to get to building it.
3) Two weeks before the new year, I already have a potential project lined up, and I have two other hot leads to get in touch with in January.
4) Overall, the forecast looks good for my business. Considering I didn't really know anything when I started it, I think that's pretty good.

So that's really all I have to share right now. What have you learned this year? What are you looking forward to in 2007?