Every Business Milestone Deserves A Joyful Celebration

When I turned 21, friends threw me a surprise birthday party.

My birthday twin and I were on a double date when our car “broke down,” and we had to go back to campus. We walked into Princeton’s Theater Intime, our usual hang-out, and found our friends dressed up in black and white, with a flotilla of black and white balloons hanging from the ceiling. It was a hell of a party.

It also totally freaked me out.

I’d never had a birthday party when I was growing up, and I was overwhelmed by the generosity and attention. I did not know how to let such a gift land, and I am sure I acted weird🤣. The party taught me why celebrations are so magical and crucial for a well-lived life. 

Business milestones are also magical and celebration-worthy. July 28 was the day we put our first dollar to work at Daruma, the money management firm I founded in 1995, 12 years after that unforgettable birthday. Every year we honored our first client, the woman who put us in business by giving us $1.5 million to manage. She believed in supporting women, and I’ve paid it forward ever since. 

Today my first business coaching client has just landed her first interior design client. She is giddy with excitement, and so am I. There is no sweeter feeling than closing your first client and marking the day you brought your idea into reality. 

Celebrate every business milestone. Cultivate the joy in your creation!

Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons