Ah, the end of year post. What to do, lah? Wax lyrical about the past? Or, make promises about the future?

After the time we’ve had in 2007 (three deaths, multiple hospitals stays, etc), I’ll go with the safe bet. The past.

Not that the future doesn’t look grand and all. But as my knuckles are blistered from knocking on wood, here goes …

For those starting out in business, BoDo Nibblets is an excellent series to share.

Why? Because after each subject (brilliantly written I’ll quickly point out), follows tips from designers experienced with running their own businesses. They are aptly named The BoDo Experience.

The tips are based on valuable hindsight. Meaning, the posts are full of confessions. Real truths on where we screwed up.

The subjects covered in the series are - Are You Ready? (to start your own company), Taking it Personally (as in “do you have the personality it takes to run a company?”), Clients, Oh My! (do you have enough clients?), Where’s the Money, Honey? (do you have enough money?), Location, Location, Location (online, off, where are you going to roost your bits?), How Equipped Are You? (advice on what you’ll need to survive - the basics and a bit of the toys) and Who’s (ac)Counting now? (yes, the dreaded “keeping of the books” post).

A good share for the start as well as the ending for 2007. Right?

But before I close out the year, I’d like to thank the generous (and patient) authors who made BoDo possible this year:

Jay Wickham | Ask Jay (and team member): Jay is the lady who fixes what I break. Often. And everywhere. Not just here. It’s a good thing she’s also one of my closest friends. I owe. Oh my, I owe.

Neil Tortorella | Marketing Minute (and team member): My right-hand man and best bud. Neil’s such a prolific writer, I swear he compiles copy in his sleep. Or at the very least, he writes copy in my sleep.

Alina Hagen | Alina’s In-sights: One of the sweetest pal-gals to have around. Behind the scenes she’s calmed the storms. All while supporting my wild projects. Including this one.

Tom Dyer | Dyer Straits: Tom’s a truly funny guy and lovely chap. Check him out. Funny and so very bright, I predict great things for his future.

Tamar Wallace | Out of the Bedroom: Tamar was my number two when setting up the NO!SPEC campaign, and partner in crime during the Seattle Meet. Tamar has since branched out to take on more challenges. You go girl!

Mark McGuinness | Creative Coach: Professional and British-clever, Mark’s free ebook (created from the Time Management for Creative People series here at BoDo), is at 20,000 downloads and counting. Wow. (Get your free copy here).

Erin Harris | Erin Reviews: Studiously serious, Erin brought out the best with her review of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide. Warning. She’s gathered in an incredible book list for 2008. And she’s not afraid to use it.

Jess Sand | The Sustainable Studio: Jess is in my green consciousness. She keeps me honest. She also keeps me looking for ways to reduce my footprint on this world. I’m afraid I forgot to ask her about the new MacBook Pro. Darn.

Dr. Tammy Lenski | Creative Conversations: Like Neil, Tammy has taken on a full time inhouse position. With her new back-to-back schedule, her appearances here will be sporadic. But, I have no doubt at their quality and usefulness.

Josh Jeffryes | Cube Two: Josh comes in with his matter-of-fact look at the life of both a former business owner and inhouser. Handy to have both hindsight and foresight at the same time. Way to go Josh!

Stefan Bean | Bean’s Biz: Stefan has taken on a chunk with running his father’s former design business. When he has time, he swoops in to share his process and progress. And sometimes where he went wrong. As mentioned, I’m a fan of sharing what went wrong.

Dave Carlton | The Agency Route: Dave is new to BoDo and comes loaded with experience. His Top 20 Questions To Ask When Starting Your Own Design Agency is a promise of things to come.

Oh, and one more heart-felt “thank you” goes out to Joanna Young. She knows …

Well, that’s it for 2007. With four hours to go before chiming in the New Year (Thai time), I’m now off to foof before opening up my new MacBook Pro’s iChat. Shocking what they’ve done with the new Macs. I mean, there’s a camera pointing at me. At all times. Guess there’s no more of that working in the jammies. Right? Right?

Happy New Year everyone. May 2008 be an amazing year for all.

And 2008? Just bring it on …

Catherine (cat) Wentworth | Project Manager
Creative Latitude | NO!SPEC | BoDo team