Rebecca Hoffman: Giving thanks for a pretty amazing 2024

The fourth quarter is always such a busy time. My clients are all working to end the year big and start the new year strong.

There are so many projects to be completed. It’s dizzying.

I like to pause and reflect on the year and offer thanks for the things that made it good.

This year, like every year, I am exceptionally grateful to my clients who entrust me with their creative branding needs. They are a diverse group of professionals who utilize my skills and that of my professional network to achieve their goals. Together, we saw our coordinated creative efforts reach new heights. I’m not kidding when I say this is thrilling.

This year my practice celebrated its 15th anniversary — I honestly don’t know how I am in year 15 of creative marketing consulting. Time flies when one is having fun. As much as I’m an expert in creative things, I remain a beginner in so many ways. This polarity is powerful and keeps me magnetically focused on learning more every day.

I’m grateful for artificial intelligence, but not in the ways that you might think. Mostly, I find AI to be worthwhile as a passive entity with which I ideate about certain words or phrases or when I need a random point of view. This summer I had a little fun and asked ChatGPT for the best ranch dressing and then I taste-tested with friends to determine if it really was good. It was. I asked it to write a short classic soccer chant for my son’s team, it did. And sometimes I’ve asked ChatGPT for a better way to phrase a sentence or to suggest interesting words when I need new input. AI gave me just enough to sort out occasional writerly conundrums.

Worshipping AI, as many people do, also is dangerous territory, for it is people who made this year worthwhile. From my creative partners who ensure print collateral is perfect and on point to the team who design and manufacture swag, to the wildly creative and dependable partners in communication design with whom I work year-round, I simply could not do it without you.

This November, I’ll give a little thanks to the machines for their role in all of this, but I sincerely, truly and completely appreciate the humans who see the nuance in our collaborations and ensure that everything is just right. Your hearts and minds are expansive, and we all benefit from your dedication.

This year nature had a more prominent role in my work life. I found myself contemplating projects and creative complexity from varied workspaces with tremendous views of Lake Michigan, bald eagles in trees, the Pacific Ocean and big, bustling cities. In every instance, the opportunity for creative growth was profound and moved me toward goals of writing, designing and project management.

I guess you can say I’m grateful to have an office with a view and the possibility of remote work where I can modify my view again and again. Perspective is indeed everything. And when I wasn’t working, I learned to create a vegetable garden and cultivating dahlias. Every month nature delivered in full and drove my creative perspective.

And lastly, I’m grateful to my dear friends, near and far, you know who you are. And to my family, this all is possible thanks to your unwavering support and encouragement!

Cheers to you for Thanksgiving. Take a moment to consider what you are grateful for. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

• Rebecca Hoffman is the founder and principal of Good Egg Concepts, a strategic communication and brand marketing consulting practice serving clients across the Chicago area and nationally.