Another year in the books, marking the end of a long, long chapter.
It's the end of yet another year. Something I've started to become more grateful for is just the very gift of life. I was fortunate to live another year, and it was the most healthy during that time (barring a cold or two). For this, I feel very fortunate.
As I did in my recap post last year, I have categorized my recap from a professional and personal life...
Professional Life was Slow... for Once
I'll get to the reasons why in my personal life update, but I'll just say that for the first time in my entrepreneurial life, things were slow in 2024.
At times this was difficult for me, but there were more moments where I was grateful that I didn't have as much going on. This afforded me the mental space to disconnect and not worry about constantly trying to make a project or vision a reality. It also meant that when I was working with clients, I was more focused on helping them with their situations (and they benefited).
Very Little Outbound Sales
At the end of 2023, I was having free consultation calls with a lot of people for my coaching and mastermind group. This involved a lot of cold outreach on my part, which was fine, but time-consuming and not all the free calls turned into paying clients.
This year, I think I had maybe two free calls in the January timeframe, one in the summer, and that's it.
As you would expect, my pipeline began to dry up, and there was a moment where my mastermind group became lean and mean.
But you know what? I liked it.
First, these folks were the most committed entrepreneurs. It comes as no surprise that they were all seeing success and making more money.
But second, it freed up my personal schedule quite a bit. This was something I needed because of the life events I had going on. Truth be told, I had zero motivation to try to get more clients this year.
Still Landed More Clients
Despite the lack of outreach on my part, I was still able to get some more clients. Sure, the pipeline was dry for long periods of time, but occasionally someone would reach out to me unsolicited, and after a little back-and-forth via email, we'd end up working together.
Overall, I'd say that I have a core group of clients who really get a lot out of my coaching because they listen, brainstorm, and implement the ideas that we discuss. There are others who are less active, but still appreciate the perspective that I can offer regarding their situations.
Finished the BrightGrowth Playbook
It took me way longer than I anticipated, but I finally finished writing the BrightGrowth Playbook. I've given access to everyone that I am currently coaching, and I continue to add content to it as I remember strategies and tactics I've used over the years. I also add insights that I gain from my coaching calls.
I think that next year I'll try selling access, but I'm in no rush to figure that out right now. The content is great, but I find that coupling it with coaching is what really enhances its applicability. In any event, it's a nice mini-project for next year, should I indeed decide to sell it.
Product Only Clients in 2025
I've had the opportunity to coach people across a variety of industries, both in and out of WordPress. Something I learned this year: while I enjoy coaching anyone in the WordPress space, I much prefer coaching product-based companies.
That's not to say I won't coach individuals with service-based offerings, but I will be focusing my outreach next year on founders of WordPress products. It's more fun for me, and seeing as I do coaching for fun, that's of critical importance.
Higher Education
I really enjoy coaching, and I'll continue to do it as long as that is the case. I am, however, becoming curious about other ways to spend my time professionally.
I've always had an interest in academia, so I recently reached out to my undergraduate and graduate school to share my story and desire to be a guest lecturer. Both replied with interest, so I'll be having some conversations as to how that could look in the new year.
I hope something works out. It could be a good way to “dip my toe” into the industry. If I like it, then I may pursue it more formally.
An Eventful Personal Life
From a personal standpoint, this year was good, but wow, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster of expectations.
Before getting into all of it, I'll start off by saying that I feel incredibly fortunate to live the life that we do. Despite the challenges we've faced, Lorena and I are both healthy. That in itself is arguably the most important thing, and it can't be overstated.
Which is actually a good introduction to the first, and most important, win of this year from a personal standpoint...
Lorena's Graves' Disease is in Remission
This was the biggest win of 2024.
Lorena was diagnosed with Graves' disease in May 2023, and it was quite the mental and physical battle for her. One thing that she did not want to do was take medicine for the rest of her life, but this was what every single doctor told us was necessary.
To her credit, Lorena refused to accept this. She started researching more about how the food we eat can have a profound impact on our health. She talked to nutritionists, dieticians, homeopathic doctors, and more. She tried some things, and when they didn't work out, she kept searching.
I'll write about it in more detail in the new year, but she finally landed on a whole food protocol designed specifically for people with thyroid issues. Well, it worked! She's in remission, and taking zero medicine for it!
Lorena Now a U.S. Citizen
Lorena has held a U.S. Green Card since she was a child. When we got married, we talked about the possibility of her becoming a U.S. citizen. Even before we met, she had always felt very comfortable with her life in the United States, both personally and professionally.
Well, in December 2024, she took her oath and officially became a U.S. citizen! It was a really cool event with over 1,300 people in attendance. The top five countries represented, in order:
- Mexico 🇲🇽
- Vietnam 🇻🇳
- South Korea 🇰🇷
- China 🇨🇳
- Philippines 🇵🇭
The event took about four hours total, with the actual ceremony lasting about 40 minutes. With over 1,300 new citizens, there was a lot of family in attendance!
We Finally Moved
We bought our new home in May 2024, but didn't move until this month (December). There were a variety of reasons for this — flooding and water damage in both homes, being unable to sell the existing home, and design work in the new home taking longer than expected.
We finally just set a date and went for it. We live in Culver City now, and we're loving the conveniences and lifestyle. We live on a peaceful, tree-lined street that is only a five-minute walk to downtown. This means we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, various gyms, and activities (my daily walk to the cafe is becoming a favorite activity).
It's about 15 minutes away from the beach by car, which is a tad longer than my two minutes in San Clemente, but that's the only tradeoff I feel that I've had to make.
I can't wait to get involved in the LA area. I'm already enjoying same-day Amazon deliveries!
Fewer Trips than Normal
The beginning of the year was busier with trips due to two weddings, but then we had to cut back on the travel because of the house situation. That lasted about six months longer than we anticipated, and it really hindered our ability to go anywhere.
This year, we were fortunate to go to:
Most of our travel was for family, which is definitely not a bad thing. We will try to go to more places in 2025, including more long weekends driving around California. There is so much to see here, and we've only scratched the surface.
Spanish on Point
I haven't written much about my journey in Spanish lately, but probably because since I've reached fluency, I feel like I've just been slowly getting more solid in my conversational comprehension.
If I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure if I have the drive to get to that “next” level. I can say pretty much everything now. Maybe not eloquently, but it works. I'm also able to follow most conversations.
Currently, I listen to a Spanish news podcast a few times a week, take one to two private lessons with a tutor, and speak to Lorena and her family in Spanish. And now that I'm in the LA area, I speak Spanish with anyone who is willing. The more I just strike up conversations, the more confidence I get, and I always find myself learning something new.
All that said, the best way for me to improve at this point would be to read more. I'm terrible at making time to read in English, let alone Spanish. But, according to my tutor, reading is where it's at for my level. I'll make this a goal for Q1 next year.
Started Regular Mindfulness
This year, I started to be more deliberate in taking time to quiet my mind with mindfulness techniques. I've taken time to reflect upon this here on my blog. I find that even 10 minutes can leave me feeling more calm and less controlled by emotions. It has helped me to better recognize and live in the moment. I highly recommend it if it's not something you've done in the past.
I'll absolutely continue this practice. I'm trying to gain more inner balance and peace. So far, this has worked well.
Feeling Good about 2025
Something I've learned in my life is that I need to stop trying to predict the future. So with that in mind, I'll just say that I am optimistic about 2025.
I'm most looking forward to creating a new life in Culver City — exploring the neighborhood, hopefully making some friends, getting involved in various activities, among other things. If we're lucky, we'll throw some trips in there as well, and our health will continue down the right path.
Here's to making the next year the most eventful one yet!
#personal
