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In what has change into a convention, I’m sharing my year-end evaluate (every week late albeit). For a decade Alyssa and I’ve sat down on the finish of a 12 months to recap the highs and lows.
As a follow, it provides me a ton of gratitude. It’s simple to overlook about all the good issues that occur in a given 12 months.
We’ve got a give attention to the unhealthy, however there’s nearly at all times extra good than unhealthy.
I additionally like to learn different individuals’s year-end evaluations. When you’ve got a 12 months evaluate to share I’d like to learn it within the feedback!
So, with out additional ado. Right here’s my 2023 12 months in Assessment.
Issues That Went Properly in 2023
Visiting Japan
Japan sat on the high of our bucket checklist for years. This 12 months we lastly pulled the set off. TBH, the worth of the airplane tickets stung a bit. Let’s simply say it got here all the way down to touring to Japan or constructing a brand new deck on the again of our home (and the again of our home remains to be deckless).
I’m not mad although. We made recollections. We camped subsequent to Mount Fuji. We sang karaoke in Tokyo. We tried meals we’d by no means had earlier than and met some great individuals.
Additionally, we camped in a 16ft RV for 2 weeks with our two younger children and lived to inform the story (Survivor has nothing on us).
So sure, touring to Japan was a win (the video above is one in every of a number of from our journey).
Our Acquisition of RV Inspiration
We had no concept what we have been in for once we purchased our first web site final December. All we knew was that we wanted to begin recouping our money stream after promoting all our companies.
Because it seems, shopping for a enterprise is way simpler than beginning one. (Extreme understatement.)
Regardless of not engaged on the enterprise for a number of months at a time whereas touring, we grew income by 65% this 12 months and can have the enterprise paid off in Q1 or Q2 of subsequent 12 months. So that’s cool.
All credit score goes to Alyssa and our staff of superior writers and editors. This can proceed to be Alyssa’s focus in 2023 as she’s beloved engaged on it and studying methods to make it thrive.
Perhaps we are going to purchase one other enterprise or two in 2024…
You’ll be able to learn a few of our enterprise updates beneath:
Roadtripping throughout UK
This summer time we took my mother and father to Wales and England. Earlier than this journey they’d by no means actually left the US. We booked an RV for them and spent an unimaginable two weeks road-tripping across the UK countryside.
One spotlight from the journey was visiting the city of Wrexham in Wales. I’m a giant Welcome to Wrexham fan and attending to see the Racecourse and purchase a jersey was superior. It was a visit I’ll at all times cherish. (We ate SO a lot pub meals!).
Signed up for Boundless Life Program (3 months of “world education” in Portugal)
This fall we spent 3 months in Portugal enrolled in a program referred to as Boundless Life. This can be a startup firm targeted on creating world education alternatives for households. They supply a Montessori-style college, coworking area, and lodging in a handful of cities world wide.
We signed up as an experiment. We’ve at all times beloved the concept of spending an prolonged interval in Europe. Nonetheless, with children, it provides a contact of logistics. With Boundless, we felt that it might be a extra sustainable method to journey. The children may make associates in a college setting and we’d have a while to work ourselves. Plus, we’d be in a brand new place to discover for 3 months.
General, it was a constructive expertise. I really feel I may write an enormous quantity concerning the highs and lows of our expertise with Boundless. On the finish of the day, the youngsters thrived and we met plenty of superb individuals who I imagine we’ll have a continued relationship with. It’s one thing we’d attempt once more sooner or later if our visa restrictions/journey plans permit us.
Plus, I acquired to check out browsing for the primary time and found a brand new sport (Padel!) that I beloved.
What Didn’t Go Properly in 2023
Youtube
This 12 months we launched greater than 50 YouTube movies from our RV journeys world wide (New Zealand, Japan, UK). It was by no means meant to be a enterprise or a method to make some huge cash, however we’d hoped to see extra curiosity than we did.
As we sat all the way down to replicate on the 12 months, each Alyssa and I spotted that YouTube wasn’t a match for us transferring ahead. (One thing we truly realized in August, however we had commitments and a set runway to dedicate a full 12 months to Youtube.)
Whereas it was due partially to not getting plenty of traction in viewership, we additionally simply didn’t love the act of filming our travels. Hauling digicam gear together with hauling two children simply added a bunch of stress to our travels. The thought of with the ability to discover new locations with out filming sounded good to us. (Can’t emphasize sufficient that the digicam gear weighed greater than carrying one in every of our youngsters. And Eli is HUGE.)
We dedicated to a 12 months of creating movies and I’m proud that we accomplished that purpose. On the finish of the day, we nonetheless had fairly a couple of individuals tune in to our movies (if you happen to have been one in every of them, thanks!). Plus, we’ve some superb household journey movies I’ll at all times cherish.
However for now, the brand new recollections will go into my iPhone folder and never be uploaded to Youtube :).
Lack of Motion on Our Weblog (aka this web site)
We revealed a handful of recent articles on HeathandAlyssa.com, however general we didn’t do a lot with our website. It’s not like issues went poorly with this website, however I don’t like having issues simply be stagnant. Movement is nice.
One downside we’ve had with Heath and Alyssa is struggling to determine the route of what we wish this web site to be about. For a very long time, it mirrored our journeys in enterprise, life, and journey.
That is advantageous, however our lives have taken some twists and turns. Because it seems, it’s arduous to maintain up with a private weblog if you don’t know what you might be doing along with your life.
In the future we’re documenting a campground construct. The following we’re touring with children. Subsequent, we’re shopping for a weblog on renovating RVs.
These pivots could make it arduous to remain constant on a weblog matter.
So, transferring ahead, we’ve determined to dedicate HeathandAlyssa.com to simply ONE of the MANY pursuits we’ve.
Trying forward, HeathandAlyssa.com can be a useful resource for individuals planning RV journeys world wide.
We’ll be publishing extra articles like:
Of all of the matters we’ve coated, we really feel like serving to individuals make recollections by way of highway journeys is one thing we gained’t tire of. Plus, we’ve realized by way of RV Inspiration the ability of specializing in a single matter.
Should you’ve loved articles like these or wish to journey to a number of the locations we write about, we’d like to have you ever stick round.
Should you’re extra fascinated about our private journey, we’ll nonetheless be sending these kinds of updates to our e mail checklist (simply not publishing them on this web site).
Trying Forward to 2024
We’re nonetheless determining what we wish our 2024 to appear to be, however we do have some plans wanting ahead. Listed below are a couple of private and enterprise goals that we’ve.
Proceed touring as a household.
This summer time we’re planning one other journey to Europe. A couple of months in the past I used to be having breakfast with some associates after they casually talked about they’d additional tickets to see Taylor Swift in Vienna.
With out hesitation, I supplied to purchase them (with out speaking to Alyssa). As a giant Swiftie, Alyssa was bummed she didn’t get to go see her within the US. Once I instructed her I discovered us 4 tickets to Vienna, she was ecstatic.
Once I instructed my pal I’d purchase the tickets he requested, “Are you planning to be in Austria subsequent summer time?”
“I’m now,” I replied.
We’ve 100% gone to nations for much less of a cause than to see Taylor Swift.
All this to say, we invited a few our closest associates and are going to make a giant journey out of it. Earlier than and after we haven’t booked something however are tentatively contemplating UK in the summertime and Spain within the fall.
Ellie and Eli nonetheless aren’t school-age but, so whereas we’ve a window to be extra cellular we’re going to soak it up.
I’m driving the Tuscany Path (once more)
In 2022 I rode a motorcycle throughout Italy with a bunch of associates. I beloved it. It not solely was a bodily problem, however an unimaginable method to discover rural Tuscany. I biked by way of fort cities (even one evening slept in fort ruins), ate the most effective meals of my life, and met some unimaginable individuals.
We biked over 300 miles and in addition the equal in elevation acquire of Mount Everest. Final time we did it in 6 days and with a help van and my purpose this 12 months is to do it unsupported and in 4 days (70 miles per day). PS Should you really feel like becoming a member of me, there are nonetheless a couple of spots left however they’re nearly full!
Under is a video our associates Kara & Nate did from our time on the path.
Writing my first (actual) ebook.
On my to-do checklist yearly since I can keep in mind is to write down a ebook.
One idea that I’ve thought probably the most about for years has been the concept of runway (particularly, emotional runway). I’ve even given a few talks on runway at startup occasions. Folks appear to latch on to the concept.
Should you’ve ever listened to the RVE podcast or learn different articles on this website, you’ve in all probability heard me discuss this idea.
The thought of an emotional runway is one thing that helped a ton whereas constructing Campground Reserving. I hit burnout arduous and needed to give up a bunch of occasions. Determining find out how to keep within the recreation lengthy sufficient and benefit from the course of by extending my runway was enormous in finally seeing an acquisition by way of.
I’m early within the writing course of however my purpose is to publish a ebook this fall (saying this out loud for accountability). I hope to assist different people who find themselves working to deal with massive tasks or startups themselves.
Your 2024 Targets & Tasks
Should you made it this far within the publish, I’d love to listen to what you might have within the works for this 12 months. What are you most enthusiastic about? What are you constructing or engaged on? The place are you touring? Can’t wait to listen to from you.
