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In what has turn into a practice, I’m sharing my year-end overview (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 apply, it offers me a ton of gratitude. It’s straightforward to overlook about the entire good issues that occur in a given 12 months.
We have now a concentrate on the dangerous, however there’s nearly at all times extra good than dangerous.
I additionally like to learn different individuals’s year-end evaluations. When you have a 12 months overview to share I’d like to learn it within the feedback!
So, with out additional ado. Right here’s my 2023 Yr in Evaluation.
Issues That Went Properly in 2023
Visiting Japan
Japan sat on the prime of our bucket record for years. This 12 months we lastly pulled the set off. TBH, the value 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 continues 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 certainly one 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 would have liked to begin recouping our money circulate after promoting all our companies.
Because it seems, shopping for a enterprise is far 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 could 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 group of superior writers and editors. This may proceed to be Alyssa’s focus in 2023 as she’s beloved engaged on it and studying tips to make it thrive.
Possibly we’ll purchase one other enterprise or two in 2024…
You may 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 unbelievable 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 known as Boundless Life. This can be a startup firm targeted on creating world education alternatives for households. They supply a Montessori-style college, coworking house, 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 technique to journey. The youngsters might make associates in a faculty setting and we’d have a while to work ourselves. Plus, we’d be in a brand new place to discover for 3 months.
Total, it was a optimistic expertise. I really feel I might write an enormous quantity in regards to the highs and lows of our expertise with Boundless. On the finish of the day, the children thrived and we met a number of wonderful individuals who I consider 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 supposed to be a enterprise or a technique 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 commit a full 12 months to Youtube.)
Whereas it was due partly to not getting a number 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 concept of having 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 certainly one of our youngsters. And Eli is HUGE.)
We dedicated to a 12 months of creating movies and I’m proud that we accomplished that aim. On the finish of the day, we nonetheless had fairly a couple of individuals tune in to our movies (should you have been certainly one of them, thanks!). Plus, we have now some wonderful 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 latest articles on HeathandAlyssa.com, however total we didn’t do a lot with our web site. It’s not like issues went poorly with this web site, however I don’t like having issues simply be stagnant. Movement is nice.
One drawback we’ve had with Heath and Alyssa is struggling to determine the path of what we would like this web site to be about. For a very long time, it mirrored our journeys in enterprise, life, and journey.
That is tremendous, however our lives have taken some twists and turns. Because it seems, it’s laborious to maintain up with a private weblog while you don’t know what you might be doing together with your life.
Sooner or later 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 laborious to remain constant on a weblog subject.
So, transferring ahead, we’ve determined to dedicate HeathandAlyssa.com to only ONE of the MANY pursuits we have now.
Wanting forward, HeathandAlyssa.com will likely 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 street journeys is one thing we gained’t tire of. Plus, we’ve realized by RV Inspiration the facility of specializing in a single subject.
In the event you’ve loved articles like these or need to journey to a number of the locations we write about, we’d like to have you ever stick round.
In the event you’re extra curious about our private journey, we’ll nonetheless be sending these forms of updates to our e-mail record (simply not publishing them on this web site).
Wanting Forward to 2024
We’re nonetheless determining what we would like our 2024 to appear to be, however we do have some plans trying ahead. Listed here are a couple of private and enterprise goals that we have now.
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 further 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 good friend 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 international locations for much less of a purpose 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 have now 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 motorbike throughout Italy with a gaggle of associates. I beloved it. It not solely was a bodily problem, however an unbelievable technique to discover rural Tuscany. I biked by fortress cities (even one evening slept in fortress ruins), ate the perfect meals of my life, and met some unbelievable individuals.
We biked over 300 miles and likewise the equal in elevation acquire of Mount Everest. Final time we did it in 6 days and with a assist van and my aim this 12 months is to do it unsupported and in 4 days (70 miles per day). PS In the event you really feel like becoming a member of me, there are nonetheless a couple of spots left however they’re nearly full!
Beneath is a video our associates Kara & Nate did from our time on the path.
Writing my first (actual) e-book.
On my to-do record yearly since I can bear in mind is to jot down a e-book.
One idea that I’ve thought essentially 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. Individuals appear to latch on to the concept.
In the event you’ve ever listened to the RVE podcast or learn different articles on this web site, you’ve in all probability heard me speak about this idea.
The concept of an emotional runway is one thing that helped a ton whereas constructing Campground Reserving. I hit burnout laborious and needed to stop a bunch of occasions. Determining the right way to keep within the sport lengthy sufficient and benefit from the course of by extending my runway was large in ultimately seeing an acquisition by.
I’m early within the writing course of however my aim is to publish a e-book this fall (saying this out loud for accountability). I hope to assist different people who find themselves working to deal with huge initiatives or startups themselves.
Your 2024 Objectives & Tasks
In the event you made it this far within the submit, I’d love to listen to what you may 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.
