Category: General

Welcome to Annual Review number 10! Ten! TEN!!

Ten years in business. Ten years working for myself. As I write this, I still can’t quite believe that it’s been ten years.

In some ways it feels like only yesterday that I was wearing a suit to an office on K-Street in Washington DC, and yet, also, it feels like I’ve been doing this for a really long time now.

I want to go back and give my naive 2015 self a quick pep talk and say “it’s hard but it works out ok!”, when I was flailing around after quitting my accounting job.

Here’s a look at 2024:

2024 Highlights

The work highlight of 2024 was launching my new membership:

⭐️ Sheets Insiders ⭐️

I worked hard to launch this in September and feel like the work over the past few months has been some of the best I’ve ever done.

We’re up to 414 members now and have covered data visualization techniques, drop-down menus in detail, analytical functions, the new Google Sheet Tables in detail, user interface with Sheets elements, and, of course, AI.

And, we have a 3-part Apps Script beginner workshop coming this January (it’s not too late to join!).

In addition to live workshops, members enjoy an exclusive weekly newsletter, packed with Sheets tutorials, news, and templates.

Interested? Join today and get instant access to the full archives!

Google Sheets Tips Newsletter

I sent 44 Google Sheets Tips newsletters this year, starting with #285 in January and ending with #328 in December. I really enjoy putting the weekly newsletter together and I’m still blown away that it goes out to nearly 55,000 people every week. 🤯

If you’re one of those folks, thank you for your support!

And if you’re not, and you’d like to level up your Sheets skills with a bite-size tutorial each week, you can sign up here.

Website

This year I published 14 new and updated posts on this website. My favorite posts to research and write were:

Play-It-Through Chess Game in a Single Google Sheets Formula

Formula Pie Charts in Google Sheets

Website traffic declined again this year, following the trend from last year.

I think there are a combination of factors at play, including: 1) more competition from other Google Sheets sites, 2) competition for search traffic generally from AI chatbots, and 3) younger audiences consuming content in video form, via YouTube or social media.

YouTube

I focused on my YouTube channel for the first few months of 2024 and saw good results, finally reaching 10k subscribers! After this initial burst of energy at the beginning of the year, things slowed down and I’ve only had minimal growth since then.

Google Partnership

One of the highlights of every year is working closely with the Google Sheets team to provide feedback on new features and this year was no exception.

I was also honored to continue as a Google Developer Expert and be part of the Champions Innovator program for another year. 🙏

Craft & Commerce Conference

This was so fun!

Working with AI Tools

It’s crazy how fast these tools are improving, although there are signs those gains are slowing down. But what’s really crazy is how good these tools are getting at doing my job! Yikes 😉

From generating formulas, explaining concepts, writing code, or even drafting blog posts, gen AI can seemingly do it all now.

It’s very clear that what has worked incredibly well for me the past 10 years will not carry me forward for another 10. I’m okay with this though.

One of the things I love most about my job is all the learning I get to do. I’ve always considered adaptability one of my strengths and I’m excited to jump into new technologies this year.

Obviously, AI will be a big focus of my work for 2025 (mostly in a spreadsheet context of course).

Non-Work Highlights

Although a foot injury slowed me down for the second half of 2024, I have many wonderful memories of adventures with family, friends, and solo, to savor from last year.

The 2024 adventure highlights included:

• A 4-day trek in the Julian Alps of Slovenia with my wife
• A 5-day solo hike on the Appalachian Trail in March
• Progressing the sport of bike SUP! I ride to the river put-in, paddleboard downriver, then ride home 😉
• A backpack along the AT with Lexi and our boys to celebrate our 9-yo’s birthday
• Wonderful walks in the UK with my parents and brother, when our trips home lined up
• An awesome 3-day packrafting course in Colorado with Four Corners Guides
• A 23 mile day hike along the Appalachian Trail with friends over summer
• Doing the Harpers Ferry 3-peaks again (~24 miles, 4.5k ft vert), via bike-and-hike with a friend
• Paddleboard adventures with the family on a new lake (Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia)
• Getting started on my birding journey and participating in an amazing bird + coding course with Jer Thorp
• Picking up regular swimming again, when I take my son to his team practice

2024 Challenges

Another lap around the sun and 2024 is in the rear view mirror.

The challenges of 2023 — creative burnout, feeling like I’m running on a treadmill balancing work, parenting and life — continued to affect me in 2024.

I realized in the spring that I didn’t have the enthusiasm for another Google Sheets course, and it took me a while to figure out what my next step was. I was sick for a while in the spring too (a rough cold and then a cough that rumbled on for months), which didn’t help.

A break, participating as a student in an online course myself, and a change of approach (shifting from courses to membership has helped).

I’m looking forward to starting afresh this year and delivering consistent, high-quality teaching through the Sheets Insiders membership.

Looking Forward To 2025

2025 Work Goals

Similar to the past few years, I have a couple of annual goals that I strive for:

1. Send my weekly Google Sheets newsletter every week, except for holidays and a short summer break
2. Hit 60k newsletter subscribers

I also have internal (non-public) goals for my business, around revenue and subscriber numbers for the Sheets Insiders membership. I want to grow the membership in 2025.

Other 2025 Goals

My 2025 non-work goals are similar to my 2024 ones, mostly to get out for lots of outdoor adventures with friends and family:

1. Have another healthy year
2. A C&O canal bike tour with my boys
3. Get fit on the bike again (and do a 200 mile double century ride!)
4. Join a hiking or biking club to meet more people to go adventuring with
5. An adventure trip with my brother
6. A trip home to see family in the UK
7. Weekly brainstorming hike with my wife
8. Read 20 books

Thank You!

Thank you for your support on this journey.

A huge thank you if you read my newsletter, have joined Sheets Insiders, or taken one of my online courses. I hope they’re helpful to you!

Best wishes for 2025!

Previous years

1. 2023 In Review And A Look Forward To 2024
2. 2022 In Review And A Look Forward To 2023
3. 2021 In Review And A Look Forward To 2022
4. 2020 In Review And A Look Forward To 2021
5. 2019 In Review And A Look Forward To 2020
6. 2018 In Review And A Look Forward To 2019
7. 2017 In Review And A Look Forward To 2018
8. 2016 In Review And A Look Forward To 2017
9. 2015 In Review And A Look Forward To 2016

This is Annual Review number nine!

That makes this the longest career stint I’ve had. Woohoo! 🎉 (Before this, I was a Forensic Accountant for eight years.)

2023 was a great year.

Of course, it had its ups and downs, but my family and I are all healthy and safe, which is all that matters.

I was happier, healthier, and fitter than at any time since my kids were born. The year was a success from a work point of view too, although my revenue was down slightly on last year. Most importantly, I’ve rediscovered some of my mojo that I lost during the pandemic.

I’ll dive into all of this below, but let me begin with a review of my 2023 goals:

Did I Meet My 2023 Goals?

My explicit work goals for 2023 were:

1. Create 2 new video courses – Yes, I launched Beginner Apps Script and The AI Playbook for Google Sheets
2. Send my Google Sheets Tips newsletter every Monday – Yes,I sent 50 editions
3. Hit 70k newsletter subscribers – Close! I reached 65,110.

What about non-work goals? Here’s how it went:

• Have another healthy year and get fit – Yes!!
• Century bike ride (100-mile ride) – Yes, at last! After missing this goal for the past few years, I made it a priority this year. I did 97 miles, 110 miles, and 142 mile rides.
• Multi-day adventures locally – yes, I managed a handful of local, overnight bike tours.
• C&O canal tour with my boys – no, we didn’t manage it this year. Bumping this one to next year.
• 25 nights camping – I managed 11 nights camping.
• Weekly brainstorming hike with my wife – sometimes, but it’s hard to do consistently.
• Read 20 books – I managed to read 15 books.

2023 Highlights

1) New Courses

In early April, I launched my Beginner Apps Script course:

It’s a comprehensive course designed as a fun and practical way to learn Apps Script.

In early October, I launched The AI Playbook for Google Sheets:

2) Google Sheets Tips Newsletter

I had another consistent year sending out 50 editions of my weekly Google Sheets Tips newsletter. The latest newsletter went out to 52,280 people.

If you’re one of those folks, thank you for your support!

And if you’re not, and you’d like to level up your Sheets skills with a bite-size tutorial each week, you can sign up here.

3) Community & Partnerships

Although I didn’t attend any in-person events this year, there were still many meaningful partnerships and friendships through the year.

And I’m truly honored to be part of the Google Developer Expert community for another year 🙏

4) Website

It was always going to be tough to follow last year’s big push on web content. I published 12 posts this year (not including this one):

This year, my favorite posts to research and write were:

• Bullet Chart in Google Sheets with Sparklines and Named Functions

• Join The Dots Drawing In Google Sheets

• What AI Can Do For You As A Google Sheets User. Is The Hype Justified?

Traffic to the website is still strong, but it has slowly declined through the year. Some of that is probably due to publishing fewer posts. Competition is also a lot higher now than when I started, and improves every year.

(December is not showing a full month of stats.)

5) Sponsorships and Diversifying Revenue

Over 90% of my revenue still comes from my courses, but I’m working to diversify and increase the share from a handful of other sources.

Newsletter sponsorships is up and running and going well. I’m looking forward to building on this foundation in 2024. If you’re a brand looking to reach an audience of 50k+ professionals, you can sponsor a newsletter here.

Referrals: I don’t do any consulting work myself anymore, but I have a great relationship with my friends at Set & Forget. I’m delighted to continue this partnership into 2024 and have no hesitation in recommending them as your partner to help you realize your Workspace and automation goals. If you have a project in mind, I’m happy to make a referral for you. Start by completing this expression of interest form.

Affiliate income: The smallest slice of the pie, but it runs on autopilot. I’ll keep it going in 2024 and see what happens!

6) Non-work highlights

Looking back across the whole year, 2023 was a good one! Lots of memories that I’ll treasure for life.

My boys are growing up fast and I’m enjoying parenting more now that we can do a lot more things together. We’ve been hiking, biking, paddle-boarding, and rock climbing this year. At home, I’ve enjoyed countless hours of football (soccer) with my youngest son. And biking, lego, and robotics with my eldest.

I worked hard on the bike this year. For the first time since my kids were born, I felt like I reversed the slow middle-aged decline in fitness levels. Remarkably, I’m finishing the year fitter than I began it. I haven’t been able to say that for a decade. And it feels good.

We did lots of traveling as a family this year, both locally and further afield.

Travel and adventure highlights from the year:

• A visit to Colby College in Maine, for my wife’s college reunion
• An incredible family trip to Wyoming, when we hiked in the Tetons and stayed on a cowboy ranch
• A personal trip to the UK to visit home and spend some quality time with my parents
• During this same trip, I also spent an amazing 3 days in Snowdonia climbing all the 3,000 ft peaks with my great friend Alistair
• A few overnight bike trips on the C&O canal (January, March, May, and October)
• Doing enough biking to finally have the necessary fitness to tackle some century rides again: 97 miles, 110 miles, and 142 mile.
• A longer 6-day bike tour on the C&O canal and GAP trails this fall
• Lots of climbs of my local mountains: Loudoun Heights and Maryland Heights

2023 Challenges

It’s said that your 30’s and 40’s are your busiest years. You’re raising young children and are in the peak years of your career.

I’m in my early 40’s and I can confirm this is true. 😂

My biggest challenge continues to be trying to balance everything. It feels like I can never give enough attention to each different part of my life. It’s like the spinning plates game. You dash from plate to plate giving each a spin. Enough attention (and momentum) to keep it spinning until you can return.

This year I had a small dip in revenue for the business. This is not a fun feeling after seeing consistent growth for the past few years. There were two main causes: 1) my energy was elsewhere at times this year, and 2) my Black Friday sale underperformed compared to my forecast.

So I’m looking to create fresh new courses in 2024 as well as grow my audience.

Looking Forward To 2024

2024 Work Goals

Each year, I seem to set fewer and fewer goals. I think I’ve come to realize that though I can predict what Q1 might look like, the rest of the year is something of a mystery. Therefore, I’ll set some early-year goals and keep the rest of the year open!

Having said that, there are two annual goals that are somewhat predictable and in my control, that I will shoot for:

1. Send 50 editions of my weekly Google Sheets newsletter
2. Hit 80k newsletter subscribers

Next, those near-term goals for Q1, including a new course or two:

1. I’m considering a Google Sheets Design Course teaching you how to make your Sheets look professional
2. I want to create a Data Visualization course for Google Sheets
3. Implementing a better onboarding system for new subscribers
4. SEO push to claw back some lost traffic
5. Explore new growth strategies in 2024: I think this will be a big push on YouTube! ▶️

Beyond that, I’m sure that AI will continue to play a big role in my work. In fact, I’m certain that I’ll be creating lots more Sheets + AI tutorials in 2024.

Other 2024 Goals

1. Have another healthy year and get fitter.
2. A C&O canal bike tour with my boys.
3. A 200 mile double century ride.
4. 25 nights camping, with at least 1 night per calendar month.
5. An adventure trip with my brother.
6. A trip home to see family in the UK.
7. Weekly brainstorming hike with my wife.
8. Read 15 books.

Thank You!

Thank you for your support on this journey. A big thank you for taking my courses and reading the weekly newsletters and articles. I hope they’ve been helpful to you!

Best wishes to you all for 2024! I’m excited to see what 2024 brings. See you around.

Previous years

• 2022 In Review And A Look Forward To 2023
• 2021 In Review And A Look Forward To 2022
• 2020 In Review And A Look Forward To 2021
• 2019 In Review And A Look Forward To 2020
• 2018 In Review And A Look Forward To 2019
• 2017 In Review And A Look Forward To 2018
• 2016 In Review And A Look Forward To 2017
• 2015 In Review And A Look Forward To 2016

This is Annual Review number eight!

Eight years working for myself. That’s as long as my first career as a forensic accountant. On balance, I prefer this one.

2022 was my most successful year as a creator. I beat last year’s revenue, sent my newsletter every week, grew my email list to > 50k, and published more content than ever before on this site.

That being said, 2022 was also a strange year. A transition year after two difficult years of the pandemic. We moved forward, but 2022 still had its fair share of ups and downs.

Let’s begin with a review of 2022:

Did I Meet My 2022 Goals?

I set fewer work goals for 2022, and instead focused on a handful of bigger goals:

• Create 3 new video courses – Not quite. I launched 2 new video courses in 2022.
• Run cohort 3 of Pro Sheets – No. I did not run a cohort course this year.
• Send my Google Sheets Tips newsletter every Monday – Yes, it’s one of the favorite parts of my job.
• Hit 60k newsletter subscribers – Close. I’m at around 54k newsletter subs now (although I’m overdue a list clean).

What about other goals?

I always set some non-work goals too, to ensure I live intentionally. Here’s how 2022 played out:

• Twelve challenge walks – Yes, I did a lot of great hiking this year and stopped counting after a while. I climbed my local mountain 20 times, walked a marathon distance in a day, and went backpacking along the Appalachian Trail.
• Family trip to the UK this summer – Yes, we had a fantastic trip!
• Complete a century bike ride (100 miles) – No, unfortunately. I failed on this one although I had some memorable bike rides of shorter distances.
• Have another healthy year – Yes, mostly, although it feels like we’ve been stuck in a cycle of sicknesses this fall. We rounded out the year with COVID in December, thankfully it was mild.
• 10 nights camping this year – Nearly! I finished the year on 7, which is more than 2019, 2020, and 2021 combined. I want to increase this in 2023.
• Read 20 books – I read 16 books this year.
• Weekly brainstorming hike with my wife – Yes, when we were healthy. We didn’t manage every week because of illnesses, injuries, etc.

2022 Highlights

1) New Courses

In May 2022, I launched The QUERY Function in Google Sheets course.

This was a really fun course to create because the QUERY function is such an interesting and complex function to play with. It’s a rabbit hole that goes deeper and deeper the more you look.

It’s been a popular course, with 743 students enrolled so far this year.

In October this year, I launched another course, called: Lambda Functions 10-Day Challenge

This free course covers the 10 new functions introduced to Google Sheets this year.

So far, 2,873 students have enrolled in this course.

2) Improving Business Infrastructure

I spend a considerable portion of Q1 and Q2 working on stuff behind-the-scenes, to get my website and email systems in the best possible shape going forward. Specifically:

• I migrated from MailChimp to ConvertKit for my emails, and I’m enjoying it a LOT more.
• With the demise of Google Universal Analytics, in favor of GA4 (which seemed overly complex for my needs), I switched to the simpler Fathom Analytics. It’s perfect for me because I don’t like unnecessary complexity.
• I made major improvements to the website speed, mostly removing redundant JavaScript code and old plugins, and optimizing large images.
• Improvements to the onboarding process and site UX.
• Improvements to SEO on the majority of the posts

3) Google Sheets Tips Newsletter

I sent my weekly Google Sheets newsletter every Monday, except for Christmas week.

It’s the backbone of my business and I love receiving responses from readers each week.

I plan to write a newsletter every week again this year.

4) Website Content

Last year, I listed the website under the challenges category, on account of the falling traffic numbers.

To address this, I improved my site speed (see point 2 above) and I published more content than in any previous year.

This year, my favorite posts to research and write were:

• Etch A Sheet In Google Sheets

  

• Exploring Population Growth And Chaos Theory With The Logistic Map, In Google Sheets

  

I also enjoyed writing these posts:

• A Complete Guide To The CHAR Function In Google Sheets
• How To Build An Automated ConvertKit Report In Google Sheets Using Apps Script
• How To Draw The Sierpiński Triangle In Google Sheets
• How To Connect To The Teachable API With Apps Script
• New Functions In Google Sheets For 2022: Named Functions, Lambda, MAP, REDUCE, etc.

Website traffic has been relatively steady all year, hovering around 300 – 350k pageviews per month. I’m pretty happy with where this stands, especially after seeing some decline in traffic last year.

5) Community & Partnerships

I’m grateful and honored to be part of the Google Developer Expert Community for another year. I’ve learned so much through this group and made some great friends along the way.

This year, I had meaningful and enjoyable collaborations with Teachable, Coefficient, and Measure Summit. Thank you and I look forward to working together again in the future!

6) Founders Summit

Although I didn’t attend any conferences myself this year, the kids and I did accompany my wife to the Founder Summit Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. It was a family-friendly event, held at a resort center deep in the woods. We were there during peak fall colors, when the woods put on an incredible show:

My wife had an amazing week talking with other founders and generating ideas for her new company, They Got Acquired (a media and data company covering company acquisitions in the $100K-$50M range).

Meanwhile, I had a fantastic few days with the kids taking them climbing, hiking, doing art projects, and meeting other families. I was really proud of both boys for taking a real crack at the climbing wall.

The conference also provided childcare, so I had some time myself too. I went hiking with my good friend, and fellow course creator, Kevin of Data School, and I did some brainstorming for my business.

7) Non-Work Highlights

Watching my boys grow up and making memories with them. Parenting is the most rewarding (and by far the most challenging!) thing I’ve ever done.

We spent 2.5 weeks in the UK this summer. My brother and his family came from Australia too, so it was the second time all the cousins got together. We had a fabulous trip and spent good quality time with my family. We stayed in the Peak District National Park so we did plenty of hikes and sightseeing. My brother and I did a 26 mile walk along the edges, and I had a great day out with one of my oldest friends, Alistair, scrambling in the Dark Peak.

2022 was a much better year for adventures than the past few years. Things are easier now that my boys are older.

There were lots of standout local adventures this year. The highlights were:

• A 3-day backpack along the Appalachian Trail
• Two multi-day bike tours with my boys along the C&O canal (one and two)
• A solo 3-Day Bike And Paddle Board Tour
• Making new friends on the river: Hey Chuck, David, and Brenda 👋
• Some loooong 20+ mile walks starting from home (e.g. Gathland and Bears Den)
• An excellent 2021/22 winter hiking season

Another hightlight this year has been watching my wife launch and grow her new business: They Got Acquired

2022 Challenges

Burnout

Burnout? Depression? I don’t know where one ends and the other begins, but I’ve been running on an empty tank at times this year, especially in the second half.

At times, it was a struggle to create new work and I didn’t have the energy to run the cohort course in 2022.

The cause? A combination of macro- and micro-factors.

Everything from the doom-and-gloom playing out on the world stage, to the exhaustion of parenting in the ongoing pandemic, to the incontrovertible truth of aging.

In my head, I’m still that 30-year-old athlete free to climb mountains, run ultra-marathons, and cycle across countries, but my creaking, middle-aged body tells a different story. Plagued with knee injuries and having much less time for exercise than at any previous point in my life, my fitness has slowly started ebbing away in the past few years. I’m resolved to work hard this year to claw back some of that lost fitness.

Have I got through the burnout? Yes, I believe so.

I’m excited for 2023, and to get stuck into work again (whilst also keeping my fingers crossed that we avoid getting sick and the boys can stay in school). Doing more outdoor activities away from my computer this fall and winter helped tremendously, so I’ll keep doing that.

Looking Forward To 2023

2023 Work Goals

Like last year, I’m going to set a handful of big goals to focus on exclusively:

1. Create 2 new video courses (the first of which will be a new Apps Script course in Q1)
2. Send my Google Sheets Tips newsletter every Monday
3. Hit 70k newsletter subscribers

Beyond that, I have ideas for more video courses, potentially building a members community, running my live cohort course again, writing a Google Sheets book, or something else entirely!

I have a plan for Q1, but the rest of the year is more open. I have lots of ideas but don’t have a concrete direction yet. So, one of my tasks in Q1 is to figure out the plan for the remainder of the year.

Let me know in the comments if any of these ideas resonate, or if there’s anything you’d like to see here.

Other 2023 Goals

This year, I focused most of my outdoor energy on hiking projects. In 2023, I want to shift to doing more biking and paddle boarding.

1. Have another healthy year and get fit.
2. Since I didn’t tick it off last year, I’ll keep the century ride (100-mile ride) on this year’s list. I last did this in 2014 and I want to get back to that level of fitness on the bike again.
3. Multi-day adventures locally: backpacking, bikepacking, and/or paddle boarding
4. A C&O canal tour with my boys for 5 or 6 days
5. 25 nights camping, with at least 1 night out each calendar month
6. Weekly brainstorming hike with my wife
7. Read 20 books

Thank You

As always, I like to finish by saying thank you for your support.

Thank you for reading my articles and newsletters, for watching my video courses, or for attending my webinars. Thank you for this opportunity to help you get better at working with Google Sheets and Apps Script.

2022 was a great year on balance and I’m excited for 2023.

Best wishes to all of you for 2023! See you around.

Previous years

• 2021 In Review And A Look Forward To 2022
• 2020 In Review And A Look Forward To 2021
• 2019 In Review And A Look Forward To 2020
• 2018 In Review And A Look Forward To 2019
• 2017 In Review And A Look Forward To 2018
• 2016 In Review And A Look Forward To 2017
• 2015 In Review And A Look Forward To 2016