I do a version of these annual reviews each year:
I am going to change my template a bit from previous years, partially to break from that template and share my thoughts without the template boxing me in. My previous statements still stand. I don’t want to set resolutions or make new changes; I want to set goals and drive toward them.
Writing this review has always felt like a challenge, especially when trying to recall key events, important details, and major updates or wins. As part of my goal-setting, I’ve decided to be more intentional about documenting my successes, setbacks, and updates. To start, I’m creating an Apple Note for this purpose, inspired by advice someone shared about always keeping a record like this for any job. My plan is to maintain a “What I Did” and “Wins/Losses” note to keep track of everything moving forward. I have also picked up daily journaling with Day One that will help with this too.
Let’s start on the professional side – it’s what most want to read and know anyway.
The white-label marketing agency remains the core of the business. It’s not just what keeps the lights on—it also funds a significant portion of our investments and the additional projects the team works on.
2024 was a challenging year. While we saw a lot of success, the pullback in the tech sector led to higher churn rates among our B2B and SaaS customers through their agencies – higher than we’ve ever seen or expected in 2024. To adapt, we shifted focus to agencies in other verticals like roofing, home repair, and local services. These business customers typically have lower churn rates and often grow with us as we generate more leads for them. Running an agency is ultimately a game of churn prevention while driving growth.
We’ve grown the team and started scaling our processes by building SOPs, automating tasks, and exploring how AI can improve our marketing efforts. AI is the biggest disruption in the agency space, arguably in the world, since the internet. I’ve experimented with using AI for tasks like writing and data processing and found it delivers a huge advantage when dealing with large data sets. While AI-generated writing is okay, it’s easily spotted, and customers often place less value on it. However, when AI processes data and delivers actionable insights, it’s seen as a clear value-add from customers.
On the sales side, we’ve ramped up outreach through LinkedIn, UpWork, and cold email for lead generation. While cold email often gets associated with spam, we prioritize customizing as many messages as possible. It’s a high-volume game, with around 5,000 emails and a few thousand LinkedIn messages or connection requests sent monthly. UpWork, while more targeted, is still a numbers game due to the fees required to apply for jobs.
WP Creative House is jamming along with websites, and we’ve adjusted the offer throughout the year. It started with unlimited design but has leaned into the WordPress website space. Now, we offer monthly website plans. Pay anywhere from $99 a month to $699 for a custom website with hosting and all included. We have also expanded on the pre-built WordPress templates for Elementor, Kadence, and Bricks. The themes have been our biggest sellers, with the monthly websites only starting to ramp towards the end of this year.
The nice part of the development is this ties into our white-label agency well. I’ve had customers from that side come over to the development side to buy themes and then have us service it. We haven’t figured out the perfect lead-generation method. However, we are starting to see signs this is a much bigger inbound play. We are driving SEO traffic, paid traffic, and other referral sources that drive the most eyeballs and the most purchases.
I am postioning this as an easy solution for small businesses. Even as we talk differently about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Google still commands the world. AI, Bing, social media, and other even e-commerce searches. SEO is becoming the a broader term even though its been closely assicated with Google and the tradtional search method through Google.
I launched a full-service tax and bookkeeping business called USA Tax Solutions, with two other business partners. We collectively have been working together in various ways over the past few years. This was an easy step since we worked and talked with a lot of business owners. Having already connected with so many business owners, I now have the opportunity to support them not only with their books and taxes but also to gain deeper insights into their businesses beyond marketing. This allows us to explore partnerships, investments, or even acquisitions with a comprehensive understanding of both their financial and marketing landscapes.
We are in our early days here, with most of the focus being on back taxes. When the new year starts, we will be hitting regular taxes and bookkeeping hard. Really looking forward to growing this line of business over the next year.
I also launched another venture with business partners called PJL Marketing Holdings. While the name might not be the most creative, the approach is definitely innovative. This business takes a different angle on marketing by acting as a strategic partner. Instead of traditional fees, we treat the marketing spend, website, and our work as an investment.
We charge an upfront fee to design and development the website and implment our marketing stack, but from that point on, we cover all advertising costs and staff expenses for marketing. In return, we take either a percentage of sales or an equity stake in the company. This collaborative model aligns our success directly with the success of our clients, creating a win-win for both sides.
We’ve already landed our first client and are refining our processes. While we’ve encountered challenges in implementation and determining the most effective ways to profit from deals, that’s expected with a new and innovative system. What sets us apart is that we’re more than just a lead generation agency—we’re deeply invested in our clients’ businesses. Often, this includes extending tax assistance and providing business mentorship to ensure their overall success.
2024 was a challenging year for my niche websites.
They had been growing steadily through 2023, but midway through 2024, a major Google update caused one of the top-performing sites to lose its rankings entirely, resulting in a 90% drop in traffic. This site was the crown jewel of the portfolio, and its sudden decline forced significant budget cuts and a review on the strategy for each website.
Historically, we’ve relied heavily on search traffic, which has been consistent and dependable for years. However, with recent volatility in Google’s algorithms, it’s become increasingly uncertain what the future holds for this strategy. The biggest problem is that unedited AI content is very prevalent online, and many of the sites using it are using black-hat SEO tactics to steal traffic and temporarily rank high on Google. It’s been well documented online now that Google is largely killing independent niche publishers.
While the sites are on the path to recovery, we’re looking at the growth cautiously, given the ongoing changes in the search landscape with anti-trust. For 2025, I’m exploring new directions, including rolling out newsletters and focusing more on social traffic. The ultimate goal is to find a profitable and winning solution to ensure these sites thrive once again. The only drawback to doing this is the time commitment and amount of effort required.
This isn’t so much a recap as it is a goal-setting exercise for my personal brand. While I wouldn’t call myself an aspiring influencer, that’s ultimately the direction I want to head in. I believe that building a strong personal brand can not only drive business opportunities but also spark meaningful conversations.
My focus is to be more intentional about the content I share. While it may sound counterintuitive, I want to ensure I come across as authentic and truly connect with an online audience. Historically, I’ve leaned heavily on written content, but in 2024, I started branching out into video and audio, which have been areas of growth for me.
One of my biggest steps forward was launching The Boost, a podcast where I sit down with business owners and entrepreneurs to discuss their journeys and their businesses. I’ve also used my business mentoring as a way to connect with potential guests—mentoring them and, in turn, providing a platform for them to create content and share their stories online.
This was a favorite convo from 2024:
With everything happening on the business side, you might think I’m always head-down, working nonstop. That’s not the case. I’ve made it a priority to build a lifestyle that allows me to be present for my kids—attending their school events and spending quality time with them. While my life does revolve around business and connecting with others professionally, I’ve structured my schedule so I can typically work just 4 days a week. This flexibility also lets me record podcast episodes without causing any delays or issues with of the businesses.
I genuinely enjoy what I do, even though it comes with its share of headaches, challenging clients, and the occasional project that doesn’t go as planned.
Outside of all of that, my daughters have turned 5 and 9. I bought season tickets to the Spurs basketball team. I’ve taken both of my daughters to the games, but my 9 year old daughter has taken an interest in basketball. I never played in school, other than a pick up game on the playground, but it’s one of the only professional sports team in San Antonio, so I have always had an interest in the sport. It’s been fun to take them to the games and find a shared interest.
On the hobby side, I’ve taken up Sim Racing. I’ve set up a racing chair, steering wheel, and pedals, and I’ve been competing on iRacing—a game where professional Sim Racers and even F1 drivers play. It’s become an exciting way to unwind and fully immerse myself in the moment. When I’m racing, I’m completely focused, no distractions from my phone or notifications, just the virutal racing. The built-in scoring system really brings out my competitive side, making each race even more engaging.
Another interest of mine is personality tests and how they provide surprisingly accurate generalizations. While not perfect, they can be incredibly insightful. On a trip to Cabo, I was introduced to a test called Motivation Code, which takes a fresh approach to understanding what drives us. I’ve found it to be more accurate than most personality tests, offering deeper insights into what truly motivates us.
Here are my results as a final send off:
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