Jack Barber / Website Design

So That's It, 2015 is Nearly Over

So That's It, 2015 is Nearly Over

I'm just wrapping up (pun intended) some final little jobs at work. It's Christmas Eve and 2015 is nearly over. Shortly I'll set my autoresponder and record an out of office voicemail message. Then it's home time.

This is the time of year companies release their 'year in review' blog posts. I've been a bit busy to write much recently. So here's my year in review, condensed into a few bullet points:

  • This year was the hardest I've experienced whilst running my business - adapting to working from the new office, managing the expense of business premises and juggling work and family life has been a difficult challenge this year.
  • Cash flow - I messed it up through bad time management and that coupled with having to take more time off to look after the children and Megan due to her sciatica throughout the year meant my plan to 'make paying my tax bill easier' failed. I'll try harder to get it right next year!
  • Hosting - Bytemark have done an amazing job of keeping everything going smoothly this year. And, and this is a huge bonus, we've very nearly finished a migration to a brand new hosting platform.  Everything's running so smoothly - perhaps next year will be the first 'trouble free' hosting year for Jack Barber Ltd!
  • Perch - I've stopped writing my own 'content management system'. After 8 years of development I've shelved it. It still runs loads of sites, but for the foreseable future I'm moving to Perch. I've used it on 5 or 6 sites so far, with a handful more due to be launched using it in the new year. It's really good.
  • New clients - I've continued to grow my customer base, which is great. It's so nice to get word of mouth referrals and recommendations - my business has always depended on it, so I am truly grateful to all who have put in a good word for me over the past year.

So it's been a tough year - but good in so many respects too. No-one said running a business was easy. It certainly is not. But being able to work for myself, in Whitby, providing for my family and enjoying all the benefits of a reasonable work/life balance is something I'm incredibly grateful for.

I guess I feel a bit down now - but tomorrow's Christmas, and January's a new month at the start of a new year so I'll try not to be too despondent! I have a handful of side-projects and ideas I want to implement in 2016 - so I hope to get back to work soon with renewed enthusiasm and excitement.

For now, I hope you have a happy Christmas, and a prospoerous new year.

Oh, and before I forget, I'm running again on New Year's Day. 15+ Miles from Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby and back on the Cinder Track and Cleveland Way. You can sponsor me here in aid of the UN Refugee Agency. Thank you!