Year in review: 2023

This post ended up being a monster, and probably the longest blog post I have ever written. I do think it is important to take stock of the year that has passed and to evaluate where you are going. So here goes.

First I wanted to start with the goals I had for 2023. In previous years I set a lot of goals, which makes it quite difficult to focus on and achieve any of them. My strategy for 2023 was to have fewer goals and ensure I achieve them.

1. Pay off my short-term debt. As mentioned in this post 2022 was an extremely difficult year in my entrepreneurial journey and I had to use my credit card and other forms of debt to make ends meet. 1. Result: I am proud to say that I managed to pay approximately R150 000 of debt this year and as of now I have R0 short-term debt. I still have my home loan debt of R970 000, but this I see as an investment.
2. Diversify income sources. I have an overarching goal to have 7 income streams before I am 40. 1. Result: Currently, I have 4 projects generating income and 2 in the works to generate income.
   1. Daily Wine - Online Wine Sales
   2. Daily Bulk Wine - Bulk Wine Commissions
   3. E-Commerce Consulting for Koelenhof Wine Cellar
   4. Kiki & Co Scrubs - Currently the smallest income source, but I still believe there is a lot of potential for growth
   5. Nurudev - Rental Property Company, not generating income yet, but paying off our first property.
   6. GoKiddo - Not generating any income yet, but this has been a very fun project so and I have learnt a ton from it.

Is it possible to divide my life into sections?

When I decided to write this post, I read a few people’s “year in review” posts and I wondered how I would divide it up. Can I separate my life into business, personal, exercise, relationships etc?

I concluded that I don’t think it is possible. I spend probably 80% of my time working on my businesses. Many people would say that this is unhealthy, or that you need to have balance in life. But I believe, that to be successful, you cannot be balanced. You need to be able to work incredibly hard and focus on the task at hand and not try to be balanced by other people’s standards. Mostly the person who tells you to be balanced is doing so to make themselves feel better about their lack of progress.

What is my purpose in life?

When looking at how I spend my time, you would probably assume that my goals and purpose in life are mainly financially driven. Recently a close friend asked me whether this is the case, which made me ponder the question: “What is my purpose?”. Is it purely financial?

While I was ruminating on this, I also came across the article Picking a Purpose by @dhh on X, which resonated with me.

If you don’t want to spend the time reading it, I asked ChatGPT to summarise:

The passage discusses the importance of having a purpose in life, drawing insights from authors like Victor Frankl, Eric Fromm, and Alfred Adler. It emphasizes how a lack of purpose can lead to psychological decline , using examples from history and literature. The text suggests that purpose is crucial for happiness and that individuals should actively choose to be needed and find meaning in their lives. It touches on the idea that work can be a source of purpose but encourages a diversified approach to life to avoid relying solely on one aspect. The passage concludes by urging individuals to consciously decide on the importance of having a purpose and to actively seek one out.

Maximise Freedom <-> Build Legacy

I like to think of freedom and legacy as an inter-linked feedback loop. Maximising freedom, allows you to build legacy and legacy allows you to maximise freedom etc.

Maximise Freedom

Freedom is underestimated and taken for granted each day. We have become so used to it, that we don’t appreciate it any more. If you live in a country where you have freedom of speech, freedom to make your own money and freedom to move around. You have a massive opportunity and privilege.

This freedom is a double-edged sword. The average person has these freedoms, but they are often bound by other abstract shackles, which go unnoticed unless you look a little deeper. Here are some freedoms I focus on:

• Freedom from other people ‘s opinions, judgements and insecurities.
• Freedom from societal and sheep-like thinking. Consider other people’s points of view, without any bias, they might be right and shocker - you might be wrong.
• A teachable mind is a free mind. Read broadly, and educate myself. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.
• Freedom to challenge the status quo. Never take something at face value. Challenge everything.
• Freedom from stubbornness. Have strong opinions, loosely held. What does this mean? If I have an opinion, I will be very passionate about it, but if we have a debate about it and I realise you are right, I want to be able to change my opinion right there, admit I was wrong and be better for it. Being willing to be wrong is a superpower.
• Financial freedom. I want to sign my paycheck at the end of the month and not allow anyone else to determine what my time is worth. I would rather earn less, and be in control than compromise for a big paycheck.
• Time freedom. I determine when I work and when I play. If I want to go and watch my son’s rugby match on a Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. I am not asking anyone’s permission.
• Health freedom. Don’t neglect your body and mind. Eat your vegetables, focus on sleep quality, try and to do some exercise every day. Focusing on your health has benefits for all other aspects of life.

Build Legacy

Firstly let’s look at the definition of legacy.

A legacy is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Merriam-Webster Dictionary

If you receive an inheritance, or your parents help you purchase a house (this happened in my case), you have a massive headstart in life.

• Having a headstart in life, allows you to pursue other freedoms
• Achieving said freedoms, allows you to focus on building a legacy
• Which allows more freedom and builds a greater legacy

The above example is a “financial example”, I used because it is easy to understand. Yes, financial freedom is a major one. But leaving a legacy is more than that. You can leave a legacy by teaching your children to:

• Believe in themselves
• Think for themselves
• Challenge the status quo
• Not be stubborn
• Be willing to be wrong
• Value their time
• And focus on their health

For some reason, each generation mostly focuses on themselves, and “kind of” focuses on the next generation not giving them much of a headstart/legacy. Imagine if the legacy you build today, compounds and 5 generations down the line the small choice you made affects millions of people.

So what are my goals for 2024?

Freedom

• Focus on health freedom. I want to start playing squash and prioritize overall physical activity instead of sticking to a specific exercise program.
• I want to continue sharpening my “coding axe”. I believe the future is online, and if you have these skills, you will never become irrelevant. By pursuing GoKiddo in 2023 I have not made any profit, but I have already learnt skills that I can apply in multiple areas of my business which will compound for many years to come.
• Focus on growing my income streams, they allow me to pursue all the other freedoms
  • Double down on Daily Wine. I think I have reached a point where I understand the product market fit for the business. I know what is working and I need to focus and grow it.
  • Daily Bulk Wine has massive potential and I want to double down on growing the platform, improving relationships and expanding internationally.
  • The E-Commerce Consulting for Koelenhof Wine Cellar had a very low base and it was easy to 10X the online sales in 2023, but I want to continue the trend and see how much we can push it.
  • Kiki & Co has a lot of potential, and I believe there is room to expand with international sales and in the product line.
  • Nurudev is at a critical point. We need to achieve shareholder alignment on the purpose of the company and what we want to achieve with it.
  • In 2023 I spent a lot of time building GoKiddo and sharpening my coding axe, but I did not spend a lot of time marketing the platform. I want to focus on marketing the app in 2024 and see if there is any potential for it to take off. If you would like to read about the journey thus far, here is the 1st post of 9.

Legacy

• I don’t have any children yet, but I want to make a point of putting my thoughts and “operating system” down onto paper, preserving them for future generations and enabling me to refine them.
• At the end of 2023, I registered The Excelcore Trust.
  • This trust will be used as a vehicle to create a financial legacy for future generations which allows them to maximise freedom and drives the Freedom ←→ Legacy Loop.
• Investment Strategy:
  • Invest R500-R1500 monthly in a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). The benefit in South Africa is that you are allowed to make R36 000 annual and R500 000 lifetime contributions to a TFSA and any gains these investments make, won’t be taxed by the government.
    • I am investing that money into ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) with a focus on international exposure. The South African markets are facing too much pressure from load-shedding, corruption etc for me to invest in the long term.
    • If you live in South Africa, I have been using EasyEquities for a few years, it makes investing easy and accessible to anyone.
  • I am bullish on Bitcoin and I will be investing R500-1000 per month because:
    • Interest Rate Cycle Peak - At the moment we are at extremely high interest rates, but it looks like they are going to start coming down in early 2024, which will have a positive effect on risk-on assets classes i.e. Bitcoin and Tech Stocks. Increased demand for asset class.
    • Regulatory Approval of Bitcoin ETFs in America seems imminent in January 2024.
      • This means big institutional investors and older investors (with loads of money) will get access to Bitcoin in a safe and regulated manner. Which could open the floodgates to their investing.
      • Enhanced liquidity, facilitated by Bitcoin ETFs, could lead to more stable prices making it a viable alternative to Gold.
      • Both of which will increase demand.
    • Bitcoin Halving in April 2024.
      • Each day new Bitcoin is released into the market
      • Bitcoin miners validate transactions on the network and they are rewarded with Bitcoin
      • Every 4 years, the reward is cut in half
      • This makes the supply of Bitcoin less
    • And what happens if you increase demand and lower supply? PRICE GOES UP!
    • Here is a cool video by FinMeUp explaining the above points.
  • I will be focusing on maintaining and improving our primary residence as I am investing the majority of my money each month into paying off the bond. And by improving the property, I can increase my possible return on investment, if I was to sell it in the future.
  • Any extra money I have, I will be investing in ETFs outside of my TFSA and if any opportunity arises I will use that money to invest.

Please note, I am not a financial advisor, and these points are my own personal strategy and by no means financial advice.

Here’s to 2024!🥂