Posts on the blog: a breakdown
- I published 114 posts about blogging.
- I talked about books in 36 posts.
- I released 18 coding guides and tips.
I graduated university and started a business
Okay I didn’t really start my business in 2014, but I did take it full time in 2014. I graduated from university in July with a first class honours degree in Digital Arts. Before I graduated, I had already made a name for Creative Whim, released premade products, and taken on custom work. But after graduating, it felt more official. This was now my full time job. I’m no longer a student; I’m a web developer—a freelancer.
And how has this business been doing?
I made over $23,000 selling premade WordPress products
In last year’s post I raved about how I created the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin and started selling premade WordPress themes. I’m so happy to say that a year later and everything is going PHENOMENALLY and I owe my success to all of you.
Making themes and plugins is my favourite thing in the world and it’s amazing that I can do it every day as a living. So THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased a theme or plugin from my store. THANK YOU for helping me live my dream. π
I launched a managed WordPress hosting business
In March I launched Book Host, which is my managed WordPress hosting service. At first I REALLY struggled with whether or not I wanted to do this. Well, I wanted to, but I also knew it was going to be a HUGe responsibility. I didn’t want to let anyone down.
But, finally, I bit the bullet and I’m so glad I did! I’m now hosting 89 blogs and websites. People have said some lovely things about the service and that makes me so happy!
In 2015 I’ll probably be migrating to a more powerful server. Everything is running pretty smoothly right now, but I should be able to double the power of the server for the same cost by switching providers. I want to ensure that everyone has more than enough resources at all times!
I spoke at BookExpo America
Being chosen as a speaker for the BEA Bloggers Conference was amazing! I had so much fun being up there with Jeremy West and sharing my knowledge with fellow bloggers. π I’d definitely love to do this again!
I launched my first e-course
I was thrilled to finally get my first e-course up off the ground! It was a huge success and I got a lot of positive feedback. I’m already looking forward to reopening registration and even creating a second e-course. π
I got married to the love of my life in Florence
I had the most incredible fairy tale wedding in Florence, Italy. It was straight out of a romance novel. Sometimes I actually have to stop and wonder if it was real because it was SO PERFECT!! I couldn’t have even dreamt up a better wedding. The food, the scenery, the magic, the groom (the most important bit!)… it was all just amazing.
It’s now been almost 10 months since our legal wedding and over 5 months since the Italy celebration (photo above). My husband and I couldn’t be happier! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. π
You had a fantastic year..mine was just another year..lol.
Thank you! I hope 2015 is better for you. π
You had a great year, you have every right to be proud. I love the coding posts and the WordPress Course. Congrats on the marriage and the honeymoon.
Thanks so much! π I’m so glad you loved the course!
You seriously had an amazing year! Congrats!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Enter my blog birthday giveaway!
Thanks Missie. π
You had such an awesome year! Way to go at living your dreams!
And I am so glad that I switched to Book Host this year! It’s been great, and makes me feel more confident in my blog. π
Thanks Angie! π I was thrilled to have you switch to Book Host. I’m glad it’s going well for you!
Aww, sounds like you have had a better year than me. Certainly more positive. Congrats on everything. I hope 2015 is just as good if not better for you.
I’m sorry yours wasn’t positive. π I hope 2015 is a better one for you!
You’ve accomplished so much this year and thank you for sharing them with us! This year I’ve posted 692 times on my blog, read 100 books, my oldest daughter joined the USMC and graduated boot camp in July and seen the demise of my marriage. No fret on the marriage bit, some things aren’t meant to be. There’s a fish somewhere out there in the sea that I’m destined to meet. My 16 yo’s are ready for that yet, they’ve threatened to burn my books if I start dating anytime soon. So I’ve got extra reading time now! π I’ve been to a few author signings this year and am working hard to get to BEA this year.
Wow that’s an impressive amount of posts! Maybe I’ll see you at BEA 2015!
What a great year! You should be proud of yourself.
Thank you! π
Here’s to 2015, Ashley! You’re one of my girl crushes π
Aw thanks Priscilla! π
these accomplishments are incredible! You should be so proud of yourself π
Congrats on the wedding (you look gorgeous) and the business!! I hope 2015 is just as good or even better than this year has been π
Thanks so much! π I have high hopes for 2015.
Ah and you should definitely be proud Ashley! You’ve done so much. It’s just like, congrats on everything, university, your business, speaking at BEA, your weddingβ¦ π It all sounds like such a great year. Hopefully next year’s great as well.
Sounds like a busy year, huh? π
It’s crazy how much you accomplished this year. You are one amazing chick!
Thanks Jennifer!!
Holy crap, Ashley! You had a heck of a year! You put all of us to shame, I think! π Compared to your year, my year was pants! I didn’t accomplish much this year… I celebrated 3 years at work (and celebrated is not the right word for my job), I read 250 books (which is amazing), and that’s about it.
Here’s hoping I can do more in 2015!!!! Starting with launching my new blog, yay!
Haha thanks Leah. π 250 books is a crazy amount!!
I’m excited for the launch of your new blog. π
Congratulations on such a fantastic year, Ashley! You should be very proud of yourself, those are some really great achievements. Mine are smaller, but I’m happy with them nonetheless – I started writing and blogging, aaand.. that’s about it, haha. 2014 was kind of a bad year for me, so here’s to a better 2015!
I’m sorry 2014 wasn’t great for you. π I hope 2015 is a good one!
Congrats on such an amazing year! I still can’t get over how beautiful your wedding dress is π Good luck for 2015!
Thank you Zareena! I loved my wedding dress, and it was from the first store I went to!
Congratulations on getting married, you looked gorgeous! π Well done for graduating and starting up your business, that’s amazing and you should be so proud of all you’ve accomplished this year! I’m hoping that next year I’ll accomplish more! π
Hope you have a wonderful 2015, Ashley! <3
Thanks so much! π
Congratulations on your wonderful year! I am curious about your e-courses. I will look forward to all of your posts in the coming year. Happy New Year! (My year – was good – basically reading and posting.)
I’m hoping to do more e-courses in 2015. π
Ashley, it seems like you had an ANAZING year and I’m so happy for you!! <3 It's so great that your freelance career took off like it did- I'm sure you'll have even more success in the new year. I can't wait to continue to read more on your blog in 2015!!
Thanks so much! π I’m excited for 2015!
Ashley, 2014 was an amazing year for you and I hope the best for you in the year that starts. I know you will have success because you always deliver a quality product and you have a great customer service. I’m happy to be one of your clients π
I didn’t have that many big life events in 2014, but my oldest son graduated from high school, the blog moved from Blogger to WP (thanks to you!), I lost my co-blogger, but gain a new reviewer. Things at work are going wonderfully with my health, hubby and the kids, so no complaints π
Thank you Liza. π I’ve loved having you as a Book Host client! It sounds like 2015 was a pretty good year for you too. π
That was an incredible year for you, congratulations! I’m not really sure how you can make 2015 better! π
Wow! What an amazing year! Graduating, getting married, officially starting a business – you’ve definitely been busy! I hope 2015 is just as good – or possibly even better! – to you as 2014 was! Happy New Year, and congratulations on all your accomplishments! ♥
With such a great 2014, I don’t know how you can top that! Congratulations on the wedding, you looked beautiful and your business has got to be booming, you are a big celebrity! π
Your year was amazing π and i’m glad for you! Loved the pictures and the wedding one seemed like something in a fairytale :D…i wish i could make money doing what i love, altough i’m a nurse i have other dreams, i love blogging and reading π and hopelly become a semi-pro in web design and maybe also doing some plugins XD (in 2050 lol)…i have ideas just need time and effort (and also help) to make them real π
What a year! Congratulations on all the amazing business stuff … I’m excited to be hosting with you! And I can’t wait to try out the UBB plug in everyone is raving about. π
Here’s to an amazing 2015!
Wow you’ve had an awesome year! Congrats on your business and everything. π