2024 was a year of work stability and personal growth. I’m freelancing full-time for Uncensored CMO, my side projects are happily on the back burner and my personal life got a major upgrade.
Uncensored CMO (and other client work)
I’ve been working on this podcast for the past 5 years. 18 months ago we decided to go all-in on video production and the show has gone from strength to strength. As the show has grown, my time spent on it has too.
It pays the bills, gives me flexibility to work in a way that suits me and is fun to be part of something growing.
We’ve had some incredible opportunities with the podcast this year, no less recording with Scott Galloway in April (in NYC) which catapulted the show to new heights (millions of social views and set a new benchmark for episode downloads).
I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world with the show this year, starting with a trip to LA in January, Cannes in June and Guernsey somewhere in the middle.
I worked with Lemon Squeezy on their podcast for the first few months of the year. It was a fantastic gig and I loved working with JR. We stopped working together after their acquisition with Stripe, which I’m a little bummed about but we move...
Side projects
My two side projects, Indie Bites and Whitstable Craft Co have been ticking along in the background with my motivation to make them work waning. I’ve published 11 episodes of Indie Bites and made a handful of wallet sales.
I would like to say I’m fine with this because of the time spent on the full time gig and the changes in my personal life, but I’m disappointed with my progress. We have one life on this planet and I’ve gone into coasting mode with my two opportunities to make an impact.
I’ve spent lots of time reflecting on why this might be the case and I’m haven’t yet cracked it. I often think about the need to de-risk the full-time gig. If that goes away, I have nothing substantial to fall back on. This doesn’t stress me out on a day-to-day, but it’s something I’m increasingly aware of.
Writing
Another year goes by where I don’t write as much as I want to. Just the two articles posted here in 2024, which is just not where I want to be. There are so many ideas in my head I want to share and I enjoy the process of writing, I just don’t make the time for it.
For the longest time I was interested in doing a Sunday evening blog about something to make it part of my routine, but this never materialized. I’ve been inspired by my friend Justin Duke (the founder of Buttondown) who writes so beautifully about the things he is interested in, then does a monthly roundup of posts. I’d be keen to do something similar.
Cycling
I said this year has been more about personal growth, and nothing has been more pivotal for that growth than cycling. In last year’s review I mentioned I’d bought a bike and started cycling and losing weight. In January I joined my local cycling club and got a little obsessed. But this obsession has helped me lose 20kg, make new friends and improved my mental health substantially.
Numbers wise I cycled 6,548km— that’s 597% more than 2023 (thanks Strava), with my longest rides each being 100 mile (160km) events (documented on my TikTok). I cycled in LA at the start of the year, had a quick weekend trip to Girona in March and bought a bike for my New York residence in November.
If you’re interested in what I ride; I’ve got a Trek Domane SL 6 with Shimano 105 Di2, with a Ribble Steel CGR with a 1x SRAM Apex groupset for gravel riding. I also bought a Brompton this year which is fast becoming one of my favourite bikes— I take it everywhere with me. I spent a lot of time (and money) trying out different brands of cycle clothing and have landed on Assos and Universal Colours as my two favourites. Honourable mentions go to Rapha and Angry Pablo as two other brands I wear every now and then. Shoes are Quoc, Helmet is POC and glasses are Sungod.
In 2025 my plan is to just ride a little more. I don’t take my cycling seriously (in terms of training and tracking numbers), I just ride for fun. I’m planning on getting a new bike in the summer, from one of these brands: Van Rysel, Factor, Canyon, Time.
Love
This is the major upgrade I mentioned at the top of this article. I met my wonderful girlfriend, Melissa, this year. We met at the Scott Galloway recording and things have gone strength to strength ever since.
My life has improved in almost every aspect since I met Mel, and I couldn’t be happier. She is sitting next to me as I write this, having spent Christmas and New Year together. She is the kindest and most supportive partner in crime I could ever ask for and I’m looking forward to doing more life with this woman.
There’s only one challenge with this relationship; she lives 3,000 miles away. Long distance has its challenges, but fortunately Uncensored CMO has a focus on the USA so we’re doing regular trips to New York (where Mel lives). We’ll spend the next few years going back and forth before deciding what the future holds— a future I’m very excited for.
Other things
I’m still taking film photos to capture memories and I can’t recommend it enough, you can see many of these on Instagram. I’m not reading nearly as much as I want to so will make a consistent effort to do more next year. My little floof monsters, Eddie and Alfie, are still a light in my life but with less viral moments (Eddie I’m looking at you). I became an uncle for the second time, with baby Luca entering the McKinven clan. I’m still a HelloFresh power user (affiliate link). I’m sure there are more things but drawing a blank.
Goals
Last year I decided not to set any goals and set a general direction:
“Directionally, I’d like to continue with my fitness journey, keep hitting deadlines, enjoy my work and write a little more.”
I’ve mostly achieved this and have had a year of stasis— which honestly I think I’ve needed. However, now I’m in a better place, I’m ready to hit some goals and achieve some real growth.
Here’s my areas of focus for 2025.
- Grow Uncensored CMO into the #1 marketing podcast in the USA
- Publish Indie Bites weekly again
- Contribute to the Whitstable Craft Co brand to get a baseline of sales to build on next year (also weekly)
- Write updates on the above (you guessed it, weekly)
So that’s a wrap on 2024. A great, stable work year with positive strides made in my personal life.
Same place next year?
James