My 2023 year in review

Can’t believe it’s already 2024. Time really flies when you are having fun. 2023 was full of new experiences.

Since everything happens so fast, I usually don’t get a chance to document it all in one place. This is why I decided to write a yearly recap (2021 | 2022), so I can keep a diary of myself to reflect on as I get older.

Plus, some friends seem to be enjoying reading these recaps. This gives me more motivation to keep writing 🙂

Personal highlights

In January, I and my mom went to Kalibo, Aklan for the Ati-atihan festival. Because when mom asked for it, I had no choice but to go with her 😂. My brother and some friends were already there but he didn’t know that we were also coming. I wish you could see his face when Mom surprised him at the plaza haha!

I enjoyed going to Ati-atihan, and it’s been like a tradition for us every year to visit Kalibo. Plus, I get to see my aunts, cousins, gramps, and some friends there. If you haven’t experienced it yet, do it now 🙂

Just a few days later, I went to Iloilo City with friends for the Dinagyang festival. It was fun catching up with them but sad to say I wasn’t able to see all of them. I just wish we could make time for 2024.

While it seems that my goal to travel more with my loved ones was granted, little did I know that it was also the start of a new beginning.

We stayed for 3 days in Iloilo. And on our last day, I experienced something different. I felt dizzy and not really feeling well. Glad that one of my friends knows and is trained to get BP (Blood Pressure).

I knew something was wrong with me. That’s when I knew that my blood pressure seemed so high. Glad that I was still okay throughout the day, but I know that I need to change some things when I go back home to Roxas, and health is a top priority.

When I got back home, I had deep thoughts about my health. I was thinking that if I don’t change for a healthier lifestyle, then I may suffer a lot of consequences in the future.

So later in January, I keep asking and learning how to build good habits and break bad ones. That’s when I discovered the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

It was a great book and I have tried some of its lessons. Believe it or not, it was working for me. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you read it.

And if you have books that you suggest me reading, comment it down below 🙂

In February, I started working out seriously. And glad that my dad bought an automated BP monitor. It was easy for us to track and monitor our BP.

I think it’s cool and handy if you have it, but I think it’s better to regularly go to those who are trained to get PB because the device may show inaccurate results.

When I was just at home, my setup for my workouts was very simple. I just use old carton boxes.

It’s that simple. Because most workouts that I’ve been doing at home are using only my body weight, also known as Calisthenics.

But Zion (our dog) makes it more challenging for me. He keeps distracting me all the time. 😂

I wasn’t really getting a lot of results at home, which is why I needed to move somewhere else. Fortunately, The Villareal Stadium is near our house. It’s where most sports enthusiasts in Capiz are gathered and work out together.

Plus, it keeps me motivated whenever I see other guys working out really hard.

I really wanted to make exercise part of my lifestyle, which is why I’ve been working out in Villareal Stadium like 2-3 times a week. I think I couldn’t live without it now.

And it’s where I think I’ve improved a lot with my basketball skills because there’s an open court inside, where I get a chance to practice. And I believe that the skills that I have learned and mastered were just a byproduct of consistent practice.

That’s why I agree with what Kobe Bryant said in one of his interviews, that if you are doing things that you are not good at yet, keep on practicing. And soon you will just be surprised at how comfortable and better you will be at doing it.

Here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been practicing. One of the most lethal moves in the NBA. Popularized by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, The Fadeaway Shot.

It’s far from Kobe’s fadeaway, but enough to score on some really good defenders 🙂

Exercise won’t be enough for a healthy lifestyle. Combining regular exercise, eating healthy foods, and avoiding bad habits is the way to go.

For now, I’m proud to say that my blood pressure is back to normal, and have built good habits. But at least for now. And there’s still a lot to improve because some habits are really hard to get rid of, especially the bad ones.

But I know that this is a lifelong journey, which is why I need to keep doing what I have started, and just keep improving. Hopefully, I could also encourage others to have a healthier lifestyle.

Here’s an excerpt from the book Atomic Habits, “If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero“.

Business highlights

Before I share some updates about the businesses that I and my team are doing, I’d like to share the side gigs that I’ve been doing throughout the year.

I’ve been doing side gigs while the business is still not profitable yet. It’s just simply because doing full-time business doesn’t guarantee you having profits yet. It’s best that you have additional sources of income when starting a business just to make ends meet.

What I’ve been trying to do was have a part-time job and do full-time business. Hopefully, it will be profitable soon so that I can focus only on the business.

In August, I tried doing deliveries for Maxim. It was fun experience and I like how their program works for their riders because the way you work for them is flexible. You get to choose which time and areas you deliver, which was for me was great deal because I can still make time with my other projects.

I won’t say that it’s the best platform out there because I haven’t tried other platforms yet, but learned a lot while doing deliveries. I will be writing a separate blog post for the lessons that I have learned as a delivery rider. But for now, I will be sharing some of my experiences as a delivery rider.

I’ve been doing deliveries since August and currently stopped taking deliveries at the moment. And if you haven’t received any deliveries from me when booking from Maxim, that’s because I choose to deliver only at 3pm-8pm.

What I like about being a rider is that I get the chance to visit a lot of places and meet new people. And that’s when I realized that there are still a lot of areas in Roxas City that I haven’t explored yet 😂.

But what I don’t like about being a rider is that it’s just too risky. When you are driving a motorcycle every day, I think it increases your risk of getting an accident. I don’t have the statistics but I just seem to feel it.

And then it happened. I had one accident. Hopefully, it was only minor injuries and the one who hit me (also riding a motorcycle) seems to be okay.

At first, I didn’t notice that there was damage to the motorcycle that I’d been using for deliveries (it was my dad’s) because it happened in the evening. I was surprised the next morning when I saw our motorcycle seemed to have a lot of damage.

I haven’t told my Dad about this that’s why up until now, my dad’s been accusing me that I had an accident.

Just don’t tell my dad, please 😂

Here’s a fun fact.

I may be the only delivery rider who doesn’t use a jacket for sun protection. You know why? It’s simply because I use sunscreen lotion haha!

Here’s another one.

I use sunscreen lotion on purpose because a friend of mine who is a doctor, shared with me that one culprit of premature aging is too much exposure to the UV rays from the sun. I’m surprised that He’s already in his 40s and looks way younger by just using sunscreen lotion every time.

So if you’re the kind of person that gets too much exposure from the sun, it’s better to put some sunscreen every time you go outside.

And don’t be fooled by the sun hidden on cloudy skies because the sun’s UV rays are so strong that they can still penetrate even in cloudy days!

I realize that I haven’t taken lots of photos during my deliveries, which was always been one of my goals every year, was to take a lot of pics. Anyway, Here are some photos while doing deliveries.

Earlier in October, Mikey the founder of SteakDad Restaurant, who’s also my HS classmate, offered me an opportunity to work at his restaurant.

I didn’t actually expect to turn out that way because at first, I just approached him with a proposal that could help grow his business 😂. However, upon sharing with him my proposal, I got the chance to listen to the challenges that his restaurant is facing, which a lot of things need to be worked out.

The solutions that I was proposing were just a small part of the bigger challenges, and that’s why I considered working there.

I agreed to work at his restaurant, but I didn’t stay long because it was taking a lot of my time and I couldn’t make time for my other projects. I just hope they do well.

It was a great experience because I got learn a lot about how to run a restaurant, plus worked together with a bunch of wonderful people.

If you haven’t tried SteakDad Restaurant yet, I highly recommend you do, because their steaks are the best! 🥩

And before you ask, yes, you can select your steak’s preferred doneness, such as medium rare 🙂

I wish I had taken a lot of photos with the team. Anyway, here are some pics while I was at Steakdad.

Later in October, It was also Mikey who invited me to be part of Stronghold Insurance, one of the leading non-life insurance companies in the Philippines.

It was a fun experience because I got to go outside similar to what I was doing as a delivery rider. But for this one, I have a personal driver 😂

Also in October, I was fortunate to be invited to join a meeting about Stronghold’s digital marketing strategies, where I got to connect to a bunch of smart people and learn from them. It was held at Stronghold building at Atria, Iloilo where I met Erol, the founder of BrandAlly.

I like what he’s been doing. He’s been helping local businesses with their digital marketing. I do believe that a lot of small business needs help when it comes to their digital marketing. And thanks to him I’ve learned new things about branding and social media marketing.

We had a great time in Iloilo for sure. And hopefully, we can catch up again soon.

It was a great experience sharing the insurance programs of Stronghold. Me, Mikey, and other team members from Roxas had been going out of town trying to share the importance of having insurance.

I can’t believe a lot of people don’t seem to get the value of insurance, and how it can protect their investments.

Here’s an example case of how insurance works.

Imagine you have been working and saving for too long, and have invested most of your savings in building a house. The money you have spent was hard-earned money for many years that you’ve been working.

And then the unexpected happened. Your house is on fire and there’s nothing you can do but watch your investment get burned.

But not all hope was lost because fortunately, you have fire insurance. And this is where the insurance comes in. It will protect your investments and cover the damages from that fire.

If you don’t have fire insurance for this case, it’s sad to say that your investment is gone and you need to start saving all over again.

Want to learn more about how insurance can protect your investments, such as your house and vehicles? Drop me a message 🙂

In December, I helped Shin at the Sinadya sa Halaran Festival, where we sold grilled fish, pork BBQs, chicken binakol, and more. Plus, I got to test my new product, and I tried selling it also in plaza 😂.

The experience wasn’t new for me because most of the time, when there was a food fest at the Roxas City Plaza, my mom always wanted to join, and I helped her every time.

But I would say that this one was I successful project because of the combined efforts that everyone’s been contributed. Plus, thanks to my previous experience, it helped us prevent a lot of problems. This is why it’s very important to always seek a mentor when you are just starting out.

In September of 2022, we have started the vegetable business in Roxas City. It was fun because we are always out of town and have been selling to different municipalities and provinces of Capiz, Aklan, and Iloilo.

Plus, I also had a chance to visit Bacolod City in 2023 because one of our business partners wanted to expand to that region, so we went there and stayed in Bacolod for couple of days.

We had a great start and have been selling well in 2023. We have also expanded to other municipalities like the northern part of Iloilo such as, Conception, San Rafel, and Sara.

And when everything was going well for us, and thought that we had overcome every possible challenge with this line of business, we experienced problems on the supply side.

We currently have stopped taking deliveries for now, and have been trying to address the problems. I just hope that 2024 will be better for us this time.

In December, I had the opportunity to start another business. It all started when my friend Emman, shared the fruit and vegetable chips that he was eating. Curious enough, I give it a try and end up eating all of it 😂

At first, I was hesitant to try it, but I was surprised that it tasted delicious, and nutritious too!

After eating his bag of chips, we have been thinking about starting a business out of it. And that’s where Gohealthy Philippines was born.

I was fortunate enough to get a consignment deal with him and work together as partners. It was a great deal for both of us because I had a chance to start a business with little to no money and in return, I was able to help him start, run, and scale the business.

Right now, we created an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), where we can test the product if there’s demand for it.

Having MVPs in startups is important nowadays because it allows us to pivot sooner and prevent us from wasting a lot of resources when there isn’t enough demand for them.

Our mission for the brand is to make nutritious choices accessible to all. And beyond our products, we aim to foster awareness and inspire a community committed to a healthier lifestyle.

And so far, the responses were great. Our customers seem to be loving it, but we are still trying to figure out which is the right market to target and the best way to reach them. I guess we need to test a lot of strategies and see how it goes for 2024.

Our current distribution channels right now are selling it direct to consumers online and open for resellers.

So if you are interested in reselling our chips and being one of our partners, consider joining our reseller program by sending me a message 🙂

And if you just want to try our chips, message us on Facebook to place an order (Plus, it’s free delivery on your first order!).

In September, my friend Shoty and I had an idea of starting an online computer repair service center.

We created Panay Tech Solutions as your go-to for computer repairs and tech tips. Similar to what we did to Gohealthy Philipines, this project is an MVP, where we’ve been testing some things like how big is the market for computer repairs in Roxas City, and if there’s enough demand for us to join the market.

Plus we get to practice local SEO (Search engine optimization) for this one. You probably don’t have any idea what SEO is, but it’s simply the practice of making a webpage rank higher on search engines. So you may occasionally see our site on Google when searching for computer repairs in Roxas City.

But unfortunately, we weren’t able to give a lot of time for this project, which is why we can’t provide our repair services at the moment. I guess we just have to wait and see how it goes for 2024. I hope we can make time for this project 🙂

Lessons learned

I have learned through reading books, blogs, personal experiences, and talking to other people. And since life never stops teaching, never stop learning.

Below are some of the lessons I have learned.

Being nice attracts opportunities

I was surprised that by simply being nice to others, do really attracts more opportunities. Trust me, it’s real. Most opportunities that came to me were just simply because I was just being nice. And the best part? It’s free!

Small progress is the right progress

When small progress is made consistently, it will compound and lead to enormous growth.

Avoid adjusting yourself based on what others expect

If you want to be successful, stop catering to what others think because you’ll be walking a different path than everyone else.

Don’t make business too personal

A lot of good relationships have been broken in business. In business, it’s important to learn how to manage your emotions and not take everything personally.

Books for 2023

I’m grateful that I have not just achieved my goal of reading 4 books in 2023, but also surpassed it. This time, I won’t be sharing all, but only my favorite reads 🙂

These are in no particular order, but I enjoyed them all:

Atomic Habits by James Clear – This book helped me build good habits and break bad ones.

Richdad Poordad by Robert Kiyosaki – I read this 5 years ago, and I thought that it was time to read it again.

Start Your Own Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media – Highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start a business.

Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles – The secret to having a longer and happier life is finding your Ikigai 🙂

My goals for 2024

I am grateful that I’ve achieved most of my goals for 2023, I will be doing my best again to achieve my goals for 2024.

Below are the goals I wanted to achieve.

Take more pics – This one has always been the hardest haha! but still, I’ll be doing my best again 🙂

Continue breaking bad habits – I’m grateful that I have built good habits, but it’s the bad ones that are hard to get rid of.

Be better at time management – I seem to be always wasting a lot of my time, that’s why I need to be better at my time management skills.

Consistent Blogging – I will be aiming for my weekly blogs.

I can’t believe that I have been writing my yearly recaps consistently for 3 years now. I hope that you also have enjoyed reading this one. Have a great year ahead!

In the meantime, enjoy more pics from 2023 🙂

Featured image credit: Engin Akyurt