I’m Proud of What I’ve Accomplished in 2014

The Best of 2014

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

University Graduate

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. πŸ™‚

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

Ashley Evans and Jeremy West speaking at Design 101 Panel

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. πŸ™‚ I’d definitely love to do this again!

I launched my first e-course

Make your own WordPress theme 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. πŸ™‚

I got married to the love of my life in Florence

People throwing flowers petals at the bride and groom

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. πŸ™‚

Tell me what you accomplished!

Photo of Ashley
I'm a 30-something California girl living in England (I fell in love with a Brit!). My three great passions are: books, coding, and fitness. more »

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43 comments

    1. Thanks Angie! πŸ˜€ I was thrilled to have you switch to Book Host. I’m glad it’s going well for you!

  1. 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! πŸ™‚ I’ve been to a few author signings this year and am working hard to get to BEA this year.

    Marni J recently posted: Merry Christmas!
  2. these accomplishments are incredible! You should be so proud of yourself πŸ™‚

    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 πŸ™‚

    Natalie recently posted: Beautiful, Bountiful Books
  3. Holy crap, Ashley! You had a heck of a year! You put all of us to shame, I think! πŸ˜‰ 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!

    Leah recently posted: Coming Soon!
    1. Haha thanks Leah. πŸ™‚ 250 books is a crazy amount!!

      I’m excited for the launch of your new blog. πŸ™‚

  4. 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!!

  5. 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 πŸ˜‰

    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 πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you Liza. πŸ™‚ I’ve loved having you as a Book Host client! It sounds like 2015 was a pretty good year for you too. πŸ™‚

  6. 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! ♥

    Zoe @ Stories on Stage recently posted: 2014 Roundup
  7. Your year was amazing πŸ˜€ 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 πŸ˜€ 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 πŸ˜€

    Vera recently posted: 2015: Os meus desejos

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