Another Year, Another Chance to Reflect
Turning 44 is one of those milestones that makes you stop and take stock. Not in a dramatic, midlife-crisis kind of way, but in the quiet, honest way that happens when you have been building things for long enough to see patterns in your own life. This birthday felt different because for the first time in a long time, I feel like the business, the community work, and my personal life are all moving in the same direction.
What Two Decades in Business Has Taught Me
When I started in IT and ecommerce over 23 years ago, I measured success by technical achievements — systems deployed, problems solved, clients onboarded. As the years went on, I started measuring success differently. Now I measure it by the strength of relationships, by how many people I have been able to help, and by whether the work I do every day actually matters to someone other than myself. That shift did not happen overnight. It came through years of getting things wrong, burning out, rebuilding, and slowly learning what actually sustains you over the long haul.
Gratitude for the People Around Me
The thing I am most grateful for at 44 is the people. The team at MageCloud who show up every day and genuinely care about our clients. The community around Ecommerce Camp who give their time and expertise to help other merchants grow. The clients who trust us with their businesses, sometimes during the most stressful periods of their lives. And my family, who have supported every mad idea, every late night, and every risky decision along the way.
Looking Forward
I do not do birthday resolutions — I think they are just as unreliable as New Year ones. But I do take stock. At 44, the thing I want to focus on most is depth over breadth. Deeper relationships with fewer clients rather than spreading ourselves thin. Deeper content in our community events rather than chasing numbers. Deeper investment in the people on my team rather than just growing headcount. If the next 44 years are anything like the last, I know the people and the purpose will carry me through whatever comes next.