Each year I try to take some time to sit down and reflect on the year that just passed. I find this exercise almost therapeutic, and this simple process helps me figure out what's important to me.
During the year it's easy for me to get caught in the day to day, and sometimes I struggle to take a step back and reflect on things.
As the year gets going and after the holidays, it's easy to jump back in right where you left off and keep everything as the status quo.
Sometimes you get stuck into the routine that's comfortable for you.
I have spent years building toward the perfect life. Or at least what I thought that perfect life looked like.
In 2025, I realized I was forgetting to actually live it.
In 2025 there are a few things that jump out to me.
- •Businesses did over $5M
- •Saas Business hit $1M profit
- •Ran 1,344 miles & biked 2,128 miles
- •Started taking health seriously
- •Climbed "The Chief"
- •Started building a life with my girlfriend
- •Shut down a failing business
- •& started a new one.
What's in This Post
When I put these posts together the intended reader is myself. I don't do it for the reader as it's a selfish exercise, but this year I thought... well maybe people will find this interesting, so I'm going to share it.
So you will see me summarizing and reflecting on both my businesses and some of my personal life as well.
This year started like most others. I was hyper focused on trying to hit revenue and profit goals, working way too much (more than I needed to).
But somewhere along the way, something shifted and by the end of the year things started to feel different. I had direction, I felt a focus I hadn't felt in years, and looking back through photos from the year I could see myself smiling more than I had in a long time.
Things were starting to click again...
So hopefully you enjoy this journey through my 2025 year in review.
The Wanderful
A lot of people know me as Scott "The Van Guy." I was early on the vanlife train and travelled around for the better part of 5 years with my dog Ellie and built a small following on Instagram.
So when people think about me, they usually connect me to my ecommerce business, which I started about five years ago.
At a glance:
- •20% revenue growth
- •Multi-7-figure annual business
- •Team of 4 + myself
- •Profitable
Overview
We launched a ton of new products and had a strong summer season. Over the 5 years of running this business we have realized this is a seasonal business and we need to stop trying to force revenue during slow seasons.
Instead of running ads year-round at the same pace, we lean in during peak season and pull back when it makes sense. For years we tried to always have month-over-month growth, but we've now learned when to prioritize revenue and growth and when not to waste ad dollars during times of the year when our customers aren't actively looking for our products.
What I learned this year:
When running an e-commerce business it takes a long time before the owner is able to take out meaningful money. This was the first year that happened for me, and I don't think a lot of people realize that when starting an e-commerce business.
Everyone sees the revenue numbers, but they don't see how much goes back into inventory, ads, team, operations, and growing the business before you actually get paid. The business is making money, but the majority of that money is sitting on your balance sheet as inventory.
I've learned a million things running this business, but probably the biggest is that e-commerce is not an easy business model. Customer acquisition costs are always rising, margins are shrinking, and predicting demand and matching inventory can feel like a full-time job.
If I were starting over, I'm not sure I would have gone down the e-commerce route again. But it has forced me to learn a ton, and I feel like a weapon now. The things I've learned and the mistakes I've made make me feel like I can take these skills into any future venture and find success.
When you're in this space, you're always comparing yourself to people doing millions a month, and you feel like you are falling behind or failing.
But when you zoom out and talk to someone outside of this small niche, you quickly realize just how much knowledge you have acquired.
Key Learnings from Running The Wanderful:
- •E-commerce can take 3-5 years before meaningful owner income
- •Inventory is a balance sheet game
- •CAC always rises - plan for it from day one
- •Seasonal businesses need seasonal strategies
- •Systems > daily hustle for long-term sustainability
- •Not every business needs to be $10M/year to be successful
- •The skills you gain are transferable and valuable
The reality check:
This business is very good and successful, but it may have a ceiling, and I might have reached the cap on exponential growth.
I think The Wanderful will likely continue at a 10-20% annual growth rate, which is also a great business to own and operate for the long term, and the way I've set it up allows me to do that.
I see so many people online with businesses doing 10x what I'm doing, and I need to step back and remember that this is still an extremely successful business. Not every business idea is going to be a $10 million/year business, and that's okay.
The focus for 2026:
To grow the business, the key areas are:
- •Ads & content
- •Upfitter/wholesale relationships
Everything else is mostly taken care of.
We have our 2026 product launches all lined up, and for the first time in a long time, it doesn't feel like we're chasing things.
Kickbooster
Most people don't know this but I also own a software company called Kickbooster, and that business predates my ecommerce business. I plan to share more about that business in the future.
At a glance:
- •$1M profit (record year)
- •Best return on time invested
- •Turned 9 years old
Kickbooster had an amazing year. We had a couple of big customers and it's going to do a million dollars this year in profit.
The opportunity we're missing:
We haven't focused on the Shopify side of the business like we should. We've relied on organic growth and that needs to change. It's time for us to be deliberate with growing that business.
This year a "competitor" (and I say that tongue in cheek because there's a ton of room in this space) was acquired for $35,000,000 and I can't help but admit that there is a little bit of jealousy.
But at the end of the day they did the execution and the work... and I didn't. So it's time to change that.
The strategy for 2026:
Our focus needs to be on leveraging other people's distribution. Getting in front of the right audiences through partnerships and relationships.
For a long time, I've had impostor syndrome around being a SaaS founder. I avoided putting myself out there because I didn't want to get into the typical competitor drama where apps throw shade at each other.
But here's what I've learned: there's room for everyone in this space.
I don't need to play that game, but I do need people to know we exist. If no one knows about us, how can I expect the business to grow?
We've been around for 9 years (which sounds crazy to say) and we have a world-class product. I know once people try it, they love it.
The problem isn't the product. It's distribution.
The plan for 2026 is simple: build more relationships, get in front of more people, and let the product speak for itself.
Nine years in, and we're just getting started.
Crakt
We also had a business we ended up shutting down.
Crakt was a publisher whitelisting business for e-commerce brands running Facebook ads. I still believe it's a great idea (because it's by far the lowest CPA ads we run in our e-commerce company), but it was just too hard and too much of an agency-style business to be worth the time I was putting into it.
What I learned:
One thing I've gotten better at is recognizing when to stop forcing a business to work. Knowing when to shut something down because it's not the right thing to be working on is a skill. That's what I learned here.
So we shut it down. That was a failure this year, and I'm okay with that.
Bodystack
At the end of 2025 I started a new business called Bodystack and it's a business I am excited about. This business feels like it could be my big swing.
In 2025 I started to prioritize my health, and that wasn't just about fitness. It was overall health (exercise, diet, vitamins, supplements & regular bloodwork). And that's where this business idea was born.
This business is something I'm excited to work on. It aligns with my personal health goals, and I can see myself working on it for years to come.
That matters more than I realized it would.
Excited to share more soon as we get closer to launch.
When it comes to my businesses I've really tried to spend time prioritizing the tasks that have the biggest impact on the business and are also things that I enjoy doing.
So as I find things that meet those two criteria, not only am I able to work on multiple aspects of the business, but I'm able to do things that drive the business forward in a meaningful way.
And that's something that I enjoy.
Personal & Family
If I look at this year, some of the things that stand out most to me are:
- •Spending 5 weeks in the Sprinter van in BC with my girlfriend
- •Climbed The Chief in Squamish
- •Golfed Shadow Creek (Bucket List Golf Course)
- •Spending time with my family
- •Ran 1,344 miles
- •Biked 2,128 miles
- •Averaged 10,000 steps per day
Climbing The Chief
Climbing The Chief was difficult and the first time in a long time I experienced something where I wasn't sure I could complete it.
I was safe. We hired a guide and all that. But that uncertainty is what I'm chasing.
It took about nine hours to do 14 pitches, and when we finished, it felt like a real accomplishment. I'm glad I documented it.
That's why the idea of running a 100-mile race interests me.
I have a goal of running a sub-three-hour marathon, but that goal feels different. Even if you miss the time, you'll probably still finish the marathon, so you still achieve the thing.
With a 100-miler, it's binary. It's going to be hard. You either finish or you don't.
That's the kind of challenge I want more of in my life, and I'm working on figuring out what those things are and how I safely incorporate more of them.
Looking Through Photos
At the end of the year, I took the time to go through my camera roll.
That simple exercise of selecting my favorite photos, exporting them into a folder, and going over them gave me some really nice insights into my life.
It became very obvious what makes me happy. I could tell just by the smile on my face:
- •Spending time with my girlfriend
- •Mountain biking
- •Climbing
- •Golfing
- •Trips in the van
- •Time at the family cottage
I never considered myself a nostalgic person, but being able to create these memories and look back on them is something I'm happy to have.
I just want to experience more of these things, and I need to prioritize them in 2026.
Fitness & Health
This year I had 2 fitness goals...
The goal: I had a goal at the start of the year to run 1,000 miles and bike 1,000 miles.
The result: I ran 1,344 miles and biked 2,128 miles.
But it almost feels like the goal was too easy to achieve... so this year I have some larger goals in mind that are going to push me outside of my comfort zone.
I'll be putting together a full post on my 2026 goals and sharing that here as well.
The Health Rabbit Hole
At the start of the year, I got a Function Health test done, and that opened a huge rabbit hole for me and it was a rabbit hole I was glad I went down.
The biggest findings from my blood tests were that my heart biomarkers weren't great.
I'll break that down in a future post and explain what I've done to address it, but it made me hyper-aware of something I'd been ignoring.
I started researching and learning a lot about the space and began to learn more about my body and my health.
Tests I had done:
- •Function Health Blood Test
- •CAC Scan
- •Liver Scan
- •DEXA Scan
- •Lactate Testing
Main findings:
- •Heart biomarkers elevated (addressing through diet, supplements, and lifestyle)
- •Testosterone lower than optimal for my age
Topics I focused on
All of the tests and monitoring only matter if you're going to use that information to make changes. These bullets listed are the main areas I chose to focus on in 2025 and will continue to focus on and expand on in 2026:
- •Diet
- •Vitamins
- •Supplements
- •Peptides
- •Lifestyle / Exercise
I'll be doing a separate detailed post breaking down the cost of my health journey and the specific supplements and vitamins I take.
Why this matters:
A big theme this year was not wanting to waste time. Time is a finite resource, the only thing you can't get more of. Taking my health seriously is a big part of making sure I maximize my time here.
I'm 38 years old and I'm in good health.
But my family history of heart conditions at a relatively young age early to mid-50s was something always in the back of my mind. And now I'm making a conscious priority in my life to get ahead of.
Being proactive instead of reactive.
As I've gotten older, I think there is more that you can control in your life than a lot of people think, especially when it comes to your health.
Health and fitness will be a huge priority for me in 2026.
Honest Assessment & Reflection on 2025
If I look at my honest assessment of 2025, it was a good year.
I had a lot of fun, made a ton of memories, and learned a lot.
But I do feel like I didn't make enough large steps forward from a business standpoint and it wasn't until the end of the year where I felt like I was starting to hit my stride again.
The problem: I felt like I spent a lot of time procrastinating on what I should be focusing on. In doing that, I don't think I wasted the year, but I do think I could have optimized it better.
Going into 2026, I feel like I finally have a direction and focus in business, and I am excited to put my energy into it. The lack of direction was something I struggled with.
What I'm Good At
- •The starting point (the zero to one)
- •Learning new domains quickly (ecommerce, SaaS, health tech)
- •Recognizing patterns and applying lessons across businesses
- •Building and maintaining long-term relationships
- •Spotting trends early
What I Struggle With
- •Being deliberate with priorities
- •Consistent daily execution on the highest-leverage activities
The Pattern
I'm good at building and setting up systems, but I struggle with consistent execution and focus.
I have a tendency to think instead of do (spend a lot of time trying to be perfect), and I need to focus more on getting things done.
A big goal for 2026 is to be very clear with my objectives and make sure each day I'm working toward them. I have a better vision now of where I want to be and what is important to me.
I'm hoping 2026 is the year everything starts to click.
Key Lessons from 2025
Looking back at the year, here's what 2025 taught me:
- •Life is passing by — Need to live it now, not just build toward it
- •Experiences matter most — The photos don't lie about what makes me happy
- •Time ROI matters — Kickbooster proved highest return on time invested
- •Focus is everything — Lack of clear objectives led to procrastination
- •Health is controllable — More proactive approach needed
- •Ceilings exist — The Wanderful may have a natural limit, and that's okay
- •Not all ideas work — Crakt was a good idea but wrong execution
- •Memories > money — The year's highlights weren't business wins
Wrapping Up 2025
Looking back on 2025...
The biggest lesson? I've spent years building toward the perfect life, but I was forgetting to actually live it. Time is the only resource you can't get more of, and I was spending too much of it thinking instead of doing.
2025 gave me those answers. Now 2026 is about executing on them.
Thanks for reading. Here's to making 2026 count.
I'm sharing more about my 2026 goals, health experiments, and business updates in my newsletter. Join if you want to follow along.