2023 – the year in review

It only seems like 5 minutes since I was writing my review of 2022, and now we’re only a couple of weeks away from 2024!

Just as I did last year, I want to take some time to reflect on the year. Over 49 episodes of the podcast we’ve been looking at news, developments and I’ve been giving my take on common themes as well.

It’s all in the mind

I started January looking at mindset, which, as you’ll know, is an important topic for me. Your mindset is so integral to everything in your life, and I talked about it throughout the year on a number of occasions. In March, I shared some tips on how to Supercharge your Year, then in May I looked at how procrastination could be holding you back. June saw me talking about brainstorming and resourcefulness. In November we discussed the importance of performance coaching and the all-important accountability required to ensure you hit your targets.

A key topic for me this year has been resilience. I gave a keynote speech in London back in June at the construction conference ‘Build Your Future’, and on Episode 165 was all about resilience. It’s definitely something you need to build if you’re going to make it in Real Estate and property investment!

Putting the ‘real’ in Real Estate

I also dedicated an episode in January to ChatGPT. Back then I don’t think any of us knew the extent it would grow to throughout the year, and it’s rightly dominated the headlines. Check out episode 141 to find out if ChatGPT could provide a solution to the housing crisis in Ireland.

It’s been a challenging year across the board, both internationally and domestically. In March I talked about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and in April I talked about the state of the office market and the challenges we’ve been facing. In October I looked at whether there was another recession and property crash on the way.

In terms of Real Estate, we’ve covered some really interesting topics over the year – in episode 147 I looked Modular Construction and how it could help the housing situation in Ireland. We’ve also looked at making the leap from builder to builder-investor with a property portfolio, and whether you should buy your parents’ house so they can retire. We also looked at why you need to pay attention to the energy rating of your assets, and how workplace design is changing to meet the changing needs of the workforce.

It takes a village

I’ve been lucky to have some great guests in conversation over the year – huge thanks to everyone who gave their time to talk to me and add so much value for my listeners: Richard Woods shared his insights into being a contestant on The Apprentice, and he gave some excellent advice on how to generate more business calls.

Andrea Bernal told us how he went from being a pro tennis player to building a career in Real Estate, and I talked to Raquel Aparicio about her work in high-end design. ?Matt Grady joined me in April to talk about moving into business after playing golf professionally (staying on the sports theme) and Christina P Buckley shared some super-valuable advice on pensions and property. Adam Lawrence gave us some tips on scaling your business in episode 156, and Owen Reilly and I talked about innovation and the importance of being an early adopter.

I had a fantastic conversation with Michaela Wain about why the construction industry is such a male-dominated sector and Chairperson of the Irish Property Owners Association Mary Conway joined me to talk about why these are challenging times for Irish Landlords. More recently, Greg Wilkes told us how he went from running a loft conversion business in the UK to living the dream in Australia, and Krystyna Rawicz joined me to talk about why hiring a building surveyor is so important. Towards the end of the year I talked to Alan Siebenaler about overcoming stress, Zaf Bhunnoo about coping when a personal guarantee threatens the safety of your home, and Harry Hyman shared the story of creating 3 billion Euro of value over 30 years.

Closing out the year Joel Friedland joined me earlier this month to talk about resilience and business coach Jason Cannon was on recently for an episode on ‘slowing down to speed up’!

Everyone who’s been on this year has shared invaluable insights in their fields, and I’m so grateful to everyone to giving their time. Well worth revisiting!

Getting things done

Away from the podcast it’s been a big year for me. I moved house in the summer, which was a massive undertaking, my YouTube channel has been going from strength to strength, and I was delighted to launch my Foundations programme in May! It’s carefully crafted for novice investors (or anyone simply looking buy their first home), and is designed to mentor and guide you through the process, and basics of investing in the property market.

Entering the property market for the first time can be a daunting experience and this course will take you through the fundamentals in simple, jargon-free language. It explains how the market functions, what you need to watch out for, and steps to help you avoid costly mistakes.

The last thing I want to say is a massive thank you to all my listeners and followers – I love getting your comments and questions. Wishing you all a safe, happy and warm festive season. Happy Holidays!