One Year In: What Starting Higgins Beach Marketing Taught Me About Showing Up

There's a moment every CrossFitter knows.

You walk into the gym, look at the whiteboard, and see something that makes your stomach drop. You don't know exactly how hard it's going to be, but you know it's going to be hard.

And there's a voice. The one that says maybe not today. Maybe take it easy. Maybe this isn't for you. Turn around before the coach sees you and it'll be like it never happened.

Starting Higgins Beach Marketing felt exactly like that.

One year ago, I made the decision to step out on my own and build something new. On paper, it made sense. Decades of experience in B2B sales and marketing. Deep expertise in go-to-market strategy, ABM, and commercial execution. A network built over years of doing the work. The timing felt right. The opportunity was real.

But let me be clear: just because the leap felt natural doesn't mean it was easy.

Building the Foundation

From day one, we made a deliberate choice to run lean. Not because we had to, but because we wanted to build the right foundation before chasing scale.

That meant saying no to things that didn't fit. It meant prioritizing systems and processes over quick wins. It meant doing the unsexy work that nobody sees: refining our service offerings, building credibility one client at a time, and staying disciplined when the temptation was to grow faster than we were ready for.

Running lean isn't glamorous. It's trade-offs and late nights and trusting that the foundation you're laying will hold the weight of what's coming next. You loose a lot of sleep.

Where We Are Now

One year in, I'm proud of what we've built.

We have a foundational client list - companies that trusted us early and gave us the opportunity to deliver real results. We have a pipeline of new opportunities that reflect the reputation we've been building. And we have a clear path forward to execute against our growth goals in year two.

None of it happened by accident. It happened because we kept showing up.

What I've Learned

A few lessons from year one:

Patience is a strategy. It's tempting to chase every opportunity, but the right clients and the right projects are worth waiting for and focusing on. Building something sustainable takes time and concerted effort.

Relationships are everything. Every client, every conversation, every connection matters. This business runs on trust and trust is built through consistency and follow-through.

Trust yourself. There were moments of doubt. Moments where the voice crept in and asked if this was the right move. But you don't build something meaningful without uncertainty. You just keep going.

Here's the thing about CrossFit.

The workout ends. You're on the floor, lungs burning, wondering why you do this to yourself. Why you pay so much for this... voluntarily. And then something shifts. You realize you did the hard thing. You showed up when it would have been easier not to. And you're stronger for it - not just physically, but mentally.

One year of building Higgins Beach Marketing feels the same way.

There was uncertainty. There was struggle. There were days I wanted to quit. But I kept showing up. And now, looking back at what we've built, I feel the reward that only comes from doing hard things.

To the clients who trusted us this year - thank you. To the people who offered advice, made introductions, and cheered us on - thank you. To everyone who's been part of this journey - I'm grateful.

Year one was about building the foundation.

Year two is about execution.

I don't know what's on the whiteboard tomorrow. But I know I'll show up.