A Year of Yes: How It’s Shaped My Life and Business

At the start of 2024, I set off on an experiment with a group of clients called A Year of Yes. The premise was simple: what if, for an entire year, we said yes to everything that felt like a joyful “Yes!” in our body — no matter what? No rationalising. No justification. No waiting for proof or guarantees of success. Just pure, unfiltered trust in the visceral yes of our body.

I didn’t know where this experiment would take me, what my business and life would look like, or who I would become by the close of the year. Now, with the year complete, I can spill the beans and answer those questions. Let me take you through what I learnt, how this lens shaped my decisions, and where this journey led me.

— In this article —

Saying “Yes” Starts with Honouring My “No”

Something that I quickly realised is that following my Yes meant paying attention to and honouring my “No.” For example, early on in the year I decided to pause all my self-study courses so I could reassess and experiment, because for one reason or another, it didn’t feel good to have people buy them. It didn’t make financial sense to do this, and it did result in low-income months, but this move paid off big time.

Clarity on My Value Proposition

The experimentation with my offerings throughout the year gave me a whole new layer of clarity about my value in the marketplace and what to double down on in my messaging and client work. I’ve now translated this clarity into a signature offering for 2025 — one that feels very aligned with my innate gifts, generates consistent monthly income, and that will be energetically sustainable to deliver on, long term.

An Updated Approach to My Work

As I step into the next phase of my business, I’ll be focusing on supporting small groups of clients through the new Quiet Marketing Mastermind. My experiments in the past year reminded me how challenging it can be to support large groups of clients in a meaningful way. My new mastermind format will allow me to offer more hands on personalised action plans and support — it will also be the only offering where I’ll work 1:1 with a handful of clients in 2025.

Refreshing Of My Offerings

This year saw the rebirth of two of my signature programs, Create a Tiny Course and The Art of Responding. I ran these as live guided group programs, breathing fresh energy into them and creating deeper connections with participants.

I also introduced a monthly signature workshop, How to Market Quietly & Still Be Successful. This has become a beautiful way to meet new people entering my world while also growing a list of ‘buyers.’ It’s been a joy to connect with others who resonate with the Quiet Marketing ethos.

Diary of a Quiet Marketer

I started my podcast, Diary of a Quiet Marketer. It’s a bare minimum, sporadic project at the moment, but it’s alive! New episodes are percolating, so stay tuned for more reflections and insights from behind the scenes of my Quiet Marketing journey.

Highest Income Year Ever

Despite (or perhaps because of) the shifts and experiments, 2024 became my highest-income year to date. It’s a great example of how things can fall into place when you follow the wisdom of the body, rather than the rationalisations of the mind.

Two Large Investments In Business Mentoring

This year taught me what it feels like to have every cell in my body resonate with a full "yes" and to move forward even when it didn’t make rational sense. I made two significant investments in business mentoring this year — both of which felt risky at the time. But instead of rationalising and needing a guarantee of success, I committed anyway — and they paid off in ways I hadn’t imagined.

Relaxing My Grip on Monthly Financial Targets

As I stepped back from actively selling most of my offers to focus on experimenting with how I wanted to work, income naturally dipped. But instead of worrying, I found myself feeling calm, grounded, and trusting of my process. This shift feels like a nice maturing of my relationship with money.

Connecting to My Bigger Why

I have more clarity about why I do what I do — my ‘why’ — which is to support nature loving solopreneurs to create businesses that are simpler, calmer, and profitable — where the right people can find them effortlessly, and they can serve those people in a way that is energetically sustainable.

My role is to walk side-by-side with them in friendship and thinking partnership, taking the time to feel the essence of who they are and the energy of their work. Because when I can truly connect with that, I can draw out the language, strategies, and structures that not only simplify their daily operations but also amplify their income and impact.

Personal Adventures

I ticked off several personal goals, starting with attending my first-ever vermouth festival in Barcelona. As quite the vermouth geek and connoisseur, this was so exciting and played a key role in expanding my knowledge for when I eventually create a private ‘vermuteria’ — a vermouth bar — here at The Long House.

Another highlight was completing the internationally accredited Level 2 Wine & Spirit Education Trust course in London. While there, the universe serendipitously orchestrated a chance meeting with two dear friends from Australia at The Shard. With its spectacular views over London, this reunion is a memory I cherish.

I also said yes to a wonderful value exchange with a client, where in return for one of my programs, I enjoyed a summer holiday in her Lake Como apartment. This experience was especially meaningful as it gave me the chance to revisit Como and retrace the steps I had taken with my sister 24 years ago around Bellagio and Villa Carlotta.

New Level of Commitment to My Marriage

On a personal note, I have a new level of commitment to my marriage, prioritising quality time with Jon and cultivating more magic, passion, and unconditional love into our everyday life.

2025: A Year of Restoration

After such a full and transformational year, where I feel like there was very little pause, 2025 will be my Year of Restoration. My focus will shift to creating more time and space for personal wellbeing, family, and home projects. To honour this, I’ll be saying no to requests for my time outside of my client work. Essentially, I’ll be initiating A Year of No — which will probably be both uncomfortable and deeply transformational, much like this past year has been.

The Yes Of The Body vs The Yes Of The Mind

Looking back, A Year of Yes stretched me, surprised me, and cultivated even more trust in the ‘Yes’ of my body, versus the yes of my head. I’ve come out the other side feeling calibrated, clearer on the vision for my business, and with gratitude for everything I’ve experienced.

As I step into 2025, I’m ready to embrace a different kind of experiment—one focused on restoration and boundaries. If A Year of Yes was about boldly following every joyful ‘Yes’ in my body — without justification, overthinking, or needing certainty — and seeing where that led, then A Year of No is about leaning into the discomfort of saying “No," and the joy of missing out.

This year, everything will start with "No," which has a distinctly different vibe to my Year of Yes. It’s discerning, intentional, and a direct challenge to the "good girl" program. By saying "No," I am intentionally freeing up my time, space, and energy so that whatever is next for me can emerge.

Danielle Gardner
The Quiet Marketer
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