Many people use the time towards the end of the year to reflect on the journey and plan for the road ahead. It goes by different names, The Gap & The Gain, reflection & prayer, Annual Planning, whatever you call it, we hope you had time to do it and wish you luck on your 2025 goals!
It was a big year for Duffy Engineering and our team. It was our first full year in business, and we learned many things. For one, we made our first full-time hire, Emilio San Miguel in the executive assistant role. Emilio works remotely for us out of Ecuador, and we couldn’t be happier to have his assistance in the 2nd half of the year. It is safe to say without him, this newsletter wouldn’t happen every month (or at all).
With regard to the work we performed, it was as varied as our clients are. We performed façade restoration designs, roof surveys and replacements, new construction reviews, leak investigations, shoring designs, Periodic Inspections of Parking Garages (PIPS), and Façade Inspection & Safety Program inspections. We conducted construction administration, pull tests, and parapet inspections, the list literally goes on and on my friend.
On the administrative end of things, we were able to standardize our proposal process a little bit, it’s not where we want it to be, but it is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was at the start of the year. We rebuilt our website and started our newsletter, both goals we had entering the year. We also achieved our revenue and profit goals for the year which set us up to have a successful start to 2025. It was a little like the Olympic shooter from Turkey, we weren’t high-tech, but the results were there.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Mistakes were made, deadlines were missed, choice words were said, and some goals were not achieved. Some of our best learning moments happened in those times. For one, I re-learned that I need to set aside time each week to methodically work on our company goals. It sounds basic, but it’s difficult to do in practice. The most impactful goal that we missed for the year was establishing our written processes. I was hoping to be much further along than we are in this process, and now it seems like a daunting task as we enter 2025.
On the personal side, it was a big year for the Duffy family as well. Our son Jack was born in August, 7 weeks earlier than anticipated. He spent some time in the NICU but came home and has settled in really well with his older brother and sister… once they learned he wasn’t a doll and did actually cry when you poked him in the eye (I’m looking at you, Teddy).
Heading into 2025 a world of adventure awaits. We finished setting our goals for the year, and while I won’t bore you with all the details, we are on pace to make our first technical hires in both the NYC and Boston areas. We also have set a goal of having a team member be SPRAT certified so that we can better serve our clients.
I’d love to hear what your personal, professional, or organizational goals are for 2025. Send me an email at KD@DuffyEngCo.com and perhaps we can push each other to be the best versions of ourselves this year.
