Winter 2021 Update

 

Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

It's nearly the end of 2021. I haven't posted an update on here in ages (what's new). I am trying to build an amazing life. Bit by bit things continue to come together. It's the journey not the destination, right?

Here goes.

Work

Work is going well. My solo SEO content & copy business AlisonMac took off. In Thailand in 2017 I was beginning to stand on my own two feet, moving away from volume ghost-blogging contracts, acquiring my own clients. From 2019 in the Czech Republic until now in Mexico, my clientele has grown. The demand for Spanish content also called for a larger team. 

I've since trained select writers and editors in best practices for SEO and brought them onboard. With our current team of 4 based out of San Francisco and CDMX we have found our stride. A smart team means things run smoothly. We work with tech clients with marketing campaigns or web launches that need to outsource content. I handle client management and have stepped away from the writing desk completely. 

What's in store for the future? Not content to remain small, I am in the middle of managing a re-brand and market shift. Fueled by conversations in my NGO networks in Latin America, my hope is to move into impact work and pick up all those RFPs I see floating around. AlisonMac will still exist, I think. 

A new business, Archer Impact, will launch in partnership with Stacy in 2022. Our focus will be SEO content/copy and impact M&E-related work. Our target clients will be NGOs in Latin America. We want to improve the quality of communication and impact in the global development field, especially in the dynamic of US-funded projects. 

A website is in the works. Our business plan is 25% done. We know our break even point and are doing financial projections for 2 years. We are networking to find partner agencies who have effective services in these areas. There is plenty of research work to do before the launch, but we are both excited about this next move. 

Volunteering

By the time Biden/Harris won the US presidential election in 2020, I was completely burnt out on US politics. I remain a member of the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus but I stepped down from the executive committee. I've helped on one campaign since, an effort to remove VA-issued obstacles for GI benefits to be applied at higher education institutions abroad. 

In the Red Cross, we had a saying when people asked how they could help. "Give your money, your time, or your blood." I couldn't give any more time so I switched to being a regular donor to the ACLU.

Social Media

@LasSaboritas is silent. We reached over 700 Prague-based restaurant and bar reviews and 730+ followers. I stopped contributing when I left Prague in 2020. Ana stopped when she moved to Seattle this year. It was a fun project. We even enjoyed a regular food column in the English-language expat newspaper for awhile. What a cool experience.

Grad School

I graduated! I now have a master's degree in International Economics and Geopolitics from Univerzita Karlova or Charles University in Prague. I finished my thesis during the pandemic and defended it successfully. I passed my state exams in September 2020 (Economics) and February 2021 (Politics). It was a grueling ending and anticlimactic in a thousand ways, but it's over. I am, as the young people say, #OneDegreeHotter. 

The UK faculty informed me they have zero contacts in Latin America. Before committing to the business, I was a bit frustrated with my study decision. I realize now that what I came out with was a fascinating look at geopolitics from a Central/Eastern European perspective. It's unique to study geopolitics while living in one of the smallest countries in a major world region. This part of my education will serve me well. The Czech language I learned "dvakrát tmavé pivo prosím" will not serve me in the future, but was extremely useful at the time.

Now

Now I've been in Mexico for over 1 year. Moving here was the first time since 2013 that I lived in a country where I could speak and understand the language from day one. What a welcome break for my brain. The original goal was to head to Colombia for work, but the pandemic and politics changed things.

I am back in CDMX for the long haul after spending time in Nayarit and Guadalajara. To sum things up I am happy to be back in a bustling, cosmopolitan, multicultural, capital city of the world. 

Those are my life updates. How about you? I'd love to hear somebody else's life update.