Catch 22

What a year 2021 has been. But as the old saying goes. the best is yet to come. Here is what Aaron Phillips has to say about the year that was and our plans going forward.

The funny thing about irony

According to optometrists (or any eye doctor), 20/20 vision is considered to be excellent. When the year 2020 came to be, let's just say that the word excellent is not the first word that comes to mind. But as time marched on, it was the perfect opportunity to see what Lone Gold could become. That in turn has made everything excellent in it's own way.

As we are waiting for 2022 to come, there is this uneasy feeling that we are still caught in the middle. Being in the year 2021 isn't really helping matters much. Yet at the same time, I feel that we are heading in the right direction. Our recent successes have been a great indicator of that feeling.

With great success comes a price we all have to pay to get to wherever we want to go. That is what we call the ole catch 22. I'll admit, that part sucks. But if that means we sustain our momentum, then I will gladly do it again in a heartbeat. It's how I've always rolled.

Don't get me wrong, some of those past decisions still linger to this day. But if I didn't do what I was supposed to do, then things would've been a whole lot worse. At any rate, I can't turn back the clock and undo the past. So if you are going to do anything, do it with no regrets.

The thing that makes irony funny in this situation is that any figure of speech that I could possibly use can accurately sum up what has happened at Lone Gold. Despite our recent successes this year, we still have a ways to go to make this company go further.

Here is where we are now and where we are planning to go in the years ahead. You can read my last post to see our plans in more detail.

Just in time for Christmas

In the first full week of December, we were able to post our weekly rankings on Lone Gold Sports in over a year and a half. We now have the ability to post the top spots on our website and post the results here in our blog. Just check out the rankings section in our blog to see our latest rankings.

We have also built a sign up page that you can access on both Lone Gold and The Gamer Experience Review sites. Our campaign will feature the Ultimate Gaming Room guide that you can download and take with you anytime. It's free to sign up and you unsubscribe with no obligation.

One of our simpler tasks was to make an impression on social media. While this blog is a good start, we have always focused on getting better traction on social media. Around the same time that we were getting our sports site back on track, we have been making slow and steady progress on that front.

I know this is just scratching the surface, but it's better than nothing at this point. As this next year approaches, we will be ramping up our efforts on all of our sites. For now, we will stay the course.

Growing pains

Over the past year, we have been working with Groove to get our websites up and running. Thanks to Mike Filsaime and his team, we are able to use multiple products within one convenient platform. As grateful as I am that we have a way to continue our pursuit towards success, it's still difficult to be patient with their developments.

To be crystal clear, I am not airing out my grievances, they have been doing a good job so far. It's just difficult to wait on someone to get their part done while you are waiting for your goals to be accomplished. As hard as it is for me to admit, patience is a virtue and we just have to practice what we are preaching.

Still, I am optimistic that things will get done on their end. I am not sure when things are going to get done, but when it does, it will be awesome. They have come a long way to get there and I am glad we are along for the ride.

Next Steps

With everything going smoothly with the sports site, the next step in the process will involve integration. That means putting more focus on our main site and The GXPR. I know this part will not be easy, but it will be a matter of time before everything comes to fruition.

On our end, we are currently developing advertising and marketing services. Since the very beginning, it has always been our goal to have businesses get the most out of their advertisement budget. As far as the development process is concerned, we are making great strides. The next hurdle for us to clear is the platform issue.

While we have three great sites that can help us get the job done, we may need to expand our platforms even further. I mentioned in my last post about building an app to satisfy those needs. There is also that possibility that we may end up building another website. Either way you slice it, we're going to be looking into this matter in the new year.

The other thing we are working on is our Gold Star Member site. This development is something we are working with in association with Groove. As far as we know, they are planning to release their new version later this month. Once we get the feel of all this works, we will be able to give you more details on functionality and a possible launch date.

A long way to go, but we're getting there

Compared to where we were last year, we are in a much better position now than ever before. I would have like to see us get more developments out in the public eye, but you get what you get and don't throw a fit. Still though, we are going in the right direction.

If our current trajectory continues to go the way it's been going, I have no doubt that 2022 will be a very good year for Lone Gold. For now, we need to continue to build on this current momentum that we have just established. Before we know it, Lone Gold will be a force to be reckoned with.

As we all know, the road ahead is long and the journey is going to be treacherous. Given our history, we are fully aware of that fact. However, there is a catch 22 in this instance. Strong character is forged from the fire of adversity. It's the price we all have to pay to be successful. In the end it's worth it.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a healthy, prosperous New Year. I am excited to see what is in store for Lone Gold and the people we serve from this point forward. See ya in 2022!

Aaron Phillips

CEO/President/Founder

Lone Gold