The beginning of a new year is a good time to step back and look at the bigger picture. Tuts+'s parent company Envato just put together a roundup of what happened in 2014, and here are some of the highlights. 

Around the World in 80 Days

In 2014, Envato sent two staff members, Josh and Naysan, around the world in 80 days. They took with them a video camera, a tripod, and a few small suitcases. They were charged with one goal: to tell the stories of Envato's global community.

Their journey started in Skopje, Macedonia with Unipen, a young couple and experienced design team specializing in logo design services on Envato Studio. Here's their story.

You can view more videos from the Envato Stories series on YouTube.

New Milestones

The company hit some major milestones in 2014:

• The total amount paid out to Envato's global community of over 4 million members reached $224 million.
• Thirty of the most successful authors on Envato Market have now generated over $1 million each in sales.
• Over 20,000 freelance jobs have been completed on Envato Studio since its launch in 2013.
  
• In 2014, Tuts+ published free tutorials totalling more than 4 million words, and more than 450 hours of video courses.
  
• In September, ThemeForest became one of the Top 100 most popular websites in the world, according to Alexa.
  
• ThemeForest's highest selling WordPress theme, Avada, has sold over 100,000 copies.
  
• Customers had access to over 6.4 million quality-reviewed items across Envato Market, from plugins to stock music, video files, and much more. They purchased one of these items every six seconds.

Community Feedback

Community is a key part of Envato's success. The recent Tuts+ annual survey produced a stunning 5,250 responses, and gave us a much clearer picture of the community we serve.

Here are some quotes from Tuts+ users about what the site means to them.

I began as a truck driver with a wife and 3 kids working for a small lumber company, I began getting up at 4:30am every morning and studying online about web design. 4 years later, I make 5 times what I did before and work at a university.

—Derrick Koon

"I was on the verge of losing my house and had no faith left in myself or my skills. But soon I discovered that by catching up on my field and refining techniques there's a whole world of opportunities for those who bet on knowledge & dedication."

—Maria Mania

"I have a disability which has increasingly limited my ability to travel, write or even sit comfortably. With Tuts+ I can learn new skills in my own time without travelling etc. and maintain my skills and ability to work. There is immense pleasure that comes from being useful and working."

—Steve Robillard

"Most of my life I was a poor musician. After making it to Hollywood for American Idol in 2011 and getting cut, I locked myself in a room for 8 hours a day and taught myself to code on Tuts+. Three years later, I'm a Senior Developer at WebMD."

—Patrick Hoydar

We'll have more survey feedback for you in upcoming posts. For more inspiring quotes and stories, and for more details about any of the things I've mentioned here, see the full presentation, Envato in 2014.