Learning Spanish basics. Little help please!

My life coach advised me to go out of my shell and learn something new that’s helpful to building a good career. I gave it a thought and came with the goal of learning Spanish in a taon or less. Of course I know this plan takes time so I want to master the basics first, see my progress, and adjust my learning pace after. I need some help from those who know how to speak Spanish but are not native speakers.
How was it learning the language? Was it easy? Can you give me tips on where to start this learning journey? I’m really determined to do this since it can be helpful in the future. I could be travelling to a Spanish-speaking place for work, petsa tour, or vacation and if I know how to speak Spanish, things would be a lot easier.