This year, I got really overwhelmed a few days into the new year. You know that feeling?
I had an exciting planning session for my money goals, a really tactical planning session for Seyer Group, and then all of a sudden I felt a little lost when it came to my own business and my goals for this year.
A few days passed and I still hadn’t had time to revisit it, and when I did…I had some major realizations.
In January, we get hit with lots of end of year recaps and massive goals for the new year.
This can be really inspiring, and even extremely helpful from a tactical perspective because you get to see behind the curtain of other entrepreneurs’ businesses.
(I know my “What worked + what didn’t work” recap from a year ago was a super popular one based on your feedback!)
But it also makes us hungry for “more”.
And suddenly, “more” becomes hard to define.
30% revenue growth.
100K followers.
2x a revenue stream.
The irony is these are actually extremely defined growth goals, but what is it even based on?
Growth another company experienced last year? A goal you heard in a TikTok that inspired you? Something you feel like you’re just “supposed to do” each year?
This kind of arbitrary goal setting was a major factor in our success with our first apparel e-commerce business, because as two kids running wild with our passions, it really inspired us to come up with new ideas and chase these wild goals.
It can work for sure!
But as I get older and further into my business career, a different approach feels good to me.
So this year, I’m not setting any big goals when it comes to my total revenue. I’m just setting new goals within the same revenue range.
Why? Let’s talk about it.
1. Bigger doesn’t have to be better
I remember my wise pal Lana Dingwall once said, “What if you made the same amount of money but worked way less?”
This comment has stuck with me for years. (Hi Lana!)
Sure, people say this in the context of a lot of aggressive marketing campaigns for their group coaching programs, but it can actually look like…
- Creating better systems in your business so the tasks that took 3 days can be done in 3 hours instead
- Hiring some help in your business; even if it’s just 2 hours/week of a virtual assistant who takes a task of your hand you hated, and now you have more space for a hobby, your family, or even to sleep in!
- Shifting your revenue sources; maybe you’re making $75,000 in in-person, service-based offerings and you could shift that $75,000 to be 50% virtual or even 25% digital products so you can reduce your in-person sessions
Growth doesn’t always have to look linear. But it does always aim to feel good in the end. And if your version of growth is running you to the ground, maybe bigger isn’t better for you right now either.
For me, bigger will take a lot of work. And that’s just me being honest. I have big plans this year outside of this business, and it’s okay that that means I don’t have the mental capacity, energy or even desire to add 20%+ to my total sales volume in this business.
2. I’m investing in other assets
One of our mentors has always been in the back of my head reminding me that asset growth counts too.
About six months into the pandemic years, Josh and I made the realization there wouldn’t be travel (or fun lol) in our near future, so why not buckle down and work extra hard over the next few years? And we did that.
And we saw incredible revenue numbers from it that make me really proud.
But it was never a sustainable approach. We didn’t burn out, but we also approached it knowing we were only going that hard for a year or two, and we didn’t want to go as hard as we were going past that.
It put us in a really good position.*
We were able to use those years of extra push to invest in other assets like real estate and stocks. We put future us in a much better financial position because we focused that energy into our business and did something with the extra profit instead of spending it.
You probably aren’t blowing your business profits on frivolous things either, so give yourself some credit for how you’ve made your money work for you!
*This idea to “put our heads down and build hard” wasn’t an option for a lot of people during those years, and don’t be hard on yourself if you weren’t able to do that then! We were child-free and didn’t lose employment like a lot of others, so even the mental burden of the pandemic wasn’t as impactful as it was for a lot of business owners. I just want to acknowledge that before you compare our situations and try to wish you approached those years differently.
3. I have big travel plans!
Along with the fact that I’m more actively involved in running our real estate team, Seyer Group, I have big travel plans for this year.
Travel isn’t something we’ve been able to prioritize since started dating almost 8 years ago now, and this is the year we’re putting it first.
So I’m giving myself space to breathe! When I thought of it as saying, “I’m going to work less days this year and not only do I want to make the same amount as when I was working more often, I want to make even more than that!” it felt silly to me.
It’s definitely possible to have that kind of growth, but the work involved to do it while taking so much time to travel this year is not something I genuinely want to do.
4. My revenue sources have changed over the years
My industry is weird!
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a thousand times: I work in a weird industry lol, I make money in strange ways (okay, not that kind of strange ways, c’mon!).
Now let me be clear: you can still build a predictable business in this space.
But for me and where I am right now, I am riding a wave with whatever flow makes sense for me and I’m not mad about it…it’s actually felt really good.
If I ranked my revenue sources in how much they made me, the answers would be complete opposites from 2021 to 2022. Was this an intentional shift? Yes.
But was some of it also unexpected? Yup!
And even in that intentional shift, I’m still only going into the second year of exploring that revenue model so I want to give myself grace in that.
I’d honestly be really stoked to do the same revenue with those sources again and that realization changed everything for me!
It felt like a massive weight off my shoulders.
Trying to write goals to shoot for higher surprisingly didn’t excite me the same way. It just made me tired.
So that’s why this year, I’m not focusing on bigger, badder goals. I’m focusing on still building something I love (& more importantly, don’t grow to hate!).
Much love,
Mal
Psssst….Would a resource round up for any big goals you have this year be helpful? Let me know!
Here are a few I love and have been using this month specifically!
- My Amazon finds!I’ve finally found some time to compile all my fave finds you guys ask about here
- I’m using WeCook this month, and they gave me a code Mallory70 if you want to try it with a discount on your first two orders! Check it out here.
- Wealthsimple for Investing: I just did my year end investing (want to know my weird way I do this as someone with inconsistent income? Thinking about making a video on it…Interested?)
- aaaaaand last but not least, I just ordered the EQ Bank Card to try it out and let you guys know what I think! You can order one for free here or malloryrowan.com/resources if the link gives you trouble.
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