Matt Paulson hit $5M in revenue after targeting $1M, then aimed for $8M in 2019. But he found that reaching big financial goals felt hollow and didn't transform his life or relationships. He now frames money as a tool to help employees, customers, and community instead of a finish line.
Hey, guys. Matt Paulson. Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year. It's 2019, and it is the time of year when people have had a couple of weeks off, they're full of energy now, and they're just ready to get back into the swing of things, get back to work and kind of see, you know, what changes can you make in your life to kind of, you know, make things better. Maybe you've set some goals for the new year, maybe you've set some New Year's resolutions. You're looking forward to the new year, thinking about everything that you might want to accomplish in 2019. When you're a business, when you're thinking about setting goals for the year, your first inclination is invariably going to be, what revenue goal can we hit? What financial goal can we hit? How much money can I bring home from my business this year? I've done this pretty much every year. In fact, I still do it. Last year we were targeting $5 million in revenue, and this year we're targeting 8 million. And the reason I set financial goals in my business is I believe every business is either growing or dying. Businesses will naturally decay over time if you don't work to keep growing and improving them. If you stop working to grow your business, it's inevitably going to start shrinking and decaying and dying over time. Competitors will steer your business, customers will churn, people just leave. So you really do have to keep growing your business as long as you want to be in business. In my experience, businesses never tend to stay flat. They're either growing or they're shrinking. So kind of by setting a revenue goal or financial goal in your business, you are kind of, you know, putting growth as your core focus. So we always try to do a little bit better than we did last year. If we don't hit 8 million this year, not a big deal. I just want to have $1 more than we made in 2018. So by having this goal, we're putting the focus on growth, and that's ultimately the healthy thing for our business. But I do want to throw out kind of a word of caution as well. If you set out a big, hairy, audacious financial goal for your business, you're going to find that chasing a specific revenue amount or a specific net worth, it's a pretty hollow goal. For the longest time, I wanted to have a million dollar business. And then I got there and it turns out it was just another Wednesday. So I thought, well, maybe I should aim higher. I thought I'd shoot for A business that did 5 million in revenue and well, we hit that about the middle of last year. We had that 5 million dollar 12 month run rate. And turns out that was also just another Wednesday. Nobody brought me a trophy. Balloons didn't fall from the ceiling. There wasn't a big party. It was just another day. I think what you're going to find out over time is that reaching major financial goals or reaching major financial success, it's a pretty hollow thing. Nobody else is going to care because it's not like they were the one that has a big pile of money. And it won't change your lifestyle dramatically because it's not like you have that much more money than you did a day ago, a week ago, a month ago, or maybe even a year ago. Wealth for wealth's sake or just setting big hairy, audacious financial goals is ultimately pretty hollow. You having a lot of money in the bank because you've been successful in the business, it's going to change a lot less than you think it will. And honestly I can say that because that's where I'm at today. The only thing having say, a million dollars in the bank or whatever the amount is, is that the answer to can I afford this? Is always yes. Nothing else really changes. Having a lot of money in your life won't fix any broken relationships in your family, won't make your children thrive and be successful. It won't feed the poor or change the world. It won't even necessarily make you more popular, influential or well liked. Having a lot of money in your bank really changes less than you think it does. Yes, if you're poor and you can't pay the bills, giving you $100,000 will change your life. But if you're doing okay and then you do a little bit better than okay, and eventually you do really well, that happiness curve doesn't continue. You're not going to be 10 times more happy with million dollars in the bank then you will be with $100,000 in the bank. I don't want to disregard that. There are people that are struggling and have real financial problems. And in those cases, when say you can't afford a house, you're not sure if you can put food on the table. Yeah, going from having nothing in the bank to having a steady stream of income to 50 grand a year, that will make you a lot happier because you have a lot fewer problems. What I'm saying is that if you're doing all right and your kids are fed and clothed and off to school and you've got a roof over your head and you're doing okay and you've got a car and you've got kind of all your basic needs met. Needs net. Excuse me? Basic needs met. Having a lot more money than that really just won't make you that much happier. Yes, I can afford stuff now. That's really all that it changes. Goals are a good thing, both in your personal life and in your business. And it is okay to have some financial goals, but just don't think that setting a specific financial goal you think is five to ten years down the line. I don't think hitting that goal is going to make your life perfect or dramatically better than it is now, because let's face it, it's not. Financial goals really only matter in the sense that they enable you to better your life or better the life of your family or those around you, or to do good in the world through charitable giving. So when you're thinking about your goals for your business this year, I would encourage you to think a little bit broader. So instead of thinking about how much money can I make or think about what other types of goals you can set for your business. What social good can my business do? How can my business contribute back to the community? How many people can we provide gainful employment to? How happy and satisfied can we make our customers? I'd also really encourage you to think about what goals that you can set for your business that help other people more than yourself. Having money will bring some happiness when your basic needs are met, but true happiness and joy, in my opinion, really comes from helping other people better themselves and helping other people achieve their dreams. Good luck with setting your your business goals this year. Remember, just financial goals are a good thing, but there's also some danger there and setting that big financial goal and achieving it won't change your life. Real good goals are goals that better yourself in other ways and better other people. I'd love to hear what kind of goals you are setting for your company this year. Feel free to comment down below. I'd love to hear what you guys are planning on and what you're going to achieve this year.
