2020, The Year My Business Grew Up

For those not familiar with my story, I’m financially independent and semi-retired to 20 hours a week at my main job.  I’ve been working hard on what started as a side hustle and now is a full-fledged business since late 2016 doing graphic designs. 

In 2019 my business started to blossom and made $7,143.  You can read last years report here. 

As we all know 2020 has been a, well, interesting year.  Many businesses have suffered or gone under.  Having a 100% online business like mine has in many ways sheltered me from COVID lock downs. 

But tons of online businesses have been hit too.  Blog and podcast incomes from ad revenue took huge hits and are still far below pre-pandemic levels.  My graphic design business income nosedived a bit in April in the early days of the lock downs.  But like the stock market, it came roaring back. 

I’m ecstatic to report that in 2020 my business made $14,932.  I more than doubled my 2019 revenue!!

That comes out to an average of $1,244 per month which happens to be almost exactly what my mortgage payment is.  So in essence my business paid my mortgage this year, which is by far my biggest expense. 

This is the year my business grew up.

 

Do You Even Chart Bro?

Here’s a chart of my monthly earnings in 2020:

 

December’s total of $3,228 is what has me thrilled.  I have my phone set up so I get a cash register “cha-ching” sound every time I make a sale and December was nuts.  It was chiming constantly, all day and night. 

But what makes me more excited is that based on precedent from the past 3 years, my December total is what I can expect to grow into as a “regular month” total by summer the following year. 

For instance in December 2019 I made $1,385, and as you can see above August through November of 2020 easily beat that number. 

So can I expect to be earning more than $3,000 a month regularly by next August? 

I have to be careful to not get on the “business revenue hedonic treadmill” and keep expecting more and more to be happy.  I’m taking stock of where I started and how far I’ve come, and being grateful. 

There’s plenty of room for pride too – I work hard at this business and feel I deserve my success.  But I’m extremely grateful that I live in a time where I can do this.

How far have I come?  Here’s a chart of my monthly earnings since I started the business in late 2016:

 

Well, the blue line is going in the right direction.  What blows my mind the most is that my grand total is $26,274.  I can’t believe I’ve made that much money selling “art”. 

Ain’t life grand?

 

Crystal Ball

In my 2019 end of year report I didn’t make a prediction or set a goal for 2020 as a whole, but I did prognosticate a few things. 

I said:  “Currently I have about 1,200 designs.  By this time next year I’ll have around 1,800 to 2,000 because I’m going to keep showing up.”  How did I do on that one? 

I now have about 2072 designs – nailed it!

I said:  “So if the growth of the past 3 years continues I can expect to be making $1,600 to $2,000 by next December.”  How’d I do?  In November I made $1,689 and in December I made a whopping $3,228!

Exceeded it!

But where does this all go?  The American can-do spirit encourages expansion and growth, it’s in our DNA.  Bigger, better, faster, more.

Paul Jarvis’s book Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business (<- affiliate link) discusses the benefits of staying small, nimble, and manageable. 

I’ve been thinking about his advice lately as I wonder what my business could look like in the future.  I’ve seen others expand their graphic arts business by hiring designers to produce more work.  More work equals more revenue.  

Doing my monthly inventory takes longer and longer as my revenue increases.  It’s a job.  I don’t hate that part, but to be honest it’s way less enjoyable than designing.  I could hire that out too. 

Here’s where my inner voice interrupts – “Dude, you kinda hated managing people, remember?”

Who knows where I’ll take it.  Even though my business is ideal for my personality, like anything in life its going to have less desirable aspects to it.  There is no ying without a yang.  I fear if I keep relentlessly growing that those sucky things will get suckier.  But I can’t waste time worrying about that now. 

I have plenty of room to grow and stay a one man show.

 

Hard Work Beats Talent

I’ll be honest, I sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure this is real.  As successful as I was in my W2 career I never imagined myself as an entrepreneur or business owner.  Where I came from in Baltimore those people only existed on TV or in novels.

I still have imposter syndrome, and I’m sure at some levels it’ll never go away.  I manage it. 

So financial warriors follow your curiosity and if you have one, your passion.  Show up every day with enthusiasm.  Keep at it, double down on it.  When you hit a low point, triple down. 

Hard work beats talent, I’m proof of that.