I Made Less Money in 2025 and Got Way Richer

Quick Overview

The creator made significantly less revenue in 2025 ($2.9M) compared to 2024 ($4.47M) but considers himself much richer due to a strategic pivot from SEO services to building a SaaS business, which resulted in much higher profitability and net worth growth, evidenced by a net worth increase from $1.3M in November 2023 to $6.67M in December 2024, excluding company valuation.

Key Points: Total revenue for 2025 was $2.9M, which is less than the $4.47M generated in 2024, illustrating that lower revenue does not equate to lower personal wealth. The creator's net worth (excluding company valuation) grew from $1.3M in November 2023 to $6.67M in December 2024, showing significant personal wealth accumulation. The main business pivot involved shifting focus from selling SEO services (like link building) to developing a SaaS product, which proved far more profitable. Key 2025 goals include getting married, reaching 75k X followers/50k YouTube subscribers, achieving 6-figures MRR from non-SEO sources, and hitting $10M USD net worth. The creator emphasizes that day trading was too risky and that the shift toward a scalable SaaS model improved profit margins dramatically. He notes that the affiliate marketing industry is worth around $17 billion, but he prefers the stability and scalability of his own software business. The creator plans to revisit these goals and the revenue update in exactly one year (December 31, 2025).

Context: The video serves as an annual reflection and goal-setting session for the creator, Jacky Chou, detailing his financial performance in 2025 compared to previous years, specifically highlighting that a reduction in gross revenue led to an increase in personal richness due to improved business structure and profitability, primarily achieved by pivoting away from agency work towards Software as a Service (SaaS).

Detailed Analysis

The creator opens by stating that despite making less revenue in 2025 ($2.9M) compared to 2024 ($4.47M), he feels significantly richer. This counterintuitive result stems from a major business pivot: moving away from high-effort, low-margin SEO services (like link building) to focus on building a scalable SaaS product. He shows a detailed spreadsheet of his total assets and revenue streams (Amazon, CIBD, Media-kit, Adult) demonstrating the 2025 revenue dip but simultaneously showing a massive increase in personal net worth (excluding company valuation), which grew from $1.3M in November 2023 to $6.67M in December 2024. He contrasts this with the highly volatile affiliate marketing industry, which he notes is worth $17 billion but is too risky for his preference. He then outlines his ambitious 2025 goals, which include getting married, achieving social media milestones (75k X followers, 50k YouTube subs), hitting 6-figures MRR from non-SEO sources, and reaching $10M USD net worth. He also briefly addresses audience questions, clarifying that SEO services are riskier than SaaS and that he personally favors the stability of his own software business.