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Add To Cart: Australia’s eCommerce Show
Write Down Goals to Make Them Happen: Adam Jelic on Building MiGOALS | #585
Adam Jelic didn’t set out to build a cult stationery brand. He was just trying to get his own head straight. Anxiety, big ideas, too many thoughts, not enough direction. So he did what a lot of founders eventually do. He built the tool he wished already existed. Fifteen years later, MiGOALS is stocked everywhere from Officeworks to Barnes & Noble, used by Canva, Lululemon and Apple teams, and quietly helping thousands of people untangle their thinking.
Today, we're discussing:
- How MiGOALS grew from a personal coping tool into a global stationery and wellness brand
- Why writing goals down improves focus, belief and momentum
- The role of anxiety, self-awareness and clarity in entrepreneurship
- Staying disciplined in a world full of distractions and opportunities
- Expanding into the US market using Amazon as a growth lever
- Balancing analogue products with digital tools and AI
- Community, accountability and why progress equals happiness
- Practical advice for setting meaningful goals in 2026 and beyond
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You know, for 25, 26 years, it was just like, what if it goes wrong? So there's that sacrifice. It's like, what is my definition of success? I'll go back to it's like, do I want to do that? Do I want to do sleepless nights? Do I want to put my family, you know, what am I willing to sacrifice? Again, that's one of the things when I'm struggling, it's like, okay, effort is never wasted. Like, you know, give it a crack. If it doesn't work, at least you tried. It's a battle between the two, the comfort zone and the atom that wants to do this amazing thing in life.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, it's Nathan Bush or Bushy, joining you from the land of the terrible people here in Brisbane, Australia. Hello and welcome back to Add Descartes for 2026. I hope that you've had a chance to switch off, to reset, and maybe even start thinking about the year that you want to have this year. Personally, professionally, and everything else in between. And today, I've got the perfect guest to help you do exactly that. Adam Yelich is the founder and the managing director of My Goals. It's the goal-setting brand that's been helping hundreds of thousands of people get their shit together for the last 15 years. What started as a homemade diary in a Melbourne office has turned into a globally recognized self-development brand, sold through Officeworks, Amazon, and some of the biggest retailers in the world. But behind the beautiful product is a very powerful story. It's one of anxiety, action, and long game thinking. In this episode, Adam gets really real about what it takes to build a business, especially when you're not wired for risk taking. He tells us why analog tools still matter in a tech-obsessed world and teaches us how to reset our focus when we're surrounded by noise. And in e-commerce, I don't expect the noise to get any softer in 2026. We also talk about US expansion, Amazon learnings, TikTok affiliates, working with brands like Canva and Lululamon, and how to make goal setting actually stick. I couldn't think of a better episode to kick us off in 2026. Now, before we do, I want to say a special, special thank you to our partners Shopify and Clavio, who have returned in 2026 as our gold partners, and you'll be hearing a lot more from them this year. I couldn't think of two better partners in e-commerce to continue the journey with us on Add to Cart. So I'm extremely grateful for their continued support and to help bring you the best information in e-commerce. All right, with that, let's get into it. Here's my conversation with Adam Jelich from My Goals. Adam, welcome to Add to Cart. Thank you, Nathan. Thanks for having us. Thank you for being here at what is a crazy time of year for you. I could imagine that we're in peak season. So I appreciate you joining us right now. I've got to ask you, have you set your 2026 goals?
SPEAKER_00:I'm going to be honest here, I'm going to say no, I haven't. I actually I've got an idea where I'm heading towards in 2026 because I've got I've actually got quite clear in terms of from a business perspective, that's US is 2026. That's the key word. So getting into details, we I haven't got into the the quite, you know, the fickle details, but it's there. But to be honest, it's not there.
SPEAKER_01:It's pretty hard when you run a goal setting business and your peak season is when everyone's setting goals.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Look, we're heading off to New Zealand. We're going to be in New Zealand. I'm saving it for when I'm actually on that two-week break. Yes. So that's when I'm going to sort of sit back with the wife and just go through personal, business-based goals, family-based goals, and just sort of give it that time that it needs. Whereas right now it is that peak period and it's hectic and it's chaotic. So I just need that good mindset just to sort of get it done properly.
SPEAKER_01:There's something ironic in that you set this business up and I'm sure you'll tell tell the story to help you set goals and get clarity, and it's turned into this beast that now you're helping others set their goals and you don't have time to set yours.
SPEAKER_00:No, I I and that's a funny thing, right? You know, I I've had people say you must be a you know the the best goal set. I'm like, you know what, I created this business because I struggled in certain parts in my life, you know, uh anxiety, fear. So, you know, setting a business up like this with these kind of tools really helped me in my own personal endeavors. So, you know, I'm not perfect at goal setting. I struggle at certain elements, but this product and this whole thing that I created has actually helped me. So um, yeah, uh, you know, if anyone goes, Oh, you're the goal setting guy, I'm not the goal setting guy, I'm just the guy that created a product to help myself.
SPEAKER_01:You're the enabler. Yeah. So I want to hear that story because I've been following your journey for a while now, and we were talking before we got on here around your 15-year journey, that this isn't an overnight success, that you've been gradually building and improving this business over 15 years. Long time. Take us back to day one. When was the moment that you said that you were struggling with anxiety? You wanted to get that clarity. What was the moment where you said, actually, I can build a product for this?
SPEAKER_00:You know what? I go back to when I was 16 years old. That's where, you know, when Steve Job talks about connecting the dots, that's literally where I connected my dots. Growing up, I wanted to be a professional athlete, professional soccer player. So that was my key to being successful in life, doing something different. So at the age of 16, I'm I'm on this journey to become a professional soccer player. I start reading biographies about athletes, about business people, and there was this common denominator where people were saying, My goal was, my goal is. And that got me into goal setting. So it got me thinking, you know, you know, what is this in goal setting? And it was just all about sort of, you know, having vision, clarity, and direction in your life. And it stuck with me. It was a really simple process. It was just like, you know what, I need this to help me become a professional soccer player. So that's when I really started to set goals. I started to get into that whole personal development space. And, you know, there was a book at the time that really changed my whole thinking and really understood what I was feeling, and it was called The Hero's Journey by the late Jim Steins. So that was a book when I read, I was just like, this is the first time I'm reading something that just gets what I'm feeling. Yeah. You know, I wanted to do something extraordinary for my life, I wanted to do something different. But I'd been brought up in this whole, you know, I was brought up in a European background family. They came from overseas, you know, worked as a forklift driver, my dad, my mum worked in the council. There was no one really in business or doing something extraordinary. So um, it was always a little bit of a struggle growing up in terms of thinking outside the box. So anyway, I get to 16, I start setting goals, and it sort of sticks with me. And, you know, go to university. I don't make it as a soccer player, so I go to university, and then I'm sort of stuck, I'm sort of in this place where I don't know where I want to go, but I've got these ideas, I've got these plans, I I want to do something.
SPEAKER_01:How old were you when you gave up on soccer?
SPEAKER_00:I'd probably say f 19, to be honest with you. Okay. It's sort of if you don't make it by then, it's sort of, it's you're not really gonna make it. There's there's stories of yeah, the one percenters, but generally you're not gonna make it after that.
SPEAKER_01:That would have been a tough realization.
SPEAKER_00:Oh yeah, 100%. I put all my eggs in that basket thinking because we had people around us that had become professional soccer players. They played for Australia, they played in the National League. So that was the that was the escape route. That was the journey, right? And it doesn't happen, and then it's like, what am I gonna do? And then I sort of, you know, became dabbled in in certain things. I became a personal trainer, got into sales, but deep down I always had these things that I wanted to do. And I started to get angry, not at the world, but with myself, because it's like I've got so much more potential, but I'm not doing anything about it. And then it got to a point I was just sort of like, you know what, I need I need a product to help me set my goals, get clarity, direction. Before that, I was writing on scrap pieces of paper, lose the paper, see the one-word line, and it just wasn't, it wasn't uh appealing enough as you know, it didn't move me. So then I remember in a PD session at a at a sales job I had and and the coach there for the day said, I want everyone to take out a scrap piece of paper and write their goals. And that was that light bulb moment. I'm like, I already do this, and I it doesn't seem to work for me in terms of I lose the paper, it's not as personal. And then literally after that session, I went to the my my boss at the time and I said, you know what, I got this idea, I'm gonna create my own goal setting diary for myself to use. And he sort of laughed it off. I didn't do anything about it, but it kept sticking with me, and I was just like, you know what, I need to create the product so I can actually set my goals and achieve the things that I want to achieve. And so, yeah, so you know, sat on it for a while and then basically got to a point where one day I just sort of had enough. You know, the the the anxiety, the the anger grew, and I'm like, I've got to do something about this. I got it to my computer, went on, got a Word doc, typed it all out, and then gave it to one of my best friends at the time and said, Can you put this together? And he did. I got it bound at a local bindery in Melbourne and uh started using it and then thought at the time, it's like, you know what, let's just see if anyone's interested. I rang up a bookstore called Carlton uh Readings Bookstore in Carlton. And within 30 seconds, they're like, Yeah, you know, come past, show us that show us the product, and we'll see if we like it. And I was just like, shit, really gotta do this. Well, it was it was more of a fear case because I've always been one of those, what if they hate it, what if they don't like it? It was always from a negative kind of, you know what I mean? It's always a oh, what if it goes wrong? Not from a positive aspect. So it was all like, oh, they're gonna hate it, and now this negative self-talk, and then within that 30 seconds, I realized, damn, like it was that easy. And that sort of got me started.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And what was it around goal setting? So obviously you had your soccer dream that you were then trying to find your feet after that, and you've mentioned anger a couple of times, but was it about writing down goals? Is it about clarity? Is it about accountability? What is it about writing down goals that helps you step forward?
SPEAKER_00:I think it's just exciting to see what's possible. Like when you put pen to paper and you sort of reverse engineer this vision that you've gotten it's like, all right, if I do this, then do that, then this is possible. So it becomes a reality all of a sudden, as opposed to just saying, wouldn't it be cool to one day do this? And then it's just like there's too many, it's just overwhelming. Everything's overwhelming. Whereas this was a case of like, if I want to do this, now let's reverse engineer, I need to do this, then from there do this, do that. And and I had this whole belief of, you know, self-belief is the most critical thing when it comes to business, I believe. Or in in sports, in business, anything really. If you don't believe in yourself, then it then it won't happen. And the only way you can believe in yourself is to start taking action, start building that momentum. And from that momentum comes belief. Because all of a sudden I get a I get a yes from a readings bookstore and it's like, oh, okay, what's next? And then I go to the next one, and then it builds from there, and then I go to the next one, and then it's just sort of like, oh, this is actually possible. Whereas growing up, I thought it wasn't possible. I was taught that old school mentality of go to school, get good grades, get a good job, pay off a mortgage. And it was always a case of don't go step out of side because you won't make it, you don't have money to back you up, you don't know anyone to back you up. You know, what if you go bankrupt? What if you fail? All these negative things I got brought up on. Not in a bad way, but just from a safety perspective.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, you had to break that barrier.
SPEAKER_00:And I still have to break it to this day because it was widened to me. You know, for 25, 26 years, it was just like, what if it goes wrong? And it's like, ah, so I've had to deal with that constantly, just like constantly reframe it, constantly step back and go, nah, it's possible.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, okay. When you first got your first diary, do you call them diaries?
SPEAKER_00:I call it a diary. Uh, yeah, yeah. It was called the Margold's Diary, yeah. In Australia, we call it more diaries.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. When you got your first diary into the first bookstore in Melbourne, did that open up a whole community of people who were really passionate around goal setting and putting things to paper?
SPEAKER_00:At the time, look, there was Kiki K at the time that were, you know, starting that process. I remember walking into a Kikik August 2010 and seeing a goals journal be launched. And I was about to launch the my first My Goals diary around September, October. So we're just at the final stages of putting it together, and I was just like, my heart sank. I was just like, oh damn, someone's doing it. But at you know, it was, I think at that time it just sort of things started to change, right? Prior to that, you know, growing up, I'm 41 now, but we got brought up. If you're self-help, you'll remember Tony Robbins.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:So he was our guru, right? And either you're into him and you're or you're not. And I was into it. So like there was that thing, and it was very cheesy. People would say, Oh, it's cheesy, I don't don't like that thing. Whereas I was into it, and I think what we did was we opened it up to more of the masses, where it was my whole thing in my back of my head throughout the journey was, you know, make goal setting cool. Just make it accessible. Like, why shouldn't it be? Like, you know, you're planning your life, you're you're dreaming. That's that's exciting.
SPEAKER_01:How did you develop the product then with that in mind? How did you turn goal setting into something that was cool that people actually enjoyed opening up these diaries and found it enjoyable, not overwhelming?
SPEAKER_00:I created a product for myself. Like that's that's as simple as this. And and then through that I've realized whatever most of us think as an idea, you could be rest assured that there's millions and millions of other people around the world that are probably thinking the same thing. So we're not wired differently. I believe, you know, most of humanity is wired basically the same, you know, in terms of our feelings, what we want, what we're chasing. We all got the same wants in life, I guess. You know, there's obviously your percentages on both ends, like a one or two percent that are just different. But generally 90, 90 or something percent of us have the same things. And I realize whatever idea you have, you can be rest assured that there's a lot of other people out there and you just got to connect with them somehow. So that was it. I created a product because I wanted that product. I was like, okay, I love Tony Robbins, but I had his one of his uh journals and it was just too full on. So I'm like, all right, let's break it down, let's make it a little bit more user-friendly. You know, what are the important things to us when you're setting your goals? And I sort of came up with, you know, what, why, when, how. Okay. You know, get into more detail as opposed to a lot of people in the habit of just like, when I grow up, I want to be this, it was one line and there was no how to essentially with it. There was no, there was no why associated with it. So it's just sort of like a comment like, wouldn't it be good to be this one day? Whereas our product was break it down, think about it a little bit more, have some steps, and then you know, you're giving yourself a better chance of success doing it that way.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, okay. And when there is, you know, goals, just like everything, goes through trends, right? There's different ways of looking at goals, and you can start with smart goals and okay, and all like there's everyone's got a philosophy on how to write goals, whether it's for personal use or for business use. Have you tried to evolve the goal setting process or have you stayed true to what works for you?
SPEAKER_00:You know, I think our approach evolves, like how we how we tackle goals. The fundamentals don't change for me. You know, the fundamentals of why you're doing what you're doing, what is the feeling you're chasing, like just having that clarity of that direction doesn't change. You can word it differently, you can come up with a new method. It's like the fact that you're writing something and working out a way to achieve that won't change. And for me, I've always had the saying of, you know, goal setting doesn't guarantee success, but it improves your odds of success because you have now a direction in your life, you have something that you're aiming for, you have focus. Now, the biggest thing that we're struggling with this day and age is focus. You know, our dopamine levels are you know through the roof, uh thoughts. It's such a weird time because it's never been easier to start a business, but in terms of scale, you know, we we're so scattered in terms of like that's a good idea, that's a good idea. We sort of lack that, stick to this, run with that, and yeah. Whereas before it was just like, you know, this is what I want to do, this is what I'm gonna focus on. Whereas now there's too many opportunities.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's interesting. So it's a way of narrowing in on the right opportunities.
SPEAKER_00:Filter. It's the filter. It's like you've got to filter through that noise in your head, and that's where goal setting, writing things down, it helps you. Like otherwise, you're just it's just too much, right? It's like shiny object theory. It's like, oh, that's cool. Oh, that's good, that's good. And and for me, I've realized over time, and I've heard other entrepreneurs talk about I go drive down the road and I go, that's a cool business idea. I see something, I see a problem. I go to a cafe, I'm like, oh, okay, I saw something that could be better. Would that be a cool idea? So it's why the ideas that I generate just keep coming. So I need a filter process to help me just sort of say, that's the one that I'm passionate about, that's the real one, focus on that.
SPEAKER_01:Now I could imagine in your business where you've got different formats, you've got calendars, and I saw that you're expanding into digital products, that even within your own business, there wouldn't be a shortage of ideas that you've got. How do you filter what is a good idea for my goals versus something that you can leave on the table for a while?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, you you look at a broader perspective, you look at the broader the market and you think, okay, what could help someone in this specific thing? You look at trends, you know, like gratitude is a big thing, wellness is a big thing, sleep's a big thing. So it's like, what can we create that might help someone get better sleep, practice better gratitude and so forth, and then we just break it down from there. I mean, in in truth, I mean, there's you know, you can come up with any product. I mean, the fundamentals, the ones that you're really passionate about are the ones that sell the best, I find. You know, still that that diary is still our key seller. It's like the one that was that's the OG, and that's the one that came from like the true space of like, this is what I need, this is what I'm gonna create. And it's it's you know, 15 years down the track, it's still, you know, still changing people's lives. I'm still getting emails about, you know, this product has helped me do this. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Which is, yeah, when you put your heart as well. What's the craziest story you've heard from a customer around how your diary has helped them, you know, lock onto their dream?
SPEAKER_00:A crazy story. I mean, there's been two that come out. There was one a few years back, ex-AFL player that played in the AFL back in the day, had a business doing really well, and then got divorced, lost everything, suicidal, on the couch, drinking, alcohol, drugs, everything. And then he picked up our book and then cha helped change his life. We literally just went back to basics, you know, writing things down, ticking things off, writing his goals. Yeah, sent us this email just sort of like your your product basically saved me. And then just recently, another similar story: a guy from the UK, Sam, uh, and it went basically his story is, you know, uh was overweight, depressed after COVID, had no direction, drinking a lot, suicidal thoughts, and then same thing, he went, saw our product. Uh I think his mum told him, you know, bought him that product and started ticking things off. He's running Iron's now.
SPEAKER_01:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, like you should say the before and after, like huge change. Pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01:How do you get people to take that initial step? Have you found that there's a particular marketing message or content message that you can put out there to get people who are in those situations or who might feel a bit lost, even if it's not as dire as that, but just feel a bit lost and a little bit listless. Is there any particular message you put out in market to go, this will help you?
SPEAKER_00:We're trying things. I mean, it's it's not as easy as what I what I think in my head and what I think should work doesn't ultimately work all the time. Yeah, okay. I've always, you know, problem solutions like if you're struggling, then this product will help. You know, general messaging like that is something that gets people's attentions because everyone wants to improve something in their life. Like that works for me. So I always take it on board from from a marketing perspective, it's like what attracts me. It's like this product will help you live longer. It's like, oh, curious. You know, I always click, it's you know what I mean. It's like, yeah, tell me more. So stuff like that, the general consensus of like if you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious, this product will help. I think we have to get better at doing it because sometimes you go too broad, it doesn't hit. So I think, you know, again, one of our goals is to sort of get more narrow-minded and say, what's the specific problem that people are facing? How can our product help that? As opposed to just like if you need help, then we're here.
SPEAKER_01:That's a really good pickup because obviously you've got a product that anyone can use, really. When you look at your total addressable market, it is anyone. How are you going to decide who you focus in on?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I mean, looking at data, obviously, you know, predominantly 80% female audience, generally 25 to 35. So that age group, whether it be a professional mum, wife, you know, there's that specific group. And and look, we're still in that stage where we're not considered a personal brand, which I would like it to be. So I think that sort of has to change from it's still stationary, right? So when you look at stationary market, the men aren't so receptive to it. It's like I don't need that, you know, I don't write in a diary.
SPEAKER_01:Um I've got Chat GBT to share my feelings with.
SPEAKER_00:I've got it, I've got it in my head, right? That's the main one. And I always go. And I I remember reading a fact that said, you know, the average human being has 50,000 thoughts per day. And it's it's 50,000. So it's like if you think you've got all your things in your head, that's why you feel overwhelmed, right? Because it's all up here. There's no direction, it's just like survival mode. But yeah, I think you know, starting at what the data says and then expanding from that, and then going into like I think going back to the real principle of how can we help people, like that genuine like we want to help. So, like, what what does that look like? I think that's what you know, a lot of brands now are just about sales and and growing and getting bigger. It's like losing that fundamental. To like what are we here for? What's the real purpose? Like, we want to help change people's lives. And that's sort of well, it's been a realization the last few months. It's like, you know what? I mean, you get caught up in that whole like grow bigger, better, you know, it's all about money. And it's like, no, go back to fundamentals. It's like, what am I doing it for? Like, you know, what do you want? What what makes you feel most alive? And it's like those emails, your product changed my life. And it's like, oh jam.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. That feels good. Do you feel that's always been in the back of your head being that you're a 15-year-old business? Feels like you haven't gone after growth at all costs in those 15 years. You've gone steady from the outside. And it was interesting that you talked at the start around having not being wired this way. Like you actually like the security, like that's your background, it's secure, stable.
SPEAKER_02:That is my default.
SPEAKER_01:So how have you approached an e-commerce business and all you know, or a retail wholesale business as well? But how have you approached business with that mindset that you're making enough money to be stable, yeah, but still growing at the same time?
SPEAKER_00:It's been tricky, right? Like my default mode is like that comfy bank blank. I don't want to do anything. It's like my comfort zone is really my default. And so it's always been hard to sort of get out of that. But at the same time, I've got this thought process of like, I want to do it's it's a battle between the two, the comfort zone and the atom that wants to do this amazing thing in life. Like I've got these ideas and it's like I see other. And here's the thing, right? 15 years, I've come across people that have gone onto their second, third thing right now, and their second and third thing is blown up. And it's like you look at it and it's like, oh, like, okay, well, you know, you it's you're doing something that's growing, but it's like these guys are like blown up, and it's just like, damn, it's like far out. So there's that shiny object thing, but then my brain goes to, am I willing to sacrifice everything to start again and do that again and go through all the you know what I mean? So there's that sacrifice. It's like, what is my definition of success? I'll go back to it's like, do I want to do that? Do I want to do sleepless nights? Do I want to put my family, you know, what am I willing to sacrifice?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And that's been the key question. But at the same time, I'm pulled by the idea of like, wouldn't it be nice to sort of go on these other journeys and you know, go through that excitement of building something different and you know, tech's an exciting thing, right? You know, you see brands that just have an idea and they're you know valued at$100 million and this and that, and it's like, that'd be cool.
SPEAKER_01:When was the last time that your email strategy was as smooth as your morning coffee? That was the question for Pablo and Rusty's, a purpose-led Sydney roaster with a booming subscription base. But with MailChimp, they couldn't connect opens with actual purchases. They were sending blind. Enter Clavio with segmentation, cohort analysis, and Shopify with recharge integration. Pablo and Rusty's gained real visibility into customer journey. 2024, Clavio delivered them 61 times ROI, drove 30% of e-commerce revenue, and lifted loyal and recent customer segments by 11% quarter on quarter. Now, their emails don't just sound good, they build real value with every cent. That's a real smooth cupper, Joe. See how Clavio turned data into dollars. Visit Clavio.com forward slash AU. I could imagine that everything you you're seeing at the moment around AI and if your goal is to help people live better lives and get the most out of themselves, obviously what you've done over all this time around the diaries and the calendars and some of the digital products are huge enablers of that. But what's your thoughts on going down the AI path to be more interactive with people to help them get those out in other ways? Are you purely sticking to a more analog version?
SPEAKER_00:Uh look, I think analog has its place. I see a lot of trends now talking about, you know, 2026, people going back to analog, a lot of more immersion, people to people, community-based, you know, the obvious signs are that there's a big group that are sort of the AI, the tech, the constant feed, the social feed. It's getting too much. And so we want to go back to basics. I see that happening, which is great for us. But at the same time, I've always had that theory of like in a perfect world, in a perfect scenario, everyone would have a coach, right? To get the best. You look at AFL players, you look at sports players, they got, you know, their days mapped out. They've got someone watching what they eat, they've got someone watching how they train, like how they think essentially. It's like that's I think where we're heading to, where we're gonna have a position where we've got some ChatGPT is already doing that at some extent, where they're saying, all right, the best thing for today based off this to get the most out of you is let's do this, tick this off. So once I can bring that human element of like making you feel like it's real, it's like it'll make us more productive, it will make us you know achieve more. So I can see it heading down that way. I always looked at our products as that first iteration of a coach. So you can't afford to have that personal coach. This is like your own personal coach where you have to fill in, you have to work on yourself. Whereas down the track, down the track, there will be stuff where it's like it was like, you know, you see every trend. You see, you know, back in the day, personal training was only for the wealthy, private chefs was only for the wealthy. All these things are now, you know, you got your Ubers, you got your the meal plans and stuff like that. It sort of comes out to the mainstream somehow. So people had coaches, the high end, you know, now that's got to come out somehow to the to the general public.
SPEAKER_01:And I've heard you talk about community before because I think that is a thing that goes alongside coaching, is if you feel part of a community, then you become more accountable to that. As someone who sells a product, I could imagine that I don't know, maybe this is just me and personal experience, that you can get a journal or a diary such as yours and you get all excited. It's the same as gym memberships at the start of the year, and you get into it and then life gets busy and it falls away. Do you see yourself as having a role in being that coach, in kind of reminding people and coaxing people along to continue using your products even after they've purchased?
SPEAKER_00:Somewhat, yeah. And I think it's something that we have to do a lot better. I I put my hand up, I can see where things are heading. You you look at even from any entrepreneur talking about, you know, community is is the key to the future, right? AI can't take that away. So, in terms of developing that community, definitely that's something that I should be doing more. The brand should be doing more of. So it's it's something that I'm aware of. It just again is a you know, you're running a business, there's so many, yeah. It's just it's it's a lot, right? There's a lot of things to do. So you focus where you can, and you know, in a perfect world, you would have a huge community of people, you'd have events, you'd have it'll be totally different, right? Yeah. Endless amounts of money, backing, funding, team. That's why we're still a small business, right? So in a perfect world, I mean that's why you look at, you know, you know, when you see brands and they got, you know, we got 10, 20 million dollars raised. It's like, of course, you can put anything to play. You know what I mean? That's exciting. You can do anything with that kind of, you know, you can build anything what you have in your head. I've always seen my goals as like it's I'm proud of it, but at the same time, I know it's only like 40, 30, 40 percent of what it could be.
SPEAKER_01:The potential.
SPEAKER_00:The potential is so much more.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. And what I find fascinating is your model because obviously e-commerce, but you're also stocked in Officeworks.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so wholesale Officeworks for Officeworks first time this year, actually.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah. That's very cool. You know, even to have this product, my goals or any type of product that's to do with mindfulness and focus in that business environment, just being part of what we do is a good sign, right?
SPEAKER_00:It's a good sign. I mean, Officeworks is never it's it's an odd one. It's like Australia, we're limited in terms of, let's say, from a stationary perspective, before we had borders which had, you know, your 20, 30 big stores, right? Big volume. Whereas we've gone through this, you know, any small business in the gifting, in the lifestyle product range, it's getting harder. There's not many stores out there that you can sort of in Australia, especially, you know, release a product and get out to hundreds and hundreds of stores. Whereas, you know, FMCG, you've got a food product, you get stocked in coals, woolies, you've got 1,500 stores right there.
SPEAKER_01:And do you find that your product is something people have to touch, feel, see to get excited about?
SPEAKER_00:I think it's important. Yeah. It's it's definitely important to sort of scroll, you know, have a look what's in it, feel the paper, feel the texture, see if it's something that might suit you, feel the weight. It's definitely important. It's not the be all and end all, but it it's um it makes it easier for people to decide whether it's the right product or not.
SPEAKER_01:So do you see yourself doing more wholesale or if you're only at 30 to 40% of your potential, where do you see the rest of your potential coming from?
SPEAKER_00:I think international markets, especially the US. So we we were in the we've been in the US, you know, selling to the years for the last 10 years, you know, just through our online store. But there that comes with a little bit of an issue because, you know, people are placing an order through our store and we're fulfilling it from Australia. So not only is postage expensive, time, you know, it's not I sometimes questions like why are they ordering? It's like taking two weeks, it's costing them nearly as much as the product to, you know, pay for the freight. So I think from an operational perspective, if we can set up in the US properly, which we're starting to look at through Amazon, you know, maxing out Amazon, so Amazon can do not only Amazon US, but they can also do our online Shopify orders, fulfill those and do our wholesale. That's the approach that I see where we can, you know, the American side should be a much bigger market than the Australian side, whereas Australia is the big market now for my goals.
SPEAKER_01:I'm assuming if you're looking at that model with Amazon, there must be enough margin in the product from a gross margin perspective. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. There's enough margin, but then uh it's just it's a testing market as opposed to me going up there, setting up factories, setting up three PLs. Amazon's a, you know, they take your margin a little bit more, but it's more seamless. So if I can set up at that as an entry point as a central point to start with and test all these markets that we do here in Australia really well, you know, there's three verticals, three or four verticals, then you know, that should be where the growth comes.
SPEAKER_01:When you are looking at a market like the US, do you do in-depth competitor analysis or is it a case of actually the barrier to actually to launching over there is fairly small. Let's just get it in there and see what happens.
SPEAKER_00:I think we understand who the competitors are, but then the barrier, it's not, it's it's again, it's like looking at you know, active words, everything's very similar these days. So there's no real differentiators, it's just storytelling in in the end. So I think for us at our level, at our size, it's just like just get in there and just sort of build it. And Amazon, you know, we've been two seasons now. We started last December, it's starting to pick up, you know what I mean? It's doing its own little thing, which is great. So you sort of start to see like, okay, if we can get America going better. And before COVID, we actually had sales agents there. We've always had Barnes and Noble that have bought from us from the last five, six years, which is great. But it's always been tricky because of from an operational perspective. Like even if when we started getting like wholesale orders after COVID, it was just too expensive to send it from Australia to the US. Yeah. Like we'll get a five, six hundred dollar order and the and the shipping was$300,$400.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So I just pause it and it's just like, nah, until we set that up properly and we have the headspace to go in there and focus on it, it's just, you know, do what we can. If someone comes online and buys it, great. And they still have, which is good.
SPEAKER_01:Having that local presence on Amazon, what have you learned from being on Amazon so far? Is there anything that you've done or you've changed that you're like, oh, that was a really great unlock?
SPEAKER_00:What I learnt about Amazon is it's a beast. Like it's a beast to set up. Like I've had a guy that we've used locally, young bloke, super helpful. Like if it was up to me to set it up, or it's just Amazon's like, it's hard to set up, like to get it right. So you really need the right person that understands Amazon. You know, the listings have to be different. There's parts that most people would start the process and go, this is too hard.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Or there's parts too that people don't think about in terms of yes, you're creating PDPs on Amazon, but the customer journey is totally different. So when you're creating PDPs here on a D2C site, you do have to do that storytelling. You can take people on a journey because there's a multiple touch point. Whereas at Amazon, people are ready to make a decision, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And the worse it looks, the better it is somehow. Like, you know, that whole design element, the whole branding, like you said, the storytelling, it's like it's important, but it's not the be all and end all. It's like the listings have to look a certain way that reflect an Amazon listing. So it has to match that consumer there that they know what to expect at an Amazon, and you sort of have to come there and match it.
SPEAKER_01:Are you doing much Amazon traffic driving through their ad network or are you relying on more organic?
SPEAKER_00:I think a little bit of both. So definitely the ads we're starting to pump out that I'm aware of that I've seen. So it's definitely helping, yeah. So if you can get the beast right going on Amazon, then it can open up the other stuff, I believe. Yeah. And I'm starting to see like we had a October we launched again with the new 2026 stuff. It was a little bit slower. And November, I thought would be a little bit more, obviously, with Black Friday. But what we came across was that you know, people are delaying their purchases till December from a diary perspective there. It feels like now that December's come, now the orders are starting to you know come through quite a bit, which is great. Whereas I expected it to start early, but again, consumer behavior, it just seems they're waiting. It's like, and especially knowing they've got one or two-day delivery.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:That's the difference. Whereas when they were buying from us, it was like you'd see September, October, when we launched, people from the US would buy and factor in the two, three-week shipping. Yeah, it was just a little bit of a different expectation. Whereas Amazon's like, yep, get it the next day.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. I um recently spent some time in the US working on content there. And one of the things that I realized in the US is when you talk content there, most of the time people immediately think influencers and content creators, so external to your own business. Where I think we've definitely got a huge element of that in Australia, but we often think too around what content can we create internally to put out there over there to scale in that market. It's we need to amplify this using content creators and influencers. Is that a big part of your strategy?
SPEAKER_00:I think so. I mean, like TikTok shop and affiliates and all that. You see, if if you're in Australia, you don't have that. Whereas, you know, in the US, you've got that open, you see all the brands that are doing well, you see how they compare to each other. Some have got like 30,000 affiliates working for them on TikTok shop. Like that's just driving so much views and it's a noise game at the end of the day. So in terms of adapting to each market and finding out, okay, so if UGC, like I've tried to go more founder led uh and I hate social media. I mean, I'm not hate it, but I mean I'm I'm at an age where it's like, oh, I've I've never been on social media. I was never, you know, I go on it to look at stuff, but from my own personal profile, it hasn't been a thing that I've done. I don't think I've posted on my personal profile for the last five, six years. But I understand the importance of it. So it's like a again, fighting it, but just realizing, nah, this is the game we play, so I'm gonna have to sort of come in and join. But yeah, understanding like getting people out there in the US, you know, already looking at, you know, how how do we seed the product to influences there? So I've, you know, signed up to this mum event, you know, seed our products out there just to sort of start the process, whereas we can go a little bit harder in 2026, especially second half of 2026 when we launch in the 2027 range and just sort of hit the ground running, get connections with people that are in the in the market there. So I've got a couple of people that buy our product or know about us and sort of developing those relationships now, and they've got a good decent following up there as well, which is good.
SPEAKER_01:How strongly do you hang on to your brand? Because I could imagine that your product is really great for social media, both in terms of a topic, right? People love talking around goal setting, but also mental health and clarity and self-help. Like so that's a really rich area. Plus, it's visually beautiful what you've created. So it is right for that area. As you are handing over control to other people to create content for you, are you precious around how they represent it or do you want it to be more authentic?
SPEAKER_00:You know what? I'd have to say um, I sit in between, right? We started when social media was the pretty feed, right? And that's hard to let go of because I still don't understand, you know, some of the things that get traction, some of the things that blow up. I'm like, really? Like it's just it doesn't make sense, right?
SPEAKER_01:You haven't done a founder apology letter this this season.
SPEAKER_00:Everyone's everyone's still I mean, like it's like I say it's a different game. It's like before it was just like, you know, the brand represent. I mean, you look at like a brand like Belroy, you know what I mean? Beautifully executed, nice feed, everything on point, you know what I mean, from a marketing, but that stuff doesn't seem to be, you know, it can work to a certain level, but it's changing, right? They want, like you said, they just want everything that's on trend to get the algorithm going, get people's you know, attention. And then the more sillier you are, the better.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I guess for a brand like you, you're about cutting out the noise, not adding to the noise. So it's a hard one, right? When you're chasing sales figures and expansion. How do you play to your brand without looking like you're trying to take everyone's mental headspace?
SPEAKER_00:I I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:No, I don't I don't have the for you either.
SPEAKER_00:I don't yeah, because I'm trying to work that out. It's like, yeah, we should maybe we should do that, maybe we should jump on this trend, maybe we should, you know what I mean? It's all about oh do that, do this, do that, you know, throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. Yeah. Ideally, in a personal, like I've said, you know, I run this brand that's predominantly female based. You know, 80% is female. It's like I've got different mindset in terms of what my goals and motivation and all that represent for me. So if I went down and done what I want to do, yeah, I don't know if it'll work. Maybe it would.
SPEAKER_01:Big difference, isn't there, between creating a product that works for you, but then also marketing, because even though you've got a product that works for you, you've got to allow other people to see people like them in the communication.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, 100%. Like the music, everything, like what I like is totally different. Like I'm 80s rock and you know, Bon Jovi and you know, power ballads, and I'm like, it's you know, 80s movies. There would be some pretty epic content. I mean, in a perfect world, right? I want to do like representations of you know 80s movies that we grew up, Van Dam and all these characters and do like silly stuff. But I know, you know, I tell my kids and they're like, Dad, you don't do that, so cringe.
SPEAKER_01:How old are your kids now?
SPEAKER_00:14 and 11.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, you're at the good judgmental stage there.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, judgmental. They see me on the, you know what I mean? Like I've done a couple of um Instagram things and they're like, oh, they're telling their friends, and their friends are coming out. We saw your Instagram thing. It's like, and they're mocking me. And I'm like sitting there, I'm like, what do I do here?
SPEAKER_01:Just go back to your diary and journal it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I literally am. I tell one of those moments, I'm like, I'm trying, like, I'm just trying to be cool, right? It's like those dad jokes. I'm in that sort of dad phase.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Embrace it.
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SPEAKER_00:Corporate's been 80% organic. Like it's just reaching out. I mean, we've had Apple reach out, we've we've worked with Snapchat, we've worked with, you know, Facebook, Fairfoot, like all these brands have just sort of, you know, from time to time, it's like, hey, we've got this event coming up. Can we get product branded? Hey, we've what got a team? Can we and and the ones that keep coming back, I mean, Lululemon and Canva are great examples. Every year we're doing stuff with them. So Canva ordered gratitude journals for their starter packs, I'm I believe that's what they do. They go through a third party, but you know, every few months there's an order from Canva. It's like a gratitude journal with Canva on it, which is fantastic, right? So they're, you know, obviously that's for new starters and it they're they're big on gratitude and journaling and sort of you know mental health, which is fantastic. Lululemon as well. I was an ambassador here in Melbourne for one of their stores for two years. But again, same, like you look at their what they represent, what they want to do, what they want to achieve. It's very my goals aligned. So, you know, all ambassadors every year, you know, they order for their ambassadors, they order for their Teams stay order for events. So I think it's just, you know, the product relates. I've just got an you know the ticket master I'll be dropping off tomorrow. Like, you know, there's all these cool brands that just pop up and say, hey, you know, marsh uh real estate agencies and I think it it's been organic and we and we haven't done enough in that space. But what we're again for 2026, it's it's finding the right people who can help execute. We're looking to do more workshops. So I introduced, I found a really good facilitator, a close friend of mine, you know, super good facilitator. So just sort of bringing in that my my goals methodology. You know, I've got this belief of like, you know, my goals is for it's about you know the four parts is self-awareness. You know, products go through that self-awareness phase where it's about understanding yourself better, strategy, like your vision and your goals, and then it's action, you know, how do I show up every day? What do I need to do? And then that fulfillment piece, which is like enjoying the journey. So these are those four things if you get right, you're doing pretty well. You know what I mean? In terms of you've got you've nailed the life in some respects, you know what I mean? You've you know where you're heading, you're doing the right things, you're enjoying the journey.
SPEAKER_01:Which of the four are you best at?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I need to work on the fulfillment aspect.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Action, I mean planning. I'm I'm the planner, the idea, right? So in terms of that second part, that vision and strategy and the strategy, the ideas. I put my hand up, I need help with the execution. Like because when you're constantly wanting to change between things, it's like, oh, I like that. Well, should do that, should do that. It's I gotta go back to my goals, right? I gotta go back to the pen and paper and go, that's what I need to go back and focus on.
SPEAKER_01:Do you have any tips for people who struggle to get their head around it? Because I remember, I actually remember in the peak of COVID and there was some stuff going on in business, and I was like, what am I doing? I think everyone kind of had one of those moments in COVID. And I did I did the Ben Crow course around self-awareness. So he's Ash Bardi's mindfulness coach. Okay. I really got into his stuff and I really like and I did an online course around, you know, trying to find your inner child and who it is and where you want to be, what you get passionate about. And yeah, it was really good, but it was really hard work doing it by myself. You know what I mean? When you're kind of stuck with your own thoughts and you're like, am I just mirroring what I want to hear rather than actually interrogating my own thoughts? Do you have any tips for people when they're sitting with these 50,000 thoughts a day, how to keep yourself honest and motivated?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I'll go, you know, there's mo there's sayings, there's a saying from Tony Robbins, progress equals happiness. So make some form of progress towards something, your health, your relationship. They one of the ideas that you have to pick something and and take some action towards it. And that's like if you implement that on a day-to-day perspective, it's like a very simple, like I think life is simple. Like we sometimes overcomplicate things. And you know, like I said, you know, goal setting struck to me, it was it made sense, right? It was just simple. It was just like, this is what I want to do, and this is how I need to get there. And it just gave me that direction. Whereas people overcomplicate it, they're like, I tried goal setting, it doesn't work. I'm like, it's not supposed to work every single time. It's just there to, you know, it's your malways, it's your map. Like you're gonna get off direction, you're gonna go one way, you're gonna go back, things, obstacles are gonna come up. But it's just like, uh get back on track and make progress the next day, build that momentum and go again, you know, show up.
SPEAKER_01:And I think we hear a lot of stories, especially around athletes of, you know, and people in business who are like, I always had this purpose to do this, but sometimes it's only after you've done those things and the stories kind of form that you look back and go, Oh yeah, that was my purpose.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean you're looking back, right? So looking back, so the the clues are if you're looking for your purpose or you're looking for what lights you up, look backwards. You know, go back to the time when you felt most alive, when you felt happy, like what were you doing, who are you with, and just sort of, you know, we've got multiple personalities, I think. You know what I mean? There's days when you know we're we're just totally different people, but generally we want the same things. And always say goal setting, you've got to work out what is the feeling you're chasing. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's a a lot of people set goals around money, and it's like understand what is that feeling. Are you are you chasing chasing respect? Is it ego? Is it you know purpose? Is it for someone else? Like really understand what you're doing, and then you can sort of make better decisions based on it, and you can go, okay, um well shit, that's not good. Yeah, everything's all about ego, right? It's all about being the best, and that's not gonna serve me well.
SPEAKER_01:I remember that was one thing I had a I had a coach at in a corporate job once, and it was a leadership coach, and we're in a special group, and I really struggled because he was like, everyone has one purpose. And I was like, Well, I'm kind of a different person at home than I am at work, than I am around my mates, than I am when it's just me and my wife. I'm a different person. I show up a bit differently, and my purpose changes slightly depending on that. And I really struggled with that concept. And I was explaining it to a group in a workshop the other day, and I was like, we're trying to create content and and we're working out what brand we are. And I was like, don't try and be one brand because think about yourself that you've got a personal DNA. At the core, you've got your values and you know what you respect and what lights you up. But hey, when you go to dinner at your grandma's house, you are going to be a different person than when you are in a meeting room as you are when you're one-on-one with your wife. Like at the core, you need to know who you are, but you don't need to show up in the same way every time. 100%.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, the only exact same purpose that everyone has is we want to be happy. You know what I mean? We if you use that as a as one context, it's like, all right, how do I make myself happy? Like it's a question you can ask yourself, what makes me happy? And I give myself all these little acronyms like LFT, right? Look forward to. Like so when I'm struggling, it's like LFT for tomorrow, it's like get a coffee, read the paper. Like that's that's cool. Play goal, you know what I mean? There's another one, RAM, R-A-M, reflect, acknowledge, move. So every month, like check in, right? Reflect on the month that was, acknowledge what worked, what didn't, and make plans to move forward. So this is I've created these little triggers in my mind through the books, through my own thing, because I struggle a lot. Like, you know what I mean? Like I go through moments like everyone else does, and it helps. And you sort of work out what helps you, and then it's like, okay, it's some from a purpose of like I want to create something that has impact. And I go back to a saying to love what you do, feel that it matters, and then make a good living from it. Those are like if you can match those three, the quote is just to love what you do and feel that it matters, but I add it to make a good living because if you're struggling financially, everything else falls apart.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:It does in reality, you know what I mean? It's like you you can train and feel good about your body and your and your ment, but you're still struggling on that other aspect where you've yeah, it shouldn't be, but it it it is a big thing. I love it. Yeah, you've got to create your own little rules, your own little triggers in your mind. Don't overcomplicate it, but what find out what works best for you. Keep it as simple, like how do I want to be happier, how do I want to make progress? Okay, then you know and go from there.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. And I love your tip around just make these goals, set an action, do the action, reflect, go again. It doesn't all have to make sense into a big picture.
SPEAKER_00:Well it's all comp remember compound interest. Like if you go to financial, it's just like everyone's kicking themselves and I'll doing the same thing that my parents and I didn't set up a uh a fund and just put you know a hundred bucks in there since I was, you know, one every month and then bang.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know what I mean? We overcomplicated it. I can't be that easy. Do some things every day, you know, get good habits, you know, train the body, train the mind, make progress towards a project that you're passionate about. And over time, compounding effect is like you'll get somewhere. You might not get to the right to the top where you thought you would. I thought my goals would be like, you know, 5x, 6x, what it is, but we've got somewhere.
SPEAKER_01:Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do, absolutely. And no one can take that away from you. No, and it's better than an idea, one of those ideas of 50,000 ideas that are stuck in the back of your head and never goes anywhere.
SPEAKER_00:That kills people. Like that that kills me. Like I'm going through that phase, like there's other ideas, and I know if I go through life not execute on some other things, it'll haunt me. Yeah. And then there was a teacher from my daughter when she graduated grade six, and she was a lovely teacher. You know, one of her quotes was effort is never wasted. So when you're going back to what you said, like again, that's one of the things when I'm extra, it's like, okay, effort is never wasted. Like, you know, give it a crack. If it doesn't work, at least you tried. And then you go. Yeah, effort is not waste. It's like man in the arena that quote, you know what I mean? It's like people can have a go at you and oh, you know, uh, but the fact that the people that are trying and are going out there and doing the things, those are the ones. That to me, they're the winners.
SPEAKER_01:Awesome. So, this is a big call, but you are our first episode of 2026, and I couldn't think of a better episode, especially as people are coming out of holiday mode, maybe thinking about setting goals for 2026. Apart from going to pick up a My Goals diary and documenting it and getting some clarity. What tips would you have for people as they're approaching goals in 2026? Keeping in mind the environment that we're living in is it's crazy. You know, we've got a lot we've we've got a lot of noise. Yeah, we've got a lot of uncertainty, we've got a lot of just it feels like there's a little bit of anger and angst and it's it's it's unsettled. What advice would you give to people to kind of come in and focus on themselves and set themselves up for a good year?
SPEAKER_00:I think it's just like don't waste the opportunity. And this is this is really, I mean, I shouldn't say this, but like AI. I've gone down the rabbit hole of AI, and it's like there's scary elements of it, right? You've got the the top leaders in the world saying, we don't know what this thing might do. It's not the old YouTuber fear-mongering stuff. It's like legitimate people that are running these things are like saying, This could wipe out human civilization. And I I look at that, I sometimes read that and go, life is short, like don't waste it. Like, do the best you can. And I have to constantly remind myself because we get into these modes of feeling like, oh, it's you know, it's hard, it's this, it's that, all these small problems. And we're like, oh, you know, it's just like go out there, have fun, enjoy it responsibly, obviously. But just go out and make the most of it. Don't waste another year. Like, take 2026 as a year to get excited about your life. And that's what goal setting was, right? The ability to sit there, take a pen and paper, and go, what is it that it's gonna light me up? What can I what am I excited about doing? Yes. And then going out then just sort of working, chipping away at it.
SPEAKER_01:But isn't that even a nice turn? Because I might be again speaking from personal experience. Sometimes when you set goals, you think about what problems of mine do I need to solve? But instead of thinking about it from that perspective, go, what can I get excited about?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, get excited. Like again, they always say think about when you were a kid, right? You get excited about things. Yeah, like the clues are already there. It's just about us having the the conviction and the courage to go out there and just like nah, that's it. Like this is what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna reframe a few things in my head, which we all have to do. Like I'll put my hand up. There's days I'm just a negative prick. You know what I mean? I'm just a negative person, and it's just like I need to constantly remind myself we've got this great opportunity where you know we're we're fortunate where we live and what we do and take that gratitude aspect and make the most of it, LFT, right? Every single day. Have something.
SPEAKER_01:Oh good. You've got me pumped for 2026 now, mate. Thank you. Okay, so thank you. Yeah, Adam, give us a little bit of a plug. So if if people want to learn more about my goals and some of the amazing products that you've got to help people document this and get some clarity and direction, what's the best place for them to go check all that out?
SPEAKER_00:Uh website, so www.mygoals, so m-i-g-o-a-l s dot com. That's the best place. We'll probably also organize like a even a coupon voucher for you guys for the community if they want. So you can put that in the notes or we can set that up after. Um yeah, jump online, Instagram as well, my goals, so M-I-G-O-A-L-S. Those are the two main ones. And yeah, check us out. And again, it's like there's no right or wrong. I always say, like, whether you might use an app, you might have a coach, you might have a friend. Like just have something that helps you. That's that's literally it. It's like just have something that gives you better guidance, helps you remember the thing that you want to be doing, as opposed to going into your default because defaults for general human it's not good. Like I said, what you know, you always got small percentages, just have this optimistic, happy go, work ethic, get things done. There's people like that, but generally there's a reason why there's only select few that ever go to those certain areas. Yeah. So you've got to find things to help you, and this might help.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. You've helped me a lot today. You've got me excited about 2026. Thank you so much for joining us on Agicart. Thank you, Nathan. First episode.
SPEAKER_00:No pleasure, man. Thank you so much. Love the chat. And um, yeah, looking forward to 2026, right? Let's get this thing going. Let's do it. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_01:Now, if you haven't already, I hope that conversation got you in the mood and got you motivated to be scratching out some 2026 goals. And ideally, not the ones based out of fear or fixing things, but the ones out of excitement. Because I think that was a really good call out by Adam at the end is that yes, while there is so much happening around us and it will continue to happen through 2026, we've got to take personal responsibility on finding our own excitement and pushing ourselves forward. So that was a key lesson for me. Now, here are three other things that I took out of that conversation with Adam from My Goals. Number one, when looking to expand internationally, you need to understand the operational reality of that. Adam told the story of Barnes and Noble, who had been ordering with him for years, but the shipping from Australia made wholesale margins impossible. It was costing up to$400 to ship a$600 order. As you heard from him now, he's still focused on expanding into the US, but doing it in a way that is much more sustainable for the MyGold business. And a lot of that came down to stress testing the logistics. Margin erosion from shipping, fulfillment delays, returns, and complexity can kill even most promising channels. By using local 3PL or marketplace fulfillment, like Adam is doing with Amazon US, that makes that operational reality much smoother. It also gives a great customer experience and sets you up for success. So when you're thinking international, and hopefully some of you are this year, don't just think about creating new websites. It's what is the operational reality of that. Number two, and I want to continue on that theme, is that you need to design for marketplace context, not necessarily brand ego. In Australia, we are very strong in D2C, and I would say that we have some of the most attractive and well-designed product pages in the world. However, as we heard from Adam, your D2C design might not necessarily work on marketplaces like Amazon, where the focus is on conversion, not necessarily awareness or consideration. Sometimes, the worse it looks, the better it is. Design and storytelling do matter, but it has to feel like an Amazon product page. So when you are expanding into new marketplaces, don't just copy what you've got on your D2C site. You're going to have to design for that marketplace, and it will probably take a lot of testing before you figure out what works in each marketplace. Don't just copy and paste. And the third thing that I will leave you with, and it would be remiss of me if we didn't touch on this, is how to set goals for 2026. Adam gave that great framework, the four-part framework around setting goals at stick. It's about clarity, strategy, execution, and reflection. Sometimes we get caught up with our goals on creating the perfect wording for that goal. Like what is that one sentence? But as you see, that's just one part of the goal setting framework that Adam lays out. So you need clarity. You need to know what you want, otherwise you're just reacting along the way. So what do you want to achieve in 2026? And what are the metrics that support that? It could be growth, profitability, stability, doing less, whatever it is for you. What is it that you want at the end of 2026? Then you've got to set the strategy. What is the plan and the roadmap to making that happen? What are those little milestones that you need in quarter one, quarter two, quarter three, quarter four to get there? Tie that back to your strategy and understand how each quarter will move the needle for you. Some people might even break it down into months or weeks. Then there's the execution. A lot of the time when we're thinking about goal setting, we don't actually put execution into the mix. Taking action is the most important part. And not only in terms of achievement, but as you heard from Adam, it's also about building belief in that you're doing the thing and you're getting momentum. So assigning clear ownership to the goals and the strategy that you set out, setting weekly targets, celebrating small wins, action is the bridge between strategy and results. And lastly, making sure that we take time for reflection. You can't grow without stepping back and looking at what worked and what didn't. And then we adjust from there. So build retros into your processes. Do monthly or quarterly check-ins, not just for your dev teams, but for anyone who is involved in achieving your goals. By breaking this down into clarity, strategy, execution, reflection, you're gonna set yourself and your team up for a brilliant 2026. It is so good to have you back. If you are joining us for the first time, make sure you hit that subscribe button wherever you're listening. We're gonna bring you weekly episodes all through the year to keep you up to date in everything e-commerce. And if you haven't already, come and join our Add to Cart community. There are hundreds of e-commerce professionals in there discussing e-commerce opportunities, problems, asking questions every day. It's free to join. Come and join over on addocart.com.au. All right, it is lovely to be back with you. Thank you again for joining us. Whether you're back at work or not, I hope that you are enjoying the rest of this festive season. And I look forward to bringing you even more amazing guests in 2026. See ya.