Financial Commandment #1: Your Money, Your Responsibility
In this post you’ll learn: He almost didn’t review his tax return that year....
Podcast | Episode 617
2025 Failures, What I’m Investing In & The 8 Commandments of Financial Mastery
How did a year that looked like a miss on paper actually turn out to be one of the most meaningful years I’ve had? In this solo episode, I reflect candidly on my 2025 goals, where I fell short, and the unexpected personal and professional wins that reshaped how I think about success, tradeoffs, and accountability.
Listen in as I walk through a powerful year-in-review exercise that helped me reframe how I think about goals, progress, and tradeoffs. I share my core focus for 2026, why I’m doubling down on fundamentals across business and life, and what that means for how I’m approaching marketing, writing, and leadership at eCommerceFuel. I also preview an upcoming podcast series on financial mastery for store owners and offer a transparent snapshot of how I’m thinking about my personal investment portfolio as the year begins.
You’ll learn:
- How my 2025 goals fell short and why that doesn’t tell the full story of the year. (2:30)
- Why doing a calendar audit completely changed how I’m thinking about planning the year ahead. (5:00)
- How I think about the tradeoffs between business growth and personal life—and when those tradeoffs are worth it. (7:30)
- My word of the year for 2026 and why I’m doubling down on fundamentals. (10:45)
- The core priorities for ECF this year. (11:45)
- A preview of the upcoming “Financial Mastery for Store Owners” podcast series and why I’m excited about it. (12:30)
- The eight financial pillars I believe every eCommerce founder needs to understand. (15:00)
- How I think about profit levers, borrowing, and investing outside the business. (18:30)
- A transparent snapshot of my personal portfolio allocation and the reasoning behind it. (21:40)
- Why building a personal balance sheet alongside your business balance sheet really matters. (26:30)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com)
What Was Mentioned
Ideas Worth Sharing:
"This year is a year for just nailing the fundamentals." - Andrew Youderian Tweet this "Sometimes in business, and in life, you're going to sacrifice some stuff on the business side, and it can show up on the personal side." - Andrew Youderian Tweet this "Work for freedom, then build for love.” - Andrew Youderian Tweet this
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
