Self-Made Millionaires: The Moment in Our Lives Where We Felt We Reached Financial Security
Written by
Heather Taylor
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Becoming financially secure looks a little different to everyone, especially if you identify as a self-made millionaire. Some self-made millionaires may find they reach this milestone at several points throughout their careers. Others may have one significant “I made it!” moment that changed everything for them — and their net worth — moving forward.
GOBankingRates spoke to two self-made millionaires about the moments when they felt they achieved financial security. Here’s why they said hitting this kind of milestone is about so much more than the money.
Hitting Revenue and User Goals With My Business
Before Sam Tarantino was running Harmonic Reach, he was the former founder of the streaming music service Grooveshark.
Tarantino told GOBankingRates he felt he achieved financial security when Grooveshark hit 30 million monthly active users and achieved $15 million in annual recurring revenue. This moment occurred when Tarantino was 27 years old and was the byproduct of five years of hard work and pivots to address various challenges.
“It allowed me to start paying off significant debts, including loans I’d taken out to bootstrap the business and make future investment plans without the constant fear of financial instability,” Tarantino said.
As exciting as these figures were, however, Tarantino said it wasn’t just about the revenue or user numbers. It was the realization he had worked to build something sustainable that could stand on its own.
When I Sold My Business
Seasoned entrepreneur Adam DeGraide has founded several successful businesses including BZ Results, Astonish Results and Crystal Clear Digital Marketing. In 2006, DeGraide sold BZ Results to ADP and experienced his first real sense of financial security.
DeGraide, then 34 years old, had spent nearly a decade building digital marketing strategies for car dealerships. And while the financial windfall was certainly incredible, DeGraide echoed Tarantino in that reaching this point was about much more than money.
“It was the validation that we had created a robust business model with sustainable revenue streams,” DeGraide said.
After the sale, DeGraide said he was able to clear substantial debts, plan a secure financial future for his family and confidently invest in new business ventures. Replicating similar success with his other businesses, Astonish Results and Crystal Clear Digital Marketing, only helped reinforce this feeling for DeGraide.
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