2024 Financial Statement - The Water MBA

You curious one! Money, a complicated and often uncomfortable topic to discuss. People are often hesitant or even afraid to talk openly about it. When it comes to learning from others, everyone loves a good story, be it about success and growth or failures.

We’ve all seen people on podcasts or YouTube boasting about "How to build a $Xk business." It’s important to recognize that when they say this, they’re typically referring to revenue or turnover—not actual profit or net benefit.

In 95% of cases, they’re not making a living solely from this. Instead, it serves as a stepping stone to achieve their goals, enjoy life, and foster personal and professional growth.

As we move forward with The Water MBA roadmap to 2030, we're reflecting on the progress made after two years of operations.

Here's a simple breakdown of my financial statements for 2024:

Revenues:

• Subscribers / Memberships: A portion of the revenue comes from professionals who are subscribing to the full content we create. These are individuals who are starting to position themselves as decision-makers for the years to come. Slowly but surely, they grow each day without even realizing it. I’m excited for the future when I can look at some big players and proudly say, "That one started in The Water MBA!" xD
• Alternative Income Streams: I’ve also ventured into boutique advisory services through the brand Aquasory . This allows me to offer specialized consultancy for making a real positive impact. This is a high-return model with a low client investment, which is particularly appealing due to my limited time availability, and helps keeping the financial under certain control in case of deviations. 2024 Achievement: I accepted only one advisory opportunity, and it delivered positive results.

Expenses:

• Government Taxes & Fixed Costs: As expected, the government is here to say "show me the money", it is beginning to take a more active role in my financials, which is reflected in fixed costs such as social security, taxes and compliance-related expenses.
• Online Studio: Maintaining a high-quality online studio for sound, video editing, and other media requires ongoing investment. This is a fixed cost, but essential for delivering professional-level content.
• Website & Hosting: Costs for the website, email, and video hosting services. Hosting fees are fixed, but they also come with a percentage fee based on revenue.
• AI Tools: Tools like Canva, Gamma, ChatGPT, etc have been used for researching and creating high-quality content. Occasionally, these tools require temporary upgrades to fully leverage their capabilities.
• LinkedIn Premium: Initially, LinkedIn Premium was important for outreach and connection-building, allowing me to send InMail messages, activate the powerful search tool, and interact with professionals in the first 3 quarters of 2024.
• In-Person Engagement: One of my commitments for 2024 was attending key industry events in Madrid and Bilbao. Although this might seem like an expense, the value gained from networking and learning at these congresses has been invaluable. These experiences don’t always show up on a "balance sheet", but they contribute significantly to the business’s long-term growth.
• Training & Courses: When deeper insights are needed, I invest in specialized courses or pay for premium content provided by other professionals. This helps me stay at the cutting edge.

What Lies Ahead in 2025?

As The Water MBA continues to grow, I expect to see more partnerships and collaborations with influential figures in the industry.

Looking ahead, the financial plan for 2025 is centered on:

• Certainties: A baseline operating budget of $4,000 is the minimum "red line" to keep the business running smoothly. Additional expenses will be tied to a percentage of revenues.
• Ideal Scenario: The best-best-case outcome is achieving Net Zero for 2025, where revenues fully cover all expenses.
• More Likely Scenario: Ending 2025 with a small negative balance (around $1,000) would still be a reasonable and manageable result, given the current stage of the business. The goal may be to reach Net Zero by the end of 2026.
• Long-Term Vision (2027-2030): As you know, 2030 is often seen as the end of the world, it's the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, and more. So, I set the same trendy date for myself. Just kidding! :P From 2027 onward, the aim is to achieve a surplus, reinvesting all profits to create a virtuous cycle of growth. This reinvestment will further establish The Water MBA as a leader in professional development, ensuring continuous improvement in content quality, learning experiences, and community value.

What's the purpose of reinvesting in our particular business?

• Enhancing the professional experience for subscribers.
• Developing new learning assets and courses.
• Bringing many of the ideas from our internal brainstorming sessions to life.

Growing a business and helping others is not about accumulating money; think of money as a river flowing through you. The goal is to expand the flow—because the greater the flow, the more value you can create for others.

It’s all part of the journey: to grow, to learn, and to share as you evolve.

Here’s everything you can access through The Water MBA:

Subscription Plan

Gain 100% access to all our content with The Water MBA subscription. Here’s how it works:

• Free Trailers: All episodes come with free trailers available for anyone to watch.
• 3-Day Free Trial: Explore the episodes that interest you most before committing.
• Subscription Pricing $25/month or $250/year (save two months with the annual plan!)

Not ready to invest individually? Talk to your company about including this in their training plan. It’s a minor investment with the highest return in learning and development.

Who are these bold professionals navigating and gossiping on our platform? Find out below.

Specialized Course: Intake & Outfall

• Dates: February to December 2024.
• Overview: The most in-depth dive you’ll find ANYWHERE on this essential system in desalination plants, with the same Video On Demand format.
• Price: $299

Free Content for Everyone

Not ready to pay? Are you the kind of person who loves free content and doesn’t want to spend a single Dollar, Euro or Saudi Riyal on me, our purpose and our industry? That’s perfectly fine! You’re part of the 95% of people who feel the same way, and we have plenty to offer you, apart from the free trial mentioned before:

• Podcast: 1–2 episodes each month, featuring fascinating conversations with industry-leading guests.
• Email Newsletter: Delivered to your inbox once a week, offering behind-the-scenes stories, access to valuable knowledge sources, lessons learned, technical insights, collaboration opportunities...
• The Water MBA on LinkedIn: Occasional posts with real knowledge—not just marketing noise. Insights into the water industry, stories, curiosities, and anecdotes that add genuine value.

I truly thank you for taking the time to read and watch. As you can see, the future of our industry is in our hands. It’s up to us whether we value it or not. Let’s shape that future together. Wishing you a Happy New Year 2025!