Last year I set monthly goals for myself, my shop and my blog. While I liked keeping tabs on a regular basis, this year I'm thinking bigger and more long-term. I've put together a list of goals I have for the entire year. Some I can get done in the short-term and others may take the entire year to accomplish.
I'm pretty happy with how things went last year here on my blog, so I don't plan to make any changes or post any goals about that. Most of these goals are business related. Because let's face it, when you're self-employed...business is pretty much your entire life :)
And as most of you know, I'm a big believer in not just having goals, but writing them down. And even more, sharing them with others. The graphics in this post all relate to the importance of writing down our goals.
(Thank you to Allison Morris and
onlineeducation.net for allowing me to use these graphics. See the entire post
here.)
Short-Term Goals
Stay up-to-date on my cost log and tax info: This used to be something I did at the end of each month. I was able to do this on my breaks at my full-time job and was always up-to-date. Now that I work from home full-time, I haven't been setting aside the time to do this! I'm certainly paying for it now since I'm 6 months behind. Not this year!
Learn about self-employment taxes: I know I should have been doing this since last June when I started working from home full-time. But I knew I had 6 months of other taxes that would help offset my end-of-year taxes. Now that I'm going to be self-employed the whole year, I need to make this a priority RIGHT NOW!
List the jewelry items that I have made: I actually have tons of
jewelry items made that aren't in my shop yet. I got so busy with Christmas orders at the end of last year that listing new items had to be pushed aside. Well, those items aren't doing me any good just sitting in a bin. I need to get them listed soon.
Mid-Term Goals
Make and list new wood invitation and wood greeting card designs: My
Wood Invitations have done awesome! To reach more buyers, I know I need to expand my designs and styles offered for these. I also have several new ideas for my
Wood Greeting Cards. My goal is to add 5 new designs for each item over the course of the year.
Add wedding sets: I get asked for RSVP cards and other matching wedding items to go along with my invitations. During 2013 I want to add some wedding sets including: RSVP Cards, Save the Date Cards, Matching Table Numbers and a Guest Book. So the whole theme is tied into the wedding.
Organize my storage space and work area: This seems to be an on-going, never-ending goal of mine. I guess the goal should be to STAY organized once I get there! Our attic is one big storage area for my inventory and shipping supplies. I know where everything is, but I'm sure no one else would...what a mess! I want to take a little time each month to start organizing that space as well as my studio and make my most used items more readily available.
Long-Term Goals
1,200 Sales on Etsy in 2013: Last year I set monthly sales goals, but this year I'm looking at the big picture. I know certain months will be slower than others and certain months will be a lot busier than others. So I'm setting a more long-term goal that can be assessed throughout the year. It's a pretty ambitious goal, but I'm hoping I can get there :)
Learn about graphic design: One area where I am lacking in my invitation and card designs is the graphic design side. I'm able to use the clip art and graphics I already have to create my designs, but I get asked a lot for special designs. I'm not able to create new designs from scratch yet, but I have all the software and tools needed, now I just need the know how. I want to look into taking an online class or local class to learn how to use my Corel Draw better and advance my skills.
It's a long list of goals, but I'm confident that I'll be able to reach them all this year. I like having them broke down into sections knowing what needs worked on now and what I have to think about for the coming year.
I plan on making 2013 ROCK!
