2013 First Quarter Goal Check In

Yes, we are already into the third month of 2013! When did that happen? It still kind of seems like I was just finalizing my 2013 goals a couple weeks ago. Apparently not. Here's how things have been going the past few months.

1. Work out twice a week. Right now I'm on more of the once a week plan. It's a start, right? I've also been doing a lot of snow shoveling the past month, much of which has been more than twice a week and which I am counting as exercise. I have a harder time exercising during the cold months than any other time of year and hope that spring will lift my spirits a little with this effort.

2. Create a weekly cleaning schedule and stick with it. I did create a weekly cleaning schedule. Again, it's a start, right? Now that we have two more cats in our house, there are a lot of tasks that I have to do every week, and I am doing a good job managing that. I'm slowly figuring out how I can make everything else fit with my current schedule.

3. Double my December 2012 HubPages earnings. My February 2013 earnings were my highest monthly earnings on HubPages to date. It wasn't a huge increase from December's earnings, but the numbers keep increasing. Last year my slowest traffic period was mid-April through September with the exception of a short Fourth of July peak. I'm hoping to maintain earnings through Easter, build my article base through the slow season, and then really ramp up traffic and earnings for the 2013 holidays.

4. Maintain a minimum 2,000-3,000 words per day minimum on weekdays. To date, I am most proud of my success with this 2013 goal. I have met this goal all but a small handful of days thus far. Most of the days that I did not meet the goal, I either made up for it on a weekend day that Jake was on call or I doubled my writing the day before or after it.

5. Participate in 10 craft fairs. Currently I have 3 shows on my schedule for 2013, and I've applied to one more. A lot of holiday shows don't have information up yet, let alone applications, but that will start to change over the next couple of months.

 

6. Learn one new Photoshop Elements skill per week. I have been playing around with Elements a little bit, but I certainly haven't been learning one new skill per week. The good news is that I am taking just as many photos as ever, if not more so, have been experimenting with new Picasa edits, and have been taking on new photo projects. Ultimately the point of this goal is to keep challenging myself with photography, and I am. I'm not going to force the Photoshop skills, especially on a weekly basis, when it just isn't coming together but so many other photo projects are still happening.

7. Start to monetize my photography. I have created accounts with Zazzle and deviantART and have started to get my work up on both sites. I haven't seen sales yet, but I have done very little to promote either site thus far, as I've been focusing more on getting my products uploaded. I'm really torn about where I want to go next. Creating a larger, paid portfolio on a photo-specific site such as SmugMug seems like the next step. It would be significantly cheaper than selling on Etsy and would allow me to keep the freedom of not printing and shipping my own work. I've done a significant amount of research about selling photography on Etsy and feel like it could be a good fit for my work. I'm not quite ready to open that door, but it's something I'm considering for the future. For now, check out what I have up on Zazzle and deviant and let me know what you think about the SmugMug option.

8. Participate in 6 BBA challenges. I completed the February challenge and am doing my best to stay on top of the challenge themes so I can keep up with this goal.

9. Maintain focus on expanding my best selling items/lines. I have put almost all of my jewelry making energy these past few months into remaking best selling pieces and expanding my existing lines. I will continue to make new pieces throughout 2013, but I will keep focusing on this goal as well.

10. Maintain focus on ensuring consistency for my craft fair booth and my business in general. I have ordered a number of new materials for my shop and have a handful of other ideas for my business that I'll be slowly implementing throughout 2013. There are a few projects like getting new photos for my booth banner that will take a while to come together, and I don't want to rush them, especially for my spring shows. I'll keep working on projects like that throughout the year. I'm pleased with what I've gotten done so far and am excited about the changes that I've made for shipping Etsy packages as well as what I'll be able to present at my initial 2013 shows.

How are your 2013 goals going?