Tag Archives: goals

Now… we wait

Adventures on the web, It's just business,

One of my many goals this year is to add at least 5 new clients to House on Payne’s list of current clients.  No small order!

That goal has been in the back of my head as I meet with prospective clients and write up project proposals.  In particular, once I wrote just recently gave me a lot of worry.

It’s not that it was a difficult proposal to write, but that I knew it could hire me or not.  In the end, after writing and rewriting for hours and wondering whether I should sleep on it yet another day, I decided that the time had come to bite the bullet and send it off.  It was worse to send something more than a week after our meeting than to try to write the “perfect” proposal, because there is simply no such thing.

Now I wait, crossing my fingers and telling myself if it doesn’t happen, I can move on because opportunities abound!

Afterall, one of my other goals for this year is to be the best me I can be.

I will make House on Payne an amazing success.  It WILL happen.

Goals for 2011

Adventures on the web, It's just business
“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
— Dr. Seuss (Oh, the Places You’ll Go!)
It always seems to me as if I’ve hurdled a great wall when I reach the first day of a new year.  I don’t feel like this from month to month… but year to year — absolutely.
And with the new year — great things!
I relish the possibilities of the new year, and this year is going to be exceptional for both me and my business.  Now that I’ve assessed my accomplishment from 2010, I can really dream — and dream big! — about 2011.
I took a goal-making workshop in early 2010, and what I learned helped me set goals and expectations for myself.  Here’s some of what I learned.
  1. DREAM BIG
    This is not the time to be realistic.  You’re setting goals!  And if you sell yourself short, you can’t possibly achieve what you really want.  The best way I can describe dreaming big is to think like a 12-year-old.  Remember that?  When the world was your oyster and you dreamt of being a rockstar doctor who would fly to your Hawaii resort with your gorgeous spouse and get phone calls from the presidents sending you on your next secret mission?  Seriously.  Think big.
  2. BE SPECIFIC
    You can’t just say — buy a new house.  Describe that house!  Described exactly where you want to be at the end of the year!  That will help you map out your path.  One of my goals is to grow my business by 20% by adding 5 new clients.  Now that I have a specific goal, I can figure out how I’m going to accomplish it — the task doesn’t seem so hard!
  3. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
    It’s not about what you aren’t going to do — it’s about what you ARE going to do.  Setting goals sets your mood, and positive thinking begets positive results.
What goals have you set for 2011?

Reflections on 2010

Adventures on the web, It's just business, Living, Media Shame, Mommyland, , ,

2010.  Oh my… what a year!

Every year — in the week between Christmas and New Year’s — I find myself in that thoughtful place of transition between the current year and the one to come.   I find myself eagerly anticipating the new year, as if a slate is to be wiped clean and the possibilities of dreams I have not yet realized are closer.  All too often, I forget what amazing things I’ve already succeeding in accomplishing.

It’s easy to brush aside the past year as we set new goals, but I think it’s also important — if not necessary — to look back.  Sometimes I can be a bit hard on myself when I think of what I haven’t done, and assessing the past year is a good way to appreciate all that I HAVE accomplished.

Here’s what I did in 2010:

  1. Left KVUE to pursue web design business full time
    This was a major goal in 2010, and I’m proud that I finally had the courage to take this step.
  2. Secured 3 clients — 1 of them new
    It’s not as much as I aimed for, but it’s a start.
  3. Had a baby
    The birth of my daughter was so momentous.  It’s tremendously difficult maintaining that balance between work and family, but I’m so glad I’m able to work from home and be there for my kids.
  4. Learned to use Quickbooks
    OK — I’m still struggling with this, but I know enough to get by for the time being and aim for hiring a bookkeeper in 2011.
  5. Went to SXSWi
    South by Southwest Interactive was an amazing experience for me.  I learned so much about technology, trends, the industry and the business of the industry that I was able to venture out on my own with a bit more confidence than I otherwise might have had.
  6. Continued my education
    It’s imperative for people in my chosen profession to stay in the know, and I did my best to advance my knowledge.  I started learning as much as I could about PHP and how to design and develop with Joomla, Drupal and WordPress
  7. Connected with other small business owners
    Through the City of Austin Small Business Development Program, I started meeting other people who could potentially help me or hire me in the future.

Now that I’ve looked at my 2010 accomplishments, I can get down to business making goals for 2011, and those goals can be specific and build upon the foundation I’ve already laid.

Happy goal-making!