Goal Setting for 2012

My very fancy goal setting program (aka, scribbled on paper), that I keep taped on the wall next to my desk.

Last summer, whilst seeking enlightenment in which direction to take piddix, I started doing what I often do at the crossroads: lots of research, lots of list-making, and asking anyone and everyone I knew for advice.

My general goal was to:

1. Make enough money to cover half of all household expenses, plus a couple of extras, like a new computer (essentially double current gross income)

2. Work 20-30 hours per week (25-50% less than currently)

So yes, I want to double income while working less hours. Wouldn't we all? But how could I do it?

And did I mention that baby boy #2 is on his way in February? So there's a definite deadline for getting everything in place before my brain officially turns to mush from lack of sleep.

By focusing on these two elements (gross receipts and time spent working) I came up with my 12x12 plan for 2012. It is to:

1. Develop and maintain 12 major licenses for my artwork (like Target and Trader Joes).
2. Add nine new retail stores to carry piddix printed collage sheets (for a total of 12).
3. Continue to maintain a reduced presence on etsy for digital collage sheets (with a set average financial goal for each of the 12 months).

Guess what? So far, it's working (knock on wood). I had a ton of different directions that I could head.....make prints, work more on my etsy store ... but probably the most helpful element in the decision making process was getting an outside perspective. For me, this came from my Full Time Etsy Crafter's Team. They were great in that they are all in a similar boat--running crafty-type business more than full-time. And they had the ability to cut through a lot of my wishful thinking and really look at the bottom line. In editing we call it "killing your darlings." Being able to let go of parts of a story that you love, but that no longer work to advance the tale. My team advised me of things that I sometimes gloss over (like that shipping dozens of items a day isn't fun), and helped me focus on elements where I'd receive the most return for my time investment.

I also found this video by Designing an MBA to be especially timely and helpful. It reminded me that setting an actual, month to month budget of income and expenses can be a very helpful tool. At my last job before piddix we worked with detailed monthly excel spreadsheets and found it useful, so I'm kind of excited to use excel, Outright, and good old-fashioned paper to set more measurable concrete goals.

I'm sharing this all in part because I find it's often helpful to write things down (you know, somewhere where actual people might see them). It can keep me accountable when I might want to give up on something. I also enjoyed reading all the goals for 2012 over at OhMyHandmade and in my Full-Time-Etsy group, so thought I'd share how I came up with mine.

Do you have any business or personal goals for 2012? I'd love to hear. Here's a couple more planning tools that might be useful:

From the Business Ladies section over at DesignSponge: Planning a Blueprint for the Year

And Marie Forleo's always silly videos on: Free Planning Tool to Help Set and Reach Your Business Goals

Best of luck to everyone in 2012!