2008:The Year in Review
So this being almost the last day of 2008, it is time to set my goals for the new year. Todays post is last years goals reviewed. Next post is my 2009 goals.
I tend to be a short sighted individual when it comes to running my business, so goal setting is extra important. I know where I want to go but I don’t have all the details worked out as how to get there. A good analogy for this is a car driving at night. You know the destination and you set out only seeing a short distance ahead. But you can make the whole journey by continuing to move forward in this way. Frankly, I get overwhelmed when I have too many things to do at once. And since my art business is multi-facted, new ideas and new directions to explore can add up pretty fast.
First I’ll look back at my 2008 goals.
Part of setting effective goals is to look back and see how well I followed through. This year was difficult in so many ways that frankly I’m a little surprised how many of these goals I did accomplish.
1. Increase earned net income by $10,000 (Though I haven’t finished up my books for 2008, I’m pretty sure I didn’t quite make this one, but we did have growth. Which is like some sort of Christmas miracle since we had so many events get stormed out this year. Not to mention the economy)
2. Do 2 new events either horse or art (Done, we did 3 off the top of my head, Owatonna, Loring Park and the Kentucky Horse Park.)
3. Work more effectively with my husband Mike at the gallery and art related projects. (also done, though we had an extremely tough year together, I think in the end we are working quite a bit better together.)
4. Do energy work and visualization every day (Not even close to every day, but more often than usual.)
5. Blog at least 4 times per week. Create email subscription for it. My blog is new so this is a serious commitment for me. (done and done)
6. Network more. Join ARTSLIVE!/ Iowa Equine Directory/Art Calendar Forum/Blog Links. (All in all failed this one. Though I did get listed in the Iowa Equine Directory, thanks to Carol Eilers. Also, I did rejoin wetcanvas but have spent almost no time there.)
7. Write a full year of articles for Apples N’ Oats magazine. (Missed this one. This year I skipped an issue during my heavy season of summer art shows)
8. Submit at least 1 art article for another magazine (Didn’t even think about this one.)
9. Make 3 new contacts for wholesaling. (Back in the Saddle/ SF Zoo/ liscensing?) (Did 2, listed some work on Etsy and of course signed with a liscensing agency.)
10. Take adequate me time. Walk daily/ actually take a day off at least once every 2 weeks/attends horse events for fun. (Walked daily but almost never took off consistently for “fun” time.)
So now that I’ve seen what I did do, I can set some new goals for 2009.
“Frankly, I get overwhelmed when I have too many things to do at once.”
I totally hear you on that one! And for that reason I can’t even think about setting future goals! I can only think one step at a time, even for pleasurable goals.
I remember your posting these goals. You are a good goal formulator-very specific- and seem to set ones with quite a reach, yet not unrealistic. I congratulate you on acheiving so many of them. It is outstanding that you were able to progress economically, given as you said, the storm outs and the economy. I think you did an outstanding job on the rest also, except the day off every two weeks. I hope you put that one back on and maybe name the day, every other Sunday? And list what you will do to take a break?
I had goals this past year , too, like the website and brochures. Not as good about writing them out as you. I need to do that. I know I failed on distributing the brochures as much as I planned and also I failed on starting a blog. I am bogged down with planning my course right now — I need to set new year goals though. When I retired from my fulltime social work job (more than 2 years now), I had goals of helping my mom, fixing up the house and farm, doing my art and maybe teaching. I am proud that I helped my mom (a lot more than I planned), I did about 2/3’s -3/4’s of the things around here in fix up that I planned (got to get to that last bit, though). I am proud that I got some commissions and into a local show, as well as getting the website up. I am proud to be teaching, though won’t be too sad if that does not occur alot, as I see it takes up art energy, already — though once I get courses prepared that could be less. I will see if I can do some goals for the year, this month? Oh yeah, one of my “retirement” goals was maintain friendships — I would say I met that 50-75%, but need to reset that in some specific terms. Happy New Year! Angela
Undaunted Oddly enough, pleasurable goals are the hardest for me to accomplish. Huh? I’d say all those art classes your taking was a goal that you achieved. And gloriously at that.
Angela Congratulations on getting so many of your goals accomplished. Website is huge! Plus you did all the graphic work on your brochures, again huge! Not to mention your mom and farm and you did quite a few comission pieces as well this year. Frankly looking at your goals and what you did, makes mine look a little puny.
I’ve got only one goal for 2009:
Submit at least one novel for pro publication.
I’ve written upwards of fifty novels, it’s not writing them that’s the bottleneck. I’ve edited several to my present level of skill, editing isn’t the bottleneck. Composing and sending out a good cover letter, synopsis and the first chapter of at least one to all the pro publishers and agents who might possibly be interested in it is what I want to do during 2009 — anything more (like preparing and sending packages for other novels) is gravy — but that’s the top of my priority list.
I would like to become self supporting again but I’m putting no timetable on it, just doing the things I need to in order to get there in order of what’s in reach until it happens. Selling a pro novel would be a biggie though, that’d throw me in the deep end right off. So if any of the publishers buy, then I’d better get some more of them and some art out the door fast!
Robert A. Sloan
Hey Robert,
That’s a pretty BIG goal. Good for you! Something that big, I’d need to breakdown into smaller steps to keep it from seeming impossible. Though since you’re a writer perhaps your more comfortable with the whole submission process.
50 novels is a rather astounding number. What sort of novels do you write? I am surprised how many artists are writers as well. (not counting myself here, blog dabbling, doesn’t equate to novel writing.)
Thanks Mona, I suppose I never thought of that as a “goal”. Actually, it’s only now that I have written my own year in review that I realise how much I have achieved over the past year, although none of them were specific “goals”.
I just want to continue trying new things and improving.
You’ve had a great year for trying “new” things. It takes courage to try new stuff all the time.
BTW I love your Swanee The head is so elegant. Really very nice!
Did you sing that Swanee?
Thank you Mona
Maybe I’ll make a horse one day eh? I think the legs could be a problem though. How on earth do they support so much weight on 4 skinny pins??
I didn’t actually sing it out loud. But it was running through my head. And then got stuck there for awhile later in the day.
Horses are a miracle against nature when it comes to holding all that weight on their little pins. That’s why if a horse breaks a leg they are so often put down. Not sure how that would translate into clay.