Resolutions

I don't make resolutions. I really never have. What I usually do is to make a plan....one with a purpose. I don't wait until December 31 to come up with a plan, I'm always thinking and planning.

Most people make resolutions like:

I am going to lose weight.
I am going to save money.
I am going to find a better job.
I am going to quit smoking.

If you asked those same people how they were going to do those things, most of them would shrug their shoulders and say they had no idea...and that is why resolutions don't always work.

Resolutions are nothing more than unguided goals, and unguided goals normally end up in the failure column. That is why I make plans. Plans work best if they have steps or mini goals within the plan or goal if you prefer.

One of my personal plans is to eat better. Without some kind of a plan....how would I start? How would I make that happen? How would I be successful?

I plan to eat better by creating a menu each week for my meals, buying the right foods to prepare those meals, preparing certain things in advance and packing as much of my lunch and snacks as I can the night before. I already started that this week.

One of my business plans is to keep better track of my etsy earnings and spending. I have already started the process. I am doing that by opening a separate checking account with debit cards for me and Irv, and a separate joint savings account for the business. Paypal money will go into my business checking or savings. Etsy expenses will come out of etsy earnings and not out of our personal accounts. All income and expenses will be recorded in a monthly ledger which will make taxes SO much easier!

Get the idea?

I don't know about you, but in order for me to have success, I have to have something to follow and I like it on paper.

I also plan to start exercising more. I am working on that plan right now. It goes hand-in-hand with another plan which is for ME to come first in my life. That means making the time to do yoga, pilates, weight lifting and walking. This is going to be a tough one for me, because I live for etsy and my workshop.....but in order to stay healthy and be able to enjoy what I do....I need this plan to be successful.

That means putting ME before etsy, my workshop, my blog, my e-mail and Facebook. Like I said, this is going to be a tough one, but I am of the mindset that I can do anything that I really want to do, so it will be fine. Plans can also be altered or fine-tuned...they aren't written in stone. If I find that I got in over my head, I can tone it down. If the plan was a snap, I can step it up a notch.

So, do you make resolutions? If so, do they work for you? If they do, what do you do to make that happen?

I know a lot of people wait for the New Year to change their attitude and their life...for me it's an ongoing process. I think it's important to go into every year, every month, every week and every day with a positive attitude and a feeling of hope. I try hard to do just that.

The Business of Being In Business

Gee, I have had 3 sales in 9 days....that is very unusual for me. The funny thing is that once again I have been totally absorbed in preparing for the September craft show, and the only etsy thing I am doing is making sure that I renew things that are about to expire. That's it.

I sold a photo note card and a photo from FourDogDay and little planter from MyOtherShop. I would show you pictures of what I sold, but for some reason blogger won't let me upload any at this time......UGH!

When I think about my etsy sales, I certainly wouldn't mind more, but for someone that works a full time job and does this evenings and weekends, I think I am doing okay. I have sold things to family and friends and the transactions didn't take place through etsy, and I have had sales at the two craft shows I've done...so all things considered...I am pleased with where I am at.

I know I am a much happier person now than I was before I started my business. It has filled a tremendous void for me. I didn't realize how much I missed crafting until I started doing it again. Now, I don't know what I would do without it.

I said before that I have tried so many different things from the cards, and jewelry to decoupage and now to the aprons and totes....and it isn't that I am indecisive...it's that I haven't found my niche yet...although I think I am getting close. I am finding the most satisfaction with the aprons and tote bags and can't wait to make some place mats and napkins. It's the fabric thing....I really have a thing for fabric. :)

I don't worry any more about how much money I am or am not making....it's all about what it brings to me on a personal level....my goal is to have my crafting supplement social security when I retire...so I have plenty of time to grow my business as I find my way.

If you have your own business, how long have you had it? What expectations did you have when you started? Have they changed? What does owning your own business mean to you?

My List Addiction

Can this possibly happen to me two days in a row? Yep, it can and it is and I really don't give a poop! I really didn't want to say poop, but I don't want to offend anyone by saying that I really don't give a shit so I said poop instead!

I have had a miserable headache all day today. When I got home from work, I started tweaking the photos of the cards I took pics of this morning before work. Then I had an appointment to get my hair cut...and she was running late! UGH! I didn't get home until 7:00 p.m., ate some dinner and here I am.

So, once again I am not going to get the things done that I had planned to get done. Am I bummed....of course, but I am not going to get worked up over it. I am going to try to get one of the cards listed when I'm done with my blog and if that's all I get done....that's all I get done.

I read the comments on yesterday's post and really envy the people that don't live by lists. Even my lists have lists....and then after I do a few of the things on the list, I have to write a new list because that one looks messy and I can't have a messy list!

Then I thought about how crazy my lists are making me and how much time I spend making lists and worrying about lists....and I started to wonder if I could still succeed in my business without the lists. That isn't to say that I wouldn't have goals and plans. I would. I have to. I need some kind of structure. What I don't need is the pressure I have been putting on myself. Some of my lists I wouldn't be able to accomplish in a week much less one day!

So, here is what I've decided to do. I will still have my goals and my plans for this year...and that would be to get 1000markets and Artfire set up, to check into some shows and Farmer's Markets for spring and summer and to perhaps get a website up and running. See, when I write those things down....it sounds fun and exciting and doesn't sound stressful at all. It's those daily lists and expectations that are doing me in.

Therefore, the only daily goal I am going to set is to try to list one thing in FourDogDay every day and two things per week in MyOtherShop. I am not going to write down what I should be doing very minute of every evening because it isn't realistic and it really isn't much fun.

I think the fun and excitement I was feeling in 2008 went right out the door when I made this massive business plan and realized that I had a lot to do. I was afraid if I didn't have this big formal plan that I would never have a successful business. I think business plans are great, and I really do believe in plans and goals, but I also realize that I love what I am doing...and in order to keep loving what I am doing I need to cut myself some slack.

So, tonight I will not make a to do list for tomorrow. I know what I need to do, and maybe if I just do what I can when I can....I will keep loving what I am doing for many years to come and have a successful business as well.

Oh and this is totally off topic, but I got the two pairs of shoes I ordered. One pair was too wide and one pair was too narrow. I reordered the too narrow pair in a larger size because I really liked them, and we'll see if they are any better.

Also, the skinny jeans came today and they kick butt!!! I absolutely love them....except that they are about 6 inches too long. I always order talls from the Gap because I love my jeans long...well these skinny little guys were way too long. So they are going back to the Gap tomorrow for the same ones but not in a tall!!

Oh happy day!

What Was I Thinking?

Why is that one day I feel like I am right on track.....like I have it all together and then the next day I wonder what the heck I am doing? Do you ever feel like that? One night I sit there in bed and write up my plans for the next day including what I will work on, what I will list, what I will renew, how I will redo my sections, when I will be in the forums, if and when I will twitter.....and on and on and on. I look at it and I know for a fact that I am so on!

Then I get up in the morning and I take my list and head into my workshop. I sit down, turn on the computer, look at my list and immediately think it's all wrong, very, very wrong.

Does that ever happen to you? Do you have goals and plans and you know they are perfect, and then you look at them again and think they had to have been written by someone that had no idea what success is or what it takes to succeed or how much time things take?

I am struggling a bit right now. I love what I am doing, but I cannot seem to prioritize the things that need to be done so that I can accomplish the things I must accomplish in the amount of time I am able to dedicate to my business. (That was one hell of a long run-on sentence....but did it make sense to you?)

Last night I wrote down that I was going to list 3 items for MyOtherShop. I decided that I would list a photo in FourDogDay and work on some new cards and I would write my blog. All very doable....but here it is 8:30 p.m. and the only thing I have done was to photograph one item, rephotograph a couple of cards that are already listed and cut the cardstock for the cards.

I lost my enthusiasm when I realized that the tray I wanted to photograph can't be photographed in my light box because it is too big. What was I thinking? It's a big tray! Once I realized I wasn't going to be able to list the tray, it ruined the order I wanted the items in so that idea went right down the drain. Can't list any of it tonight!

So, I started on the cards, went and ate some dinner and now it's late and I am writing my blog. I have this sick feeling that I am going to get nothing done that I wanted to get done! UGH!

What do you do when your best plans end up your worst nightmare? Do you get angry? Do you beat yourself up for thinking it was a great idea in the first place? Are you able to laugh and say, oh well tomorrow is another day? How do you handle disappointment when it comes to your business?

When I started writing this, I was really bummed. I know I'm not going to get a lot done tonight, but you know what....it's okay. Writing this has actually made me realize that this is really a tiny little problem and one that I can laugh at. I didn't think things through as well as I thought I had. Maybe my brain had already shut off for the night when I made my list. Whatever it was doesn't really matter. What matters is that I am able to laugh at myself, finish this blog and go over to my work table and make those cards before I go to bed. The photographs and the listing will have to wait.

What do you do when your really great plans turn out to be not so great after all?

It's January 5th...Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

Okay folks...it's January 5th. Have you set your goals? Do you plan to set some goals? Did you read my blog posts about goal setting and achieving your goals? Here is one, and here is the other. I did set my goal and I have my plan in place. I just need to make the final copy and post it by my computer so I can stay on task each and every day.

I got off to a great start this morning. I got up at 4:30 a.m.......yes, that's what I said....4:30 a.m. I start work at 7:30 and I have a 50 minute commute on most days. In the morning, I am going to work out, fix a good lunch, check my etsy shop, my blog and the forums and then get ready for work. I need 2 hours to get it all done. I don't like to rush. I did it this morning and hopefully it will be a tiny bit easier tomorrow and each day after that.

Work was tough today. I had so much to do and I have only been at work twice in the past 2 weeks. There were things on my desk that I looked at and went, "Hmmmmm, now what the heck was I suppose to do with this?". It was quite a day. I am normally extremely organized, but I felt totally out of sync this morning. (No, that is not really my desk!) As the day went on I started to remember what my job was and by the end of the day I was thinking, "Oh, yes this is what I do for 40 hours a week!"

When I got home I immediately changed my shoes and grabbed the dog's leash and we headed out the door. Poor little Wrigley hasn't had a nice walk in weeks. The weather has been awful and the roads have been covered in salt and that hurts her little feet. So, off we went. The first street we went down, I heard 2 guys yelling for their dog, Lady. I slowed down a bit because I don't know Lady. The men were yelling and chasing and doing all of the things you aren't supposed to do, but we'll save that topic for another day. I'll tell you tomorrow about what happened.

Anyway, we did survive our walk, in fact, it was quite nice. We got back and I headed into the workshop. I did not spend my hour talking to Irv like I planned, but I needed to get pics of my new decoupage stuff done so I can post a couple of things tonight. He understood. He asked what I would like for dinner and he headed for the kitchen. I'm so lucky!

I started photographing and most of them turned out pretty good. We'll see how they look when I get them in my shop. I did have trouble with one of them and I'll have to redo those next time around.

So, with pictures taken it was time to blog, so here I am! It's 7:30 p.m. so that means I have less than 2 hours to finish up my "to do" list for today. I am bound and determined to do this.

Like I said in the beginning, have you made some goals for yourself. Have you developed a plan to help you achieve those goals? If not, what are you waiting for? Let's go!

The Art of Goalsetting....and Achievement

The only way to reach a goal is to set a goal, but anyone can set goals. I could write down a list a mile long of "goals". I want to do all kinds of things and I want to have all kinds of things, but those aren't really goals.

My real goals are to build a highly successful business, pay off all of my credit card debt and move to Colorado. I can write them down and I can look at them every day, but those goals will never be achieved without a concrete plan. The plan is what will take you through everything you need to do to reach your goal. If you aren't willing to formulate a plan, then you really don't want to reach that goal as much as you think you want to...perhaps you should call that one a wish or a dream. I have lots and lots of those too.

I have a dream that I am wealthy and retired and driving around the country with Irv and the dogs in our big motor home. We have no where we have to be and an endless flow of cash. Is that a goal of mine? No. Would I love to be able to do that? Yep. That isn't to say that you can't work toward your dreams and make them a reality, but then I prefer to call them goals with plans attached.

I am not good at achieving my goals but that's because I never really understood what it took to achieve your goals. I've always had goals, but rarely if ever reached them.

If you look back at my goals, they are to build a highly successful business, pay off all of my credit card debt and move to Colorado. They are in that order because I probably will not achieve the last two without achieving the first one, and that is to build a highly successful business.

My goal for this year....and I only have one....is to build a highly successful business. That is my Step#1...coming up with a real goal. There are a lot of other things I would love to have or do...like go on vacation this summer, fix up the house and yard, get healthier.....and I may add other goals down the road, but right now it's all business.

So, do you have a goal or two or three for the new year? If so, what is the first thing you will do achieve that goal? I would love to know how you get started.

Tomorrow I will talk about "THE PLAN".

Out With The Old....In With The New

Well, it's that time of year again.....time to say good-bye to 2008 and welcome in 2009. I always look at the new year as a new beginning. Kind of like an early spring. As I prepare to give 2008 a royal send off, I am thinking about what kind of year it has been. I know for many people it has been the worst ever. I think about those people a lot. We are fortunate to have our home, our health and our jobs. We can still put food on the table and pay the bills, so for us, compared to many, it has been a good year.

As far as accomplishments, I started my etsy business this year. That was huge for me. I can honestly say that getting back to making things has filled a tremendous void that I felt. It came at a wonderful time in my life.

Looking at the year ahead I can't help but be excited. I have big plans for my business. I already know that I will be making some major changes and branching out to other selling venues. I have learned so much from the experienced etsy sellers that I can't wait to get started. I really think this is close to the most excited I've ever been about a new year coming.

During this week I will be sharing a bit about goals and dreams......do you have goals and dreams for the new year? If so, please share.