Each year, I find it very important to set goals. Some people think resolution is just a one-week thing; I rather see it a sets of road stops throughout a larger path. If I want to become something in 10 years from now, I must start today to take action. At the beginning of 2018, I set 5 important goals. Since I review tons of companies on a quarterly basis, I thought it was just normal to do the same thing with my business. Let’s review my goals then and see where I am.
01 Double my online revenue and make $30K+ in a month
This was probably the most ambitious goal of this short list. I started the year on fire with a total revenue of $20,703 USD (so almost 26K in Canadian dollar). After January, I realized that this whole thing wasn’t a dream anymore; it was happening. Then, February was okay, and March was a catastrophe. I’ve spend the last month of the first quarter doing two things that are cash flow destroyers:
#1 I spent two weeks on vacation doing all kinds of cool things, but that didn’t include working.
#2 I spent another two weeks working on long-term projects.
Therefore, after three months, I’m not showing a +100% revenue increase, but rather +47%. I can’t complain, but I’m not there yet. However, I understand now that my next quarter will most likely be similar as I intend to work on several long-term projects. I had the option of generating 12K/month now or making 50K+/month in a year from now. I chose the later option. It’s tougher on my cash flow today, but it will have a solid payout shortly.
02 Clear my line of credit ($19K)
Ah! Paying down debt has always been my Achilles’ heel. I’ve always been better at making more money than spending less. However, I must admit that for the first time in my life, I’m getting very good with my budget. We were able to reduce our expenses enough to pay ourselves with a break in Guatemala and pay down my line of credit by 1K. Yeah, I know, without this escapade in Central America, my line of credit would be at 16K instead od 18K now… But as weird as it seems, this trip was probably what will make the difference for the rest of the year as I really set my growth plan over there.
03 Go to Guatemala and buy tickets for Vietnam in 2019
Well, that’s half way done! My trip to Guatemala was incredible. I savoured each moment of it, and it gave me back my invincibility. I also realized that I will need to do this kind of trip often if I want to keep this flame burning inside of me.
In May-June, I will seriously start looking for airplane tickets. Once I buy them, there will be no turning back. I’ve set my Vietnam trip in early 2019 the same way I set my 12-month RV trip; I set a date (January 2019) and I will manage the rest along the way. I’m confident I will make it and buy my tickets during this summer.
04 Build a six pack
Oh boy… that is such a failure right now it’s not even funny. Instead of starting from 170 pounds and building some muscle, I started to eat and drink each evening. I was so consumed by the adaptation to my old life while I was building a business that I’ve completely lost track of this goal. The wake-up call happened when I had a doctor’s appointment, and I was weighting 196 pounds at the beginning of April. Damn! I’m a fatso now! It’s been two weeks and I’m taking my life back. I started running again, and I cut down wine to one day per week. I eat less; I’m efficient and have more energy. I’ve taken the long road to get to my goal, but I keep my eyes on the target.
05 Hire my second full-time employee
This one is also a “temporary” failure. Over the first two months, I looked at hiring a student in finance to train him. This didn’t go the way I wanted. There weren’t many applicants for the job, and those who applied simply didn’t know much about the stock market. I’m in a weird position where I need someone with financial knowledge, but I can’t pay him a nice salary. Therefore, I end-up with nothing.
For now, I’ve put this idea back on the shelf. Instead, I’ve changed my schedule and optimized my time. I can now do a lot more during my work week. I will wait until I can offer a “real” paycheck to a “real” employee. I think it will be worth it as quality has its price!
What will be my priority for this quarter?
For the current quarter, I’ll focus on losing weight and buying my tickets for Vietnam. Interestingly enough, if I eat and drink less, I not only have more money in my pockets, but I also have more energy to work more! Therefore, by getting in a healthy shape, I will pay for my airplane tickets at the same time! I love killing two birds with one stone, don’t you?
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