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December article, Boost Your Business in the New Year
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By:
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Annie_S
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Mood:
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other
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Date:
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11/20/2007 16:52:23
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Music:
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None
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In the December issue, I shared a list of things that I like to do around the end of each year, to prepare and plan for the coming year. (If you haven’t read the December issue yet, it is currently available at major bookstores, or you can begin your subscription by clicking on the “subscribe” link at the bottom of this page. It’s ok, I’ll wait till you’re done. Finished? Good! Now let’s get back to this blog.)
I thought I’d give you an update on my own progress with these annual tasks.
I managed to accomplish eight out of my twelve career goals for the past year. In retrospect, some of the twelve goals were too complex and I didn’t have the time and energy to tackle them. For the goals that I missed, I have re-evaluated my arbitrary deadlines and assigned more realistic timeframes to accomplish them.
I also found that I painted less spec paintings this year, but I also sold more paintings than in previous years. This was due to increased orders for commissioned paintings, more time devoted to other income producing ventures (ie: workshops, lessons, demos, writing, consulting), and more volunteer activities. Next year I plan to schedule my time a little better to get a few more spec paintings completed, and I’ve already re-set my prices to reflect the market demand.
I’ve also planned the direction I want to go with my paintings this year, and I’m going to try to create more paintings of small boats (instead of sailboats and ships) and concentrate on more unusual compositions. Sailboats in particular are quick and easy for me to paint, but I enjoy painting dinghies and tenders more, and they are getting a better response for me.
I’ve not yet finished filling out my appointment calendar for the year, but I’m almost done. During the year lot’s of new things will come up, and I will add them in promptly so I don’t accidently overbook myself or miss important deadlines. Some things, like updating my resume and promo materials, I do several times a year; whenever there is different or new information to add. And as for updating my mailing list; well, I hate doing that. I actually hire someone to do it for me a few times a year. The only thing I haven’t done yet is outline my marketing plan for the year. This takes a little more time, as my annual marketing plan has to include specific campaigns that will be tied to some scheduled events.
So now, let’s hear from you. Do you have any things that you do to evaluate your business and prepare for the coming year? What have you learned from your evaluations? Did you find that you need to make some changes to your career plan? If so, how will you implement your changes?
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