Are you ready for 2021? Make goals for your handmade business and skip the resolutions!
That annual “fresh start” that comes with the New Year is just about here. Maybe, you’ve already started to think about it in the back of your mind or maybe you’ve actually taken action and started writing things down, in a sort of haphazard sort of way.
People often make a list of resolutions
I see things like:
- I’ll pay more attention to my finances
- Eat better
- Get more sleep
- Workout or go to the gym
- Not get distracted by the latest bright, shiny object
- And the list goes on and on
The problem with making the usual New Year’s resolutions is that you write them down, throw them in a corner, and have totally forgotten them by the 2nd week of January!
Let’s change that with the upcoming year. Resolutions are a list – goals require action!
Some of the popular goals that I’m seeing in Facebook groups include:
- Starting a blog and monetizing it through ad revenue
- Create an Etsy shop
- Writing/releasing “X” number of patterns per week or month
- Making “X” number of finished items per day/week/month
- Being more consistent with posting on social media
- Getting more traffic to their website (Etsy Store, Ravelry shop, etc.)
- Growing their email list
- Have “X” amount of income for the year
Don’t get me wrong, these are great goals – but these goals just focus on Income – or making MORE money.
The more you spend the more you have to sell to come up with that annual income amount you want.
My advice. QUIT making resolutions. START making goals!
Improve your bookkeeping knowledge by taking a bookkeeping course. Instead of investing in yet ANOTHER course on how to sell your handmade or creative items – invest in a course that will help you to improve your bookkeeping knowledge. {Shameless plug here – sign up for my courses “What should you be tracking in your bookkeeping system” and “Create a bookkeeping system for your handmade or creative business“}.
Create a budget. Look at what you spent and what you spent it on. Then break those expenses down into two lists – “needs” and “wants”. The goal here is to week out any of the “wants” that is negatively impacting your spending.
While you’re looking at expenses and figuring out your “needs vs wants” – focus on those automatic withdrawals/charges for subscriptions that you purchased long ago and don’t use anymore. GET RID OF THEM.
Here’s 5 posts about creating a budget for your handmade or creative biz:
- Why you need a budget
- An Intro to Budgets
- Create a Revenue Budget
- Create an Expense Budget
- Let’s Create a Budget
And, let’s get that Inventory under control! Do you know how much you spent on yarn & materials this year/last year? Do you know WHAT you have in inventory for both materials and finished items? I’m going to guess you don’t – don’t feel bad, most people don’t.
Inventory is a HUGE, MAJOR PAIN! But I’ve got you covered with these blog posts:
- What is Inventory?
- 6 Steps to complete a physical year-end inventory
- How to track inventory
- Why track Cost of Goods Sold?
- When does Inventory & Cost of Goods Sold hit my bookkeeping records?
Take the big, important things off your resolutions list and add them to your goals. Determine what you need to do to make that happen and start plugging away.
