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My Top 3 2015 Freelance Writing Business Goals

Are you a New Year’s resolution setter? How about a business goal setter?

My preference is towards the latter. I’m a goal setting addict, but this is one habit I don’t plan on breaking soon! Even if I fall short of my audacious goals, I’m still way further along the path than if I never chose to set any to start with.

Goal setting for me is the best way to do business planning, as it allows me to assess the health/progress of my endeavors over time. I set some goals, keep myself accountable to them (through my mentor and mastermind groups) and then measure my progress. Rinse, cycle, repeat.

Here are my top three business/financial goals for 2015. I’m declaring them here, as they all tie in together and you can keep me accountable as well. If my business is successful, then so are my personal financial goals and vice versa.

1. Replace My Current Salary

In 2014, as I launched my business, it was my big goal just to land my first client. Later it transitioned to hitting the $3,000 mark in revenue by the end of the year. I was able to hit that early in October and then blew it out of the water in November. I’m excited to tally up December’s results to see where I end the year!

I’m fortunate enough to have a business to sell, which will make for an easier transition (since I’m the sole income earner in our family). This takes the pressure off of immediately having to replace my salary. At the same time, I’d like to be as close as possible, so that I can funnel that “extra income” into some of our other financial goals (see below).

My plan for doing this hasn’t changed much over time. Continue to bring on new clients and level up with better paying projects over time. It’s been easier as I’ve gotten more posts/articles under my belt to be more confident in my rates and go after projects that pay better and better. I plan on taking my hustle up another notch as this is now my full-time gig in 2015!

2. Payoff Our Second Mortgage

I written about some of our early financial missteps in the past. The last one we have to show for it is our second mortgage. We had consolidated our credit card, auto and another second mortgage into a new one back around the time of the Financial Crisis to lower our obligated monthly payments.

In hindsight I wish we hadn’t, but it served its purpose at the same time I suppose. It was our big goal to get the balance under $30k by the end of 2014. It currently sits at $29,830 – we made it!

That’s an $8k drop year-over-year, while we had an infant and not long after Wade had quit his job. Not too shabby!

Now we have to become even more aggressive and really hike up our payments. Doing the math, we need to pay $2,581 per month to achieve this goal. We got this!

3. Save Enough to Purchase a Used RV in Cash

Another huge goal we have (in the very same year, poor planning?) is to travel for the month of June via RV. Not only do we need to save up enough pennies to buy said RV (we’re thinking $10k and would like to buy it in cash), but we also need to consider the cost of fuel, potential maintenance, campground fees, entertainment, etc for the actual trip.

It’s no small undertaking! Compile that with the very aggressive goal above and we might be a little crazy. Some crazy is good for you though, isn’t it? I think so! As I mentioned above, by declaring big, scary goals, even if I don’t hit them (but get close), I’ll still be way ahead of where I’d be if I never tried. What’s the worst that can happen?

Stretch Goal

Lastly, I’d like to declare a stretch goal for myself/my freelance business. I’d like to end the year earning $10,000 per month from my online business efforts.

There are plenty of others doing it – go take a peak at my friend Holly or Michelle – these girls are killing it! Why not me, why not in 2015 when I’m freelancing full-time? I’ve got this (or again anywhere close is fine;-).

These are the goals that I’ve set for myself this year. They are S.M.A.R.T. Specific, measurable, attainable (this one’s a bit iffy), relevant and most importantly time-sensitive.

My mantra? Why not me, why not now? Let’s make 2015 the best it can be!

What are your top business goals for 2015?

Photo Credit: plnaugle via Compfight cc

Gina Horkey

Gina Horkey

FOUNDER & CO-OWNER

Gina Horkey is a married, millennial mama from Minnesota. Additionally, she’s the founder of Horkey HandBook and loves helping others find or become a kickass virtual assistant. Gina’s background includes making a living as a professional writer, an online business marketing consultant and a decade of experience in the financial services industry.

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