Yesterday I shared my goals for 2014 and while goals are great, they are totally useless without a plan in place to accomplish them. I highly encourage you to read this article about not setting goals and focussing on processes instead.
With that in mind I’m going to focus on processes (1 per quarter) and use the goals I’ve outlined as measurments.
Today I’ll share the focus of my first 2 quarters. Only the first 2 because I’m not sure what my focus will be for the last 2 quarters of the year.
Quarter 1 – Product Release
I’ve already written 2 books (Don’t be an Idiot and Becoming a WordPress Development Professional) and they had a decent starting sales record. Unfortunately they have all but died in the last few months.
Sure I make a sale maybe even 2 a month now. Certainly not enough to be considered anything but some spare coffee money.
In quarter 1 I’ve got 2 (maybe 3) products I’d like to release. I’m going to focus on learning enough about marketing that they are contributing to my bottom line in a more significant way.
Yes I will be releasing other products during the year, but hopefully by then I’ll have the ongoing marketing thing refined to a point where it’s just another easyish part of my routine.
Some of the highlights of my reading list for the first quarter are:
Quarter 2 – Client Vetting/Acquisition
I try to be picky with the clients I take, but really it’s more about how much they can pay than how awesome a fit they are with my business.
I rush projects from the initial call through to them getting me a deposit.
I want to be more intentional with my client vetting process and my reading will reflect that. Some of the highlights of my list are:
- Client Oriented WordPress Development
- Get Clients Now
- Book Yourself Solid (yet again I’ll read it)
- The Passion Conversation
- Brains on Fire
Are there any other books or resources I should be aware of?