What a crazy year it’s been, friends! I took this blog onto self-hosted wordpress and started taking it more seriously and growing my blog traffic. I launched and started building my freelance writing business. I bought my Premium Starter Kit and started using Essential Oils. I wrote a lot. I got married and had a new baby. I was in and out of the hospital. We started second grade with Mr. C. We started light preschool for A-Man. We started taking steps towards getting genetic testing for Baby M. I was on modified bed rest for months. We survived the holidays. And now, 2015 is coming to an end, so it’s time to make some goals for 2016!
I’m a fairly goal oriented person. I like solid numbers. I like knowing exactly what I’m working towards. So naturally, today is one of my favorite days of the year. Tomorrow means a fresh start. Tomorrow means that we can work towards new goals and achieve things we’d only dreamed of. Tomorrow means a fresh calendar, and really, doesn’t everyone get excited filling in a brand new planner? So I thought I would take some time today to share with you, my lovely readers, some of the goals for 2016 that I have for my business(es), my blog, and my personal life this year! You are totally welcome to keep me accountable, I’ll need it!
2016 Goals for 2016
Personal Goals for 2016
Finish my degree and walk at graduation
I have three classes left to finish in order to graduate, and I have to do them by March. Two accounting classes and my capstone are all that’s left between me and walking across that stage! This is a big one because I never walked at my own high school graduation. I went to an online high school, and I had a baby two months before graduation so I didn’t walk, and I’ve always regretted that. I worked hard for this degree (seriously, who thought it was a good idea to complete a BS in Marketing Management with FOUR kids?) and I am excited to celebrate the accomplishment! This is one of my favorite goals for 2016.
Take Charge of My Health and Wellness
I’ve been using essential oils this year, and they’ve already changed my life, but I recently started learning so much more about what they can do. I’ve barely been breaking the surface! I’m going to be trying out tons of new oils and products this year to help improve my health and wellness. I don’t have a target weight in mind or anything like that, I really just want to be healthy and feel great. I know that really using the oils, some basic fitness, and eating a few less chocolates will do wonders for my body! (Quick side note! If this is also one of your goals, you will NOT want to miss my webinar on exactly how I’m doing this! You can sign up here.)
Read 12 Books
Recently I was chatting with a friend and she asked if I had read a certain book. My response was, “Oh not yet. I don’t have much time to read lately”. To which she came back at me (rightfully so) “Kaylene, you read 100-150 blog posts a week. You have plenty of time to read”. Ouch. She’s totally right. While I love reading blogs, I think being able to quickly skim through a post as replaced actually sitting down with a nice hot cup of coffee and digging into a good book. So one of my goals for 2016 is 12 books. They can be business books, they can be novels, they can be parenting books, I really don’t care. Also, I didn’t make it one book a month because some months are much busier than others! I want these goals realistic so that I keep them!
Freelancing Goals for 2016
Nail Down My Services
I have several services available on my freelancing site wrapped up into nice bundles, but I am constantly changing them. Maybe someone wants an extra page? Maybe someone wants their newsletter written? It’s obnoxious really. I want to come up with two or three solid packages that I offer (both for copywriting and marketing) and stick with them. While doing this I’m really going to focus on what I like doing, and make sure that’s what I’m doing most. Along with nailing down the services I offer, I’m also working on nailing down solid pricing. I’m terrible at pricing, so that’s a never-ending battle!
Two Clients Per Month (Sort Of)
I hesitated putting this one in here, because it kind of depends. Ideally I would have two copywriting clients and two marketing clients every month. That would make me a full-time (for me) income, and that’s the maximum load that I can handle at one time right now. Two clients a month would give me some income to invest back into business stuff and keep myself busy. The reason that I said it depends, is that if I have a month that’s particularly crazy with the oils or the blog, I’m totally fine with cutting back on freelance clients to make up for it. So, two clients a month but it’s negotiable.
Do More Marketing for Myself
I spent plenty of time in 2015 showing my clients exactly how to best market their business, but I spent very little time doing my own marketing. I partnered with an established designer who was consistently sending me clients (her own clients) for either writing or marketing, so I didn’t really do anything else. I want that to change in 2016. I want to find more clients on their own, or more accurately: help clients find me, so that I’m not completely dependent on others for my income.
Young Living Essential Oils Goals for 2016
15 Classes in 90 Days
Yes, that’s absolutely as crazy as it sounds, especially when you consider that I had a baby four weeks ago, I homeschool, I have four kids, and this is only one of my three businesses. But, I’m a girl who loves a challenge, and my up-line has made this our challenge! Between January 1st and April 1st I will be hosting 15 Young Living classes or parties, both virtually and in person. The first is my healthy weight management webinar that’s happening this Sunday! I’ll also be holding webinars (live online classes) in the coming months about Working at Home with Young Living, Essential Oils 101, Sensory Support with Young Living, Chemical Free Living, and more! If you’re interested in attending make sure you sign up for updates, and if you have an idea for a webinar you’d like to see shoot me an email at thisoutnumberedmama (@) gmail (dot) com! (Sorry for the weird email, I hate getting weirdo spam!) Oh, and after my crazy 15 classes in 90 days challenge, I’m hoping to still host 2 classes or parties a month for the rest of the year to keep up some momentum.
Executive By December
Executive is a rank in Young Living, and it seems WAY out of reach for me. To reach Executive, I need my organization (so me and everyone that I’ve signed up + their sign ups, etc) to have a sales volume of $4,000 combined. But also, I need two people directly under me who’s volume is each $1,000 (so them + their sign ups, plus anyone below them) combined. It’s kind of complicated unless you’re in Young Living and understand the compensation plan, but just trust me when I say it’s a huge goal, but if I work hard I hope I’ll get there! If I do, I’ll be making a decent part time income from oils alone on top of getting my oils paid for, so it’s a win for me!
Find Two Business Builders
That’s it. Most direct marketing experts will tell you to find two business builders per month, but I think that’s crazy. I don’t want to get a huge team of people just to be numbers on a board. I’m looking for two people in particular that are really passionate about oils and want to build the business to provide an income for their family while working at home. I’m the type of person who gets even more fired up by firing up other people, so I need a few people who want to get inspired and make big things happen. (Is that you? Shoot me an email at thisoutnumberedmama (@) gmail (dot) com, I’d love to chat!)
This Outnumbered Mama Goals for 2016
Stats
I’m putting these all in one because there’s a ton of stats that bloggers track, and it would take me a hundred years to make them their own categories. (all of these numbers are what I want to achieve by December 2016) First, the holy grail of blogging, page views. I want to be getting 10,000 monthly page views. There are certain ad networks and groups that open up once you’re hitting 10,000, and it seems big but do-able to me since last month I hit over 3,000. I want to improve the stats on all of my social media, but particularly I want to hit 2,500 followers on twitter, 5,000 followers on Pinterest, and 600 followers on Facebook.
Products
This is what I think I’m most excited about! I have mentioned before that I’m working on an eBook for work at home moms, and I will be launching it in 2016! I am so excited to be able to share what I’ve learned about not only surviving, but thriving as a busy work at home mama with all of you. I will also be expanding on my post about Bible Verses for Special Needs Moms and creating a devotional! It’ll be packed with more verses and diving deeper into being a special needs mom and leaning on God for encouragement. Both of those eBooks will be available through the shop that will be launching right here on the site, which will host any eBooks and printables that I create as well as some physical products! So far I’m getting some bath salts, sleepy time spray, and sensory rice ready. Is there anything else you’d like to see? Make sure that you sign up for updates to be notified when the shop goes live!
Income
I’ve been making money from my blog for a while now, but I want to start taking it more seriously and building it up into a true income in 2016. As my traffic gets higher, that gets easier of course, so this is highly tied to the stats I listed above. Between the shop launching, advertisements, and sponsored posts, I would love to be making $500 monthly from the blog alone by the end of 2016. Keep in mind, this is only one of my work at home baskets, so I don’t expect it to make a full time income any time soon. Blogging isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, so for my second full year blogging I think $500 is a doable but exciting income goal!
So that’s all for my goals for 2016. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m looking forward to seeing what the New Year brings! Do you have any goals for 2016 that you’re working on?
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I started using essential oils this year and love them so much! They have been awesome, especially for my kids! Good luck on all of your goals this year! Happy New Year!
I just love the essential oils. They’ve helped my kids a ton too, especially with sleeping! Happy New Year to you as well!
L0ve this! Last year I set a goal to see 10 new movies (I NEVER see movies) and this year I’m making a goal to read 10 new books. I’m always graduating in the spring, so I’m right there with you on that one. You go girl!
I love unorthodox goals like that! Congrats on graduating this year. I know first hand what a huge accomplishment it will be!
You have some pretty impressive goals there! Congrats on finishing your degree and walking this spring! You will really need to celebrate that one! With four kids – that is super amazing. My hats off to you!
Stacey recently posted…This Blog is Two Years Old Today!
Thank you so much! Thank goodness for my online college or I wouldn’t ever have been able to do it!
Wow! Keep us updated on your progress and success.
Peace and joy in the new year!
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I plan to! Thank you so much, Jill, and happy New Year to you!
Reading is definitely my biggest goal for 2016. I realized my reading for 2015 consisted of just a few pop culture books and nothing significant, so I’m going to read at least 12 books, but hopefully more! Good luck on your goal. :)
Love that you have a goal of reading more too! I read a few business books, but not a single novel. I need to read more varied books!
Your freelancing business sounds like it is really taking off. What made you want to become a freelancer. Happy New Year have a good one xx
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Ana, I decided to start freelancing because I love writing and marketing. I know that writing about yourself is one of the hardest things to do, so I love helping creative entrepreneurs sell themselves on their websites without being too salesy! Happy New Year to you as well!
Good luck on finishing your degree. That will be such a wonderful accomplishment!
Thank you so much, Kerri! I’m really excited about it!
Wow! You are really a super mom. I wish you success on your graduation. I set some goals for this year but I must say you inspired me. Happy New Year!
Oh thank you so much, Rose! I am sure you will reach your goals and more this year! Happy New Year. :)
I’m an outnumbered mama too and there are days I can’t keep up. I give you credit for working 3 businesses, blogging and homeschooling ON TOP of your mom duties!!! It’s a lot!! My goal for 2016 is to focus more on self care. I have slacked in this dept. because I write from home, sit on a few committees and do a lot of charity/fundraisers and I’m a twin mom. I need to stay healthy!
Roxanne focusing on self-care is so important. It’s something that I forget about all the time. Thanks for the reminder. Have you seen that I’m hosting a healthy weight management webinar this Sunday afternoon? It may help with your self care goals! It’s all about practical ways for busy mamas like us to keep our health a priority. You can sign up here!
I definitely need to read more in 2016, as well. I think sometimes we spend so much time staring at words we get a little tired of it. :)
That’s so true. Reading and writing so many blog posts makes it hard to want to read books rather than watch a movie or something!
Those are some great goals! I just started blogging in July, and one of my goals is to make my blog look more professional. I was published by the Huffington Post 3 times, and I’d like to start getting paid for my work as well as get my children’s book published.
Diedre those are great goals! Getting published by the Huffington Post is great. :) Good luck on your goals this year!
Good luck on all your goals! You seem very organized, I’m sure you will achieve them and more! Happy 2016!
Oh thank you Natalia! Happy New Year!
I am so impressed by how well thought out your goals are, and how you’ve divided them into sections. It is such a smart idea to separate goals into different buckets.
It definitely helps me keep them straight. Happy New Year!
wow! I had never seen your blog before. You are a force to be reckoned with! These goals look amazing and so positive! I wish you all the best for this year.
Oh thank you so much! I’m so glad to have you here reading. :) Have a blessed New Year!
You certainly have so much to be thankful for and have quite a busy time ahead of you! Good luck with all your goals. I need tobe more goal oriented
Definitely a busy year! If you want any help let me know, I’m a bit obsessed with goals. :)