My 2023 financial and business goals: a behind-the-scenes look

Getting honest on money, newsletter goals and more

Although I’m a natural planner and goal setter (give me all the calendars and coloured pens), I’ve struggled with setting goals for my business in the past.

But this year something shifted. Or at least, something was different when I came up with a list of goals one day in late December. The goals I set felt good and continue to feel good (mostly).

Today I want to share them with you and give you a glimpse behind the scenes of my business. I’ll also be writing a bit about how I’m working on these goals, and would love to hear yours if you have them.

First things first, I don’t know for sure that I can reach these goals. Some of them I have more control over. Some goals are more process-goals rather than outcome-goals: if my goal is to pitch to ten podcasts, that is easier to reach than if my goal were to be interviewed on ten podcasts. But others, like my financial goals? Not so much control there.

I also have a couple of years in my business under my belt which makes setting goals easier. In previous years I didn’t know what to expect or aim for, and I spent so much time figuring out the direction of my business that setting goals was hard.

Currently I have a list of twelve business goals, although I might add to these as the year continues—and I might decide that some of them are no longer relevant.

My 2023 business goals

1. Make money with my business every month (incl. donations)

   This one immediately feels vulnerable, if I’m honest. In 2022, I didn’t make money every month, although I did for the majority of months. Last year was a year of recovery and recalibration for me, in which I focused only on the bare minimum in my business and spent the rest of my year making my way out of depression. That’s fine. Some of the vulnerability for me lies in having a business and not having made money every single month last year (I do have a part-time teaching job, and when I was unable to work still got paid, which was a great relief).

   I deliberately set this goal relatively low: I didn’t suggest a monthly goal here, instead, what I wanted was to see momentum. To feel momentum. And having sales every month definitely helps with this.

   Progress with this goal so far: so far, three months in, I’m definitely on track with this goal. At this point, 2023 is looking to be the best financial year in my business to date.

Curious about my other business goals, including the exact financial goals I’m setting this year (and how I’m doing so far)? Below I write more about my current goals, the goal that I ended up scrapping and how I feel about tracking newsletter subscriber numbers.

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