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Add me on SphinnNow that 2008 is here, it’s time to stop saying “well this is what I want to accomplish next year”; it’s time to actually accomplish it. So putting a little thought into it, I came up with some things that I’m going to do better this year. Perhaps you’ll take some ideas from my list and put them into your own as well.
1) Better Accounting
This is going to be an easy one. I started off in the internet game not having an accountant, and knowing nothing about the topic in general. I kept track of my own finances terribly (printed out every screenshot from every traffic account, paypal receipt, everything…stacks of paper). This year I’ll be registering another s-corp probably for the stuff I just ran under my name last year, and keeping track of thing much easier (just put everything on a business credit card). I have an account now too, so it’ll be much easier as I won’t be keeping track of much :).
2) Better Tracking and Organization
Right now I track just using Adwords and Google Analytics, which does get the job done. But, having my own personal tracking software built with many of my own customizable options would always be better. Some of you guys have actually given me free accounts to software that does such, but I don’t like uploading anything of mine into somebody else’s server :). All of my campaigns are organized pretty well, but I haven’t had a system built that will automatically do everything I want it to for me.
3) Less Leisure Time
Don’t get me wrong, enjoying the perks of your job and relaxing is a great thing to do (that can actually make you more money), but lately the more money I’ve been making, the more I’ve been slacking. Basically all of December I did virtually NO work besides maintenance that takes 30 minutes/day. To do this I’m doing to start making a monthly (or possibly weekly) To-Do list using Tadalist.com.
4) Expanding Into Other Areas
I was (and still am) kind of hooked in the PPC game this past year, figuring it out and whatnot. Now that I’ve pretty much got the hang of it, I’ll spend less time “learning” what to do. I’ll be able to start and optimize campaigns much faster, which leaves me with some more time. I want to look into some other areas of IM and web development in general. I have some ideas, and right now it’s just a matter of putting them into action.
5) Become More Disciplined
I’ll just be honest with you guys…I’m lazy as hell. This year I’m going to crack down more on myself and quit being lazy about things that will make me more money. For example : I have a campaign that was making around $300/day, and it randomly completely died out over a month ago. I’ve been too lazy to go and simply tweak a couple things and re-upload the campaign, because I’d rather just work on other things making me more money. Even though it would only take me 20 minutes, I’ve just been plain lazy.
So there’s a quick little list of things I’m going to make sure I do better this year. Hopefully if you suffer some of the same symptoms as I do, we can rectify these things together.
Now that the new year is year I’ll be blogging more frequently again, so I’ll talk to you guys soon. Hope you had a good new years.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Congratulations on your observation that success can make you lose track of reality, I completely agree. Maximizing your potential is the name of the game. If you are making $x when you could have been making $2x, then you’ve done something wrong. After all, you would be the only person losing out if you become blinded by success.
Alan Johnson
January 1st, 2008 at 7:14 pm
You know, if you’re just going to let that $300/day campaign die, I’ll take it off your hands :P
Good luck with your goals though. I know how hard it is to force yourself to work on the little things when you can put them off as long as you want.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
There are times when you just have to say “no” and focus on the projects which bring in the most revenue, but in situations such as this one, a few minutes spent tweaking is all it takes and it is really a shame to not maximize the potential of a campaign where so little effort is required.
Alan Johnson
January 1st, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Sounds like a good start. I, along with a lot of people, have also created a set of goals for the new year. I like goals instead of resolutions.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hey,
Your blog is super awesome; I’ve learned more from it than probably anything else I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot!) Now I know it’s not much…but I just bought a year of hosting through your HostGator banner.
Thanks for all you do.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Sweet, thanks!
January 1st, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Thanks for the link to tadalist. Never seen it before but I like how simple it is.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Its good to see that even uber affiliates have their weaknesses! It gives some hope to the rest of us peons.
Im looking forward to see how you continue affiliate marketing in 2008, keep us updated!
January 1st, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I wish I was able to be lazy and just let $300 a day slide lol ;).
Some nice goals! Looking forward to seeing how you organize and such as well as your tracking, because I am pretty bad about that as well. Be sure to share your tips once you get it all figured out ;).
January 1st, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I’ll be glad to maintain that $300/day campaign for you for 50% of the profit. No work on your part, and still 4.5k a month in your pocket :) Feel free to send me an email.
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:16 am
Happy New Years Paul! Hope you had a good one!
Nice goals, I hope you achieve them all!
Best of luck in 2 0 0 8!
Keep up the good work!
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:18 am
Yeah thanks for the link to the tadalist, never heard of it either, I will definitely check it out. One of my goals is to be a little more organized so I’m sure that will definitely help me out. Thanks!
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:20 am
Ha ha, I’ll also gladly take the $300/day gig off your hands for you. Wow!
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Considering this is more than double what 95% of what the average american makes a year… just $106,800 a year. Most people would take this.
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:36 am
Interested in selling the $300/Day campaign? ;)
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 am
Getting more organized and getting more motivated to accomplish my goals are two things I really need to work on this year so that I can achieve even more of my goals. I am currently using Google Calendar which syncs to my HTC Touch using goosync allowing me to at least keep something of a schedule going.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Getting motivated is one thing, but being able to not lose momentum is the name of the game. A lot of people get excited about their goals this time of year, only to completely give up at a later point.
Alan Johnson
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
This is kinda rough. Good luck with these. Todos are great and very much needed.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
To-do lists are great but having the right priorities is a must. Otherwise, you will end up wasting the entire day with all sorts of insignificant aspects on your to-do list and realizing that you haven’t actually achieved anything worthwhile.
Alan Johnson
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Good strategy is great. Hustle is also great. Avoiding Analysis Paralysis is also good. Todo list help with both.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
True that Alan.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Time management tools such as to-do lists help you increase your productivity, but without the right priorities, you will only end up going along the wrong path at a faster pace :)
Alan Johnson
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I’m going to be working hard this year. Working a day job while building my internet business. Your blog is an inspiration :)
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
QUESTION: Why an S-Corp? What is the benefit to is vs. something else…? I am in the process of trying to incorporate my business and am trying to seek the best one for Affiliate marketing. Perhaps a post about this would be awesome (and much appreciated :D)
BTW, I’ll take care of that $300 dollar campaign for ya ;) Hehehe.
Anywho, I have a lot of the same goals – Organize Finances, Incorporate, be less lazy.
To a successful 2008,
Jonathan
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
EDIT: Ok, ok. Forget what I said about the $300 campaign. After reading like 10 other people saying it, it’s no longer funny. :P
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
You need an assistant – one without gradiose affiliate dreams that can do your grunt work and you don’t have to worry about them stealing your campaigns. Load up your $300 a day campaign and you could hire 2 very good ones.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
You may want to look into a LLC versus S Corp. However, this depends on the state where you reside. Ask your accountant which is best…
Personally, I have a LLC in California.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Hey Paul,
You might consider outsourcing the accounting, after awhile I believe most entrepreneurs run into the challenge of handling their own finances. I’ve done it several times like you were mentioning and it isn’t that great, from now on I’m just outsourcing all accounting work, my friend get theirs done like $100/month, we can afford it.
Then someone else will keep track everything down to a dime, clean organized, all for you and you can focus on the 20% which produces the 80% of the results and not worry about accounting.
-wes
January 7th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
If you have a million already, you could probably pick up an investment course and make that money work for you as residual income as opposed to having to spend so much time doing these campaigns
January 11th, 2008 at 6:54 am
“If you have a million already, you could probably pick up an investment course and make that money work for you as residual income as opposed to having to spend so much time doing these campaigns”
While this is true active, agressive, entrepreneurship will far outpay ‘passive’ investments.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I just moved tech group and my kid’s classroom to Qlubb. So far it’s been great. All the overhead involved in planning activities and delegating and reminding is now being taken care of by Qlubb. Plus, the interface is super simple. It looks like a Rails app – really clean. I like.