Setting realistic goals is very important when planning your business, your life and even your day!  Start each day planning small goals and keep in mind that these small goals will ultimately lead to a bigger goal; be it a successful business or a larger home.  Plan to accomplish several tasks each day that give you satisfaction toward achieving that final goal.  You can have many final goals not just one!

One of my goals is a successful business involving the things I love to do - gardening, crafting, staying motivated and healthy.  I also enjoy sharing what I learn with others.  I can share my gardening experiences with others and also develop some products from my gardening efforts that can be sold.  Garlic is in the ground as I write this and I should have quite a harvest next summer to sell.  I am looking at selling online and garlic will travel well.  Another product line I have had good success with is dried flowers.  I have been growing different types trying to determine what grows well in my area.  An idea I have is to grow products and show others  how they can create with them; wreaths or simple arrangements.  There are numerous websites that exist where you can sell your products whether it be craft items or homegrown produce....Ebay, Etsy, Artfire, Local Harvest and Foodzie to name a few.  The company I have my website hosted with may be my best option since it all looks to flow together.  I need to research setting up a store - what it costs, how it works, results.

I am a firm believer in positive thinking and motivation as key to my success.  I mention Affirmations on my website and I am truly convinced that filling my mind with positive thoughts and affirming several times a day what I want to accomplish is the answer to my successful business.  I plan to use this technique and also encourage others by using my sewing skills to produce products that are useful, as well as, helpful in this way.  I will be brushing up on my sewing skills with my newly purchased sewing machine.  This is a smaller goal leading to my bigger goal and if I am not able to work on this daily I have to make sure to set aside several days a week for this.  If I need to wake up an hour earlier each day then so be it.

My efforts need to be consistent and I will set up a time line where I plan to have certain tasks complete.  Sitting down with calendar in hand, I can mark down the days or weeks I plan to have something done.  Financial goals are a major consideration and I will have to devote considerable time to this....what do I plan to sell my products for, how many do I need to hit $1000 in sales or even $10,000 and when do I plan to accomplish this?  Giving the products I produce as gifts is a great way to gather honest feedback and reactions.  I will continue to search all resources such as books, magazines, on line websites and even the local stores for ideas and find the best tools to use and raw material at the best price possible.  Setting up separate work areas will help me stay focused on the task at hand.  This time of year is ideal for planning and brushing up on skills since once spring arrives, I will be spending a majority of time outside gardening .....

                                                                                                            (to be continued)
Till next time,
The girl @ The Running Garlic