Setting your Goals for 2010 as an Entrepreneur
Dec. 31, 2009
36 Comments
Setting objectives as an entrepreneur is a very important skill. Last year, I set a few goals for myself for 2009:
- Expand my eBay business
- Create a blog dedicated to entrepreneur stories for teenagers (teenbizstarter)
- Reach below 100,000 in Alexa Ranking.
End result:
- I slowed down my eBay business, eventually putting it on hold.
- I did not create the blog dedicated to teen entrepreneur stories because I didn’t have the bandwidth
- I converted my website to a blog that now has a 95,000 Alexa, hundreds of comments, and a strong community.
So how did I fair?
Surprisingly, I only achieved one out of the three of the goals that I had set up. Don’t misunderstand: I don’t feel badly about it. On the contrary, I learned a very important lesson from all of this. Life changes. It’s important for an entrepreneur to set up goals, but in a dynamic world such as ours, we always have to be open to opportunity and change. I saw that with the recession, I was not going to do well on eBay. I also realized that I wouldn’t have time to work on more than one blog at a time because they’re more time consuming than I thought; instead of spending a little time in a lot of different places, I concentrated my efforts on one blog, mine, www.ben-lang.com. Lesson learned? A smart entrepreneur sets goals but at the same time stays flexible so that when new opportunities arise, he or she can snatch them.
Happy New Year!
36 Responses to “Setting your Goals for 2010 as an Entrepreneur”
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Dec. 31, 2009
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Jan. 04, 2010
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Jan. 14, 2010
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Definitely important to set goals, and know when to be flexible with them.
I think that even though you may not have attained all 3 goals, you were still successful in developing this blog. I mean, Alexa Rating 90,000 is pretty darn good. Ebay’s dying out as a viable business venture anyway.
Glad you took the path you did (otherwise where would I get all this nice advice from a fellow young entrepreneur).
Jawaad Ahmad Khan´s last blog post: Nov & Dec 09 Articles
I’m glad you agree. Thanks so much! I’m very happy where I came out also. eBay is no longer what it used to be, and I’d rather “blog” and continue to receive praise from amazing people such as you
Yeah, Have my plans and goals mapped out. Looking forward to this upcoming year
Great, I hope “Stay Strong Dream Big” is successful next year. Good luck!
Hi Ben
Goals are good to have and have to be flexible. I would like to say though that with the recession your Ebay business is more than likely to be better rather than worse as people need to raise money from selling unwanted items or just to sell out of desperation for money.
You may want to rethink starting up again.
Roland
Roland Millward´s last blog post: How to Drive Traffic to Your Links
Hi Roland,
Yes that’s true about eBay, but more specifically people wanted to sell on their own and avoid my commission… Blogging is more interesting anyways!
Happy new years
Great lessons, Ben. Sometimes it’s good to give up some goals and focus on some realistic ones
.
Shirley´s last blog post: Discussion: How Has Shirley’s Zone Impacted You In 2009?
Thanks! It’s still important to try to accomplish your plans, but reality sometimes prevents that
Its good to make plan for the new year. Well I have no big plan for my blog, but my aim is to bring my blog top ten on google for keyword “work at home”.
chandan´s last blog post: My favorite website promotion firm
It is
Well “work at home” top ten search, is a big goal that would be very impressive if you achieved that. Good luck!
Good luck with the goals and Happy New Year my friend!
Dennis Edell´s last blog post: PLEASE COMMENT – Have You EVER Used The Added Feature Of My Subscribe To Comments Plugin??
Thanks Dennis! Happy belated New Year to you too!
I’ve already set my goals in 2010. The top of them is practicing English more and more to have a brilliant English writing skill.
Also, taking my blog to the next level.
Aminul Islam Sajib´s last blog post: Happy New Year 2010! The New Year Plans
That’s great to hear! I hope you succeed in improving your blog and learning English…
Top job Ben. Best of luck with your goals in 2010.
Entreprneurs Blog´s last blog post: Step By Step Guide To Starting an Online Business
Thanks! Best of luck to you too!
So, what are your goals for the upcoming year?
Hey Alex, I haven’t made any specific goals yet but I’m going to concentrate on school, blogging and enjoying life
Hi Ben,
Glad to see you understand the importance of setting goals and objectives and moving forward but being flexible enough to see where you need and want to be spending your time.
Take your unlimited opportunities and run with them.
Wishing you an Outstanding 2010.
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Thanks, I’m sure that you must understand that very well. I would like to wish you a successful 2010 also
You usually never end up accomplishing every goal on the list. =/ Great job on the website !
That’s true! Thanks so much!
I think your nearly accomplishing your goals. You’ve got good information on your blogs and thorough update of your site.
What’s next? You are someone who could be awarded of being a young entrepreneur.
Thanks! That’s what I’m trying to do. Ha, maybe I well get awarded one day
Hey Ben,
Just to wish you continued success in 2010, it’s a great start you’ve made to your blog here and I’m sure it’ll continue to climb the Alexa Rankings( unless of course your goals change ).
Great to hear that you’re flexible with your goals – it’s an excellent attitude I think.
Best wishes
Will
Will´s last blog post: Brianwave Alexa Ranking Contest Update
Hey Will,
Thank you so much, I also want to wish you success. I’m sure that your site will become more and more popular this year.
Best regards.
Ben, best of luck in 2010. 1st time visitor but will be coming back I love to here about kids are starting business.
Jared P Little´s last blog post: Brian Tracy Tuesday – Strategic Thinking
Thanks, I hope to see you back here. Good luck in 2010 also!
The whole point is to set up a few high standard goals and by the end if you accomplish just one, it will be worth it.
Agreed, thats exactly what happened to me over 2009
Very good post Ben. Things don’t always go as we planned and that is not something we have any control of. All we can do is react and change our plans in response, which is exactly what you did when you chose to focus on one blog and created a new strategy by converting your website to a blog. That’s shooting par there and we can all learn from that.
Kalen Smith´s last blog post: Smart Social Marketing Strategies
Thanks, yeah my plans have continually changed since then, just got to set my goals straight