Planning is crucial if you ever expect to be successful. Ask yourself the following questions and please, please, please be honest with yourself.

1. Do I have a concrete goal for this year? This must be specific. Everyone talks about goal setting being crucial and it is. How can you get to where you want to go unless you know where that is. You are not going to be successful by accident. Make your goal and write it down. Yeah, yeah I said write it down because if you don’t you haven’t made the commitment to fulfill it. Tell others what it is. That is also making a commitment. One of the hardest things working on line is being by yourself in front of the screen and no one to hold you accountable.

2. What did I accomplish this year? And did it move me closer to my goal? If you have not accomplished what you wanted this year look at what you have. (I know I haven’t :-) and probably never will or my goals are not high enough). Write down what you can change to make your results better. Start planning what you need to do to better meet your goals next year.

3. What books, articles etc am I going to read this year to improve my efforts? It is really important that you continue to learn and try new things. It is not always comfortable for you but it is necessary. If you are not happy with your results learn something new and DO something new even if it is a bit uncomfortable at first. This is how we grow.

4. What is my budget going to be for my marketing efforts this year? It is important that you allocate both funds and time for your business. Budget these things now and you will know what you can and can not do to improve your business. This will also help you not to get overextended in both your financial and family life. Remember that your family needs some of your time too and if you have a time budget and keep to it they are usually much more supportive of the time you use to commune with that little box on your desk :-).

Take the time now to do these things and surprise yourself with your results this time next year.

Michael Paetzold is the owner of MP Marketing and specializes in helping people to earn an income on line. You may reach him at mike@mpaetzold.com or visit his business at http://mpaetzold.com