Wow, it's 2011 already. I can't believe it. Time flies when you are having fun. As I look back at 2010, I can't help but think about the whirlwind that was. Just as a brief recap of 2010, here are some of the major highlights:

The biggest accomplishment in my opinion is that a significant amount of my income has shifted to become passive income. In other words, I'm making money based on my past efforts. No, I'm not filthy rich or anything of that sort, but it's so rewarding to see money coming in even when you don't do anything directly to earn that income.

For example, I hardly did any work in December that resulted in any income (maybe a total of 5 hours of work for the month). For the first two weeks, I had to focus on getting my students ready for final exams and the last two weeks were spent on vacation in Florida and working on developing products for my biology site.

However, my affiliate earnings in December were still $1,758.74, with approximately 75% of that being profit. No, it's not a ridiculously huge amount, but I'm quite satisfied for being able to do that in a month where everyone is worrying about buying gifts for Christmas.

My Plans for 2010

Now that 2011 is here, it's time to let bygones be bygones and to gear up for a super-productive year. I've been doing A LOT of reading (well, mostly listening to audiobooks), and there's one thing that keeps sticking out in my mind – the necessity of setting well defined goals. This is something that everyone should do when it comes to growing your business (and just about every other aspect of life).

What I wanted to do is share some of my goals with you, so that it can hopefully inspire you to sit down and write down your goals. Remember that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So here goes:

  • Goal #1: Focus on my Biology Website and grow it to where I'm getting at least 1000 daily readers/viewers. In order to reach those goals, I will be focusing primarily on Youtube, networking with other bloggers in my Niche, and SEO.
  • Goal #2: Produce 3 to 5 informative Videos for my Biology site on a weekly basis. These videos will be posted on my Interactive Biology Youtube channel, and will be the foundation of my website in 2011.
  • Goal #3: Grow my Biology site to where it's making $5,000 a month consistently. I plan on doing that by developing multiple products, setting up sales pages, and providing those products for sale on my website and as a part of my follow-up sequence. I haven't decided on the pricing structure as yet, but that's a work in progress.
  • Goal #4: Build a team of outsourcers. These will include a transcriber, virtual assistant/customer support rep, designer and coder. The goal is to have a core group of individuals that I can turn to whenever I need something done. It will also allow me to focus more on the higher value tasks that need to be done.
  • Goal #5: Post twice a week on this blog, letting you know what I'm up to and sharing what I'm learning in a way that you can apply it to what you are doing to help you grow you. I'm going to try to stick to a strict schedule of posting on Tuesday and Thursday. That way, you know exactly when to expect the next article. The goal is to have each article posted by 9am EST.
  • Goal #6: Make 2 Guest posts on Entrepreneurs Journey Weekly. Similar concept as goal #5, but not as strict of a schedule.
  • Goal #7: Grow my passive income to a minimum of $10,000 by the end of the year. I really believe that this is the year to make that happen, and I will be keeping you updated as to when I reach my goal. I'm kind of putting this out there for you to hold me accountable.
  • Goal #8: This one is a secret, but it's very exciting. Lets just say that something cool will be happening over the next two months, and I'm very excited. You'll know what I mean when I tell you later on 😉

Those are some of my main goals. Of course, I'm omitting a lot of details, but over the next few weeks, I will be filling in those details. If there ever was a time for you to stay tuned to my blog, 2011 is it. Will I reach every goal I've set? I strongly believe so.

However, I do know that I WILL make a significant amount of mistakes. In fact, that's one of my plans – to make mistakes. The great thing about it is that I will learn from these mistakes and share what I'm learning with you.

So what about you?

Have you set goals for 2011? If not, then now is the time. Don't let opportunities pass you by because of lack of planning. Set those goals and then do what you need to do in order to accomplish your goals.

If you want a higher level of accountability, go ahead and share some of your goals (maybe your top 3) in the comments below. Also, let me know what you think of my goals? Am I being crazy? Do you think I can do it?

About the Author Leslie Samuel


Leslie Samuel a business coach for high-performing entrepreneurs. As the host of the Leslie Samuel Show, he teaches how to build an online business. "Changing the world one post at a time” is the mission he strives towards. As a former university professor, he has a passion for education. He's the founder of Interactive Biology, a blog and YouTube channel dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers. As the head of training for the Social Media Marketing Society, he helps social media marketers get the training they need to stay on the leading edge of social media.

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