If you’re reading this welcome to the first day of 2020!!!!! Let’s crush these goals by working hard!!

New Year Day is finally here. With that in mind you might not even be sober from the night before. As a parent no matter what I may have done they are going to eat and get on with their day. I can’t wait to remind them of their childlike shenanigans when they go from being my broke best friends to actual friends with their own lives. I look forward to the day. 

It’s time to align with the new goals. What is on the plate of ToiTimeblog? I am working diligently on my vision board. Last year I was able to accomplish most of my goals. You don’t create a vision board like it’s a genie. You have to create with intentions and then once that is done, you actively work towards it. As many saw I started working with brands. I have a personal rule with brands-I have to be able to stand behind them. I want brands that can help my busy lifestyle become more streamlined. Anything that can help me organize, eat right, maintain sanity or is something unique and fun that I use or have used in the past. I don’t want to become the type of blogger who brands out and tries to see you something I would never in a million years use.  This is why I am grateful that in first few years of blogging I wasn’t consistent enough to be able to brand. I didn’t take myself serious enough and I by far didn’t have the right tools like I do now. So when you see me tag or work with a brand or attend an event it’s because outside of getting a “scoop” I genuinely support them. I often circle back and tell my friends and family outside of my platform to try it or to attend. 

My goals are simple:

Grow

The only way to grow is to keep writing. Keep being true to myself and what I believe in. Also to keep giving you real life solutions and not just pretty pictures. They have to go hand in hand. I am not the one you seek if I can’t give you real life advice. That is how I started and that is the formula I choose to continue.

Be Visible

I want to be visible but always respectful which is why if you see my kids on my social media outside of my personal pages it’s because I have asked their permission. I never want to put my kids in the light that I have chosen. It’s not that I am a celebrity because I am not but if and when you do blog and you are putting your kids out I have had people walk up to us and talk to us when I am not on assignment. I have also chosen to keep them on limited events even the kid friendly ones. It’s just a personal choice of mine so that I can be 100% in my element. I am a mom first and if I know I can’t give an event my full attention with my kids with me –they won’t be there! 

Watermarking

I touched on this yesterday, but I will be watermarking a lot if not all of my photos. I had some one steal a whole blog even with me being registered etc. So that is now something I have to be mindful. I am flattered that someone wanted to copy my work, but there is no freebies. I wish that person well but if you want to blog, just start a blog. Thanks to my blogger community who one alerted me it was being done and showed me ways to stop it from happening. 

Alignment 

I want to make sure that I am well in aligned. If I reach out to someone I need to be sure that is mutually beneficial. There has to come a point in time where you make sure your village is strong not necessarily large. You can have better benefit just from having the right folks in your corner than you can when you worry about having a whole large crowd.

No Freebies

I have always made sure that no one if I ever have done giveaways been too many from my inner circle. The reason is simple, I don’t need a lot of folks thinking my platform is only to benefit my close family and friends. I also won’t and have made sure that the family and friends who never share a post, never intermingle with you on social media don’t get to come for a freebie. It’s annoying but it’s happened where people think that because I have attended a restaurant’s opening I can get them a free meal for their special occasion. I am not going to lie and act like I haven’t been invited back as a personal favor but that’s extended to me. I am running this a business and it will remain so!  

Partnerships

I love them. They are a great way to get before a new audience. Always do your research. Check the vibes of who you are around. Trust your instinct. I had a few bumps in the road last year that I want to prevent this year and that’s simply by being sure that who I partner with is a good fit for both and not just on the other end. I love working with groups but I am taking charge in who I do collaborations with. You simply just can’t work with everyone.

I am already booked first quarter for a few things such as conferences, branding etc. I am excited. I took advice from someone who said to send a letter or card to 10 brands you want to work with at the end of 2019. In this day and age that can be done via email too. This way you get in the ear of those brand at the start of the year. I kept a log of when I wrote them, what I said, my request, and when they might have asked for a follow-up. These are the types of goal setting I am on. I want to branch out and sometimes that requires putting my best foot forward and making my request known on my end. 

So you will see more. I had a 178% jump from 2018 to 2019 in my blogs. That only happened not just because I was at events it happened from scheduled post, being consistent, writing from the heart, and doing the work behind the scenes. I met with CEO of some great brands who said the noticed me because I was in the right place at the right time and I made good use of my minutes in front of them. So what are your goals? How will you start your first day of the year? Are you writing out a plan? Are you also writing how to make that plan work? If not that is the first steps. Make a plan, make an execution to that plan, work your plan, and retreat and alter the plan if necessary if you see it needs some tweaking. 2020 is going to be a great year-make it happen!