Goals for Next Year.. and a sneak peak at soon to be listed Artfire items!

I know, the new year is 3 weeks away, I've not even gotten through Christmas!! And here I am thinking of next years' business goals. I can't help myself... like any artist that does art shows, I'm already knee deep in the application process for next year. Most of the good shows that jury artists in need to have your application in 6-8 months in advance. I actually missed a deadline for a show for May!

Deciding on shows naturally leads to goals for next year. This year we really wanted to concentrate on the local Des Moines art scene, mostly to save on costs in a down economy. Fortunately the local art scene is really heating up in Iowa, Des Moines especially! One of my favorite venues now is Market Day. East Village Sunday Bazaar was great fun, and all sorts of new galleries have opened! I only did 5 out of Polk county shows this year. The downside is smaller, quicker shows you don't have the opportunity to make as much money as a 2 day show in a bigger market.. but then again, if you get rained out you can really loose your shirt. The costs for doing a 2 day show out of town include gas, hotel, and food and can really add up! Larger shows have larger show fees to boot. Don't get me wrong, making money isn't my main focus, but if I don't make a profit I can't upgrade my tools or materials to make more jewelry. I can't explore new mediums without profit. This is a business, and someday, in the way to distant future, it would be nice to make this a business that supported my family, not just the business itself!
The question is do we still want to avoid bigger, farther away ( and more expensive and potentially risky) shows next year? I'm leaning towards doing at least a few more larger shows this year, but still mulling over how many and where...

But I have determined a few goals. A big one is doing everything I can to make my online Artfire studio successful. I've been using social media like Facebook and twitter (and this blog!) but I need to do more. I am also planning on listing 3-5 new items EVERY WEEK next year. I'm convinced that if I can get 150-200 pieces listed I will do well on artfire. To get off to a good start, I'm starting this week.. The pics you see throughout this blog are items that I will have listed by the end of today, tomorrow at the latest! I'll share more goals as I settle on them.. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew, so I'm trying to "hone" my goals down to 3-5 obtainable ones.