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Okay, I am probably one of a million odd-people making a New Year's resolution. But I recently read on another blog that rather than make a new year' s resolution, we should look at making new year goals. This makes far more sense to me than a series of 'promises' that always seem to be broken within about 2 months!

So here are my new year goals for 2010:

1. To make $500 a day from internet marketing by 31 March 2010.

2. To quit my desk job by 31 March 2010.

3. To be more organised and efficient with my time.

To explain further:

1. Make $500 a day from internet marketing by 31 March 2010.

This would allow me to quit my desk job and focus on scaling my efforts with internet marketing. I figured if I can make $500 a day consistently, then increasing that to $1,000 a day shouldn't be that difficult. It's the first dollar that is always the hardest to achieve.

To break this down further I need to focus on one or two websites and techniques at a time. The danger is jumping from one thing to another and never spending enough time on one thing.

2. Quit my desk job by 31 March 2010.

I start work again in a few weeks time – Eek! But if I can make $500 a day from internet marketing, then I can throw in the job and focus my efforts on doubling this to $1,000 and then $2,000 etc a day. That is, it becomes a proper business that I can focus on.

3. To be more organised.

Yes, the bane of my existence is feeling like I am chasing my tail! I need to stop wasting time on frivolous tasks such as checking my facebook, reading emails that have nothing to do with my business, getting distracted by other things that don't add to my skill set or business activities etc.

Now that you know my new year goals, what are your goals for 2010?

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I've recently been pinging my sites through www.pingler.com whenever I have updated them. Pingler is a great tool – easy to use and it automatically pings about 90+ sites for you just with a click of the button.

Best of all – it's free to use.

So spend a few minutes and ping your sites if you haven't done so for a while.

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I love the thought of having a wonderful, festive Christmas, but with a tiny house with almost no room for a Christmas tree and Christmas being in the sweltering heat of summer, it always becomes too much of an effort.

However, with a new bub, when she does get older, I'm sure we will be putting much more effort into Christmas.

So I was thinking of some ideas of what I could do once Katie is old enough to appreciate the beauty of Christmas -without being overly commercial about it:

• Definitely put the Christmas tree up
• Give the grandparents Christmas drawings/paintings handmade by Katie
• Handmake Christmas gifts and treats for close friends (especially little shortbread stars and gingerbread men!)
• Get some Christmas carols on CD so that we have some festive music in the house
• Definitely get out and about to see the Christmas lights, carols in the park and a sitting with Santa
• Buying a present for the wishing tree (which is a present that you buy for a disadvantaged child)

As much as I can, I would like to water down the commerciality of Christmas and make it all about family, helping others and appreciating what we have.

How are you celebrating Christmas with your family and what are your ideas for making Christmas special?

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I don't know about you, but Christmas keeps coming around faster and faster every year! It didn't seem so long ago that I was pregnant and dreading attending the yearly family Christmas dinner due to all the foods that I wasn't able to eat!

But this Christmas is special as it is our baby's first Christmas  Unfortunately, we have had to decide between putting up a Christmas tree and our baby not having any room to crawl! (If you see our house, you will understand!). But we can make the place fairly festive enough – not that she will notice!

As with all Christmases, I feel completely unprepared for the festive season. Though I have to say I have done most of my Christmas shopping and sent out 99% of my Christmas cards and there is still 2weeks of Christmas to go! Usually I'll be at the shops on Christmas Eve, but I had a slight panic attack at the beginning of December and motored my way through most of the Christmas shopping in about 2 days.

We have a fairly extensive family here in Australia which I feel very fortunate about. Because the festive season is all about family. And whether there are disagreements or conflicts within the family unit, it is a time where these things can be put aside in order to celebrate life, relationships, humanity, peace, hope and sacrifice.

How are you celebrating Christmas in your family? With a big family gathering? Or a small informal, intimate affair?

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This is a picture of the same sneakers that I just bought. It’s a Brooks Maximus sneaker which was professionally fitted by Athelete’s Foot. So I definitely know that it fits well! 

The whole process was very relaxing and professionally done. I got my feet properly measured – width and length. And I walked across this sensor pad which mapped out the areas of pressure and any rolling when you walk. The lady told me that I am very heavy footed with a slight roll (but nothing too serious). I completely agreed with her – I do feel like I sometimes stomp around and my husband definitely thinks I should walk more ‘lady like’!

But it was an expensive exercise. I was in two minds whether I would just write down the sneaker model that they recommended and then buy it somewhere else, but in the end I decided that the money was worth the time and effort that they spent on me.

Which made me think about their business model and how well it was working. They only have sales twice a year and everytime I walked past one of their stores, there are always lots of people inside. It proves that people are willing to pay for expertise and time spent, rather than just hunting down the cheapest model that appears to fit them. Of course, it helps if you can afford it, but the number of people in their stores is a testament to their ‘point of difference’.

So what is your point of difference in your business? Do you have something that sets you aside from your competitors? 

Something that holds you in good stead even in these tough times?

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