5.05.2012

5 year goals update

Time to revisit my 5 year goals.  Lately, there have been two major interconnecting questions consuming my plans for the future - 1) How should I focus my career? and 2) How to establish my financial security?

As I have mentioned several times before, I have been contemplating how to focus my career for the past year.  I have now come to a clear direction - developing myself into web technology guru helping others make good decisions with web technologies.  I'm not interested in being a specialist, like Facebook app guy or a eBay store expert.  Instead, I want to be knowledgeable enough across the e-commerce domain to be an effective consultant, researcher, and educator in utilizing web technologies strategically to improve business processes.  This is significantly different than my research agenda just 2 years ago, which included significant research in ethics.  While I'm still interested in ethics and will still does some research in that area, the switch to e-commerce aligns my research with my teaching and with my financial goals.

In the financial realm, I want to develop a system for wealth generation that is more recession proof and less dependent on stock fluctuations.  I am still worried about the economic condition of our country and where we might be 20-30 years from now.  There is also a large unknown as to how the university system might change in the coming years.  To address those concerns, I need to develop a system for wealth generation that can both build wealth rapidly and withstand economic upheaval, should it occur.

SMART 5 year goals:

  1. Research and publish at least 10 articles in e-commerce. 2 were done this year, so only 8 more to go.
  2. Get promoted to Associate Professor.  The research above will help with the above goal.  It will also help establish myself as an expert for my later initiatives, listed below.
  3. Establish and promote several web based businesses generating at least $20k a year passive income.
  4. Develop and market high quality training modules in e-commerce for my classes and to publish on YouTube.  I start my first round of recordings this summer.
  5. Establish and promote a consulting/education business using the above training modules for marketing and earning at least $36k a year.
  6. Establish a real estate investment business to invest earnings from other businesses.
  7. Double household income - from the above initiatives and my wife returning to work.
  8. Support and encourage my family with their goals.

The trick will be to devote enough time in my evenings and weekends to get the web businesses up and running.  To get there, I plan on using what I learn from 100grandbrand.com, internetbusinessmastery.comsmartpassiveincome.com, and whatever other resources I discover along the way.  In the process, I'll be developing knowledge to help with my classroom instruction and research.  The training modules are part of my e-commerce class I teach at ECU, so the time spent on those classes are part of my normal job responsibilities.  If they are successful, I might push myself to develop more modules above and beyond what's necessary for class.  Those modules could then be encapsulated into package deals to sell for aspiring small business owners and/or web developers.  In the real estate investments, I currently own a house in Michigan that I'm renting.  I also have experience with owning a duplex.  I plan to capitalize on that knowledge and expand my investments.  If I spend time setting things up right and only investing in high ROI items, I should be able to make descent returns with minimal effort.

And then there are my nice to get to goals, but not high priorities:

  1. Write a book on productivity and goals
  2. Write a autobiography on one of my major life decisions (Not saying what it is yet :)
  3. Write a textbook or two
  4. Publish an article in a top journal in my field
I have an endless supply of ideas and not nearly enough time to do them.  It's a great feeling.

2 comments:

  1. 5 year goals are the only thing keeping me going!

    You should consider an ecommerce book and self publish it through Create Space. Royalties are very competitive and it's totally passive income -- once you do the work of writing the book. ;)

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  2. 5 year goals are great for that!

    I've considered the ecommerce book idea. I also have an idea for concepts in information systems book. Many of the book ideas will probably have to wait until after I reach tenure tough, unless I find someone who can ghost write for me or perhaps team write. I do like royalties though :)

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