Sunny with Chance of Rain, and Rainbows.

These first days of January have been spent forecasting. Not the weather, but what I project/hope to accomplish this year. You may wonder what the heck is the difference between forecasting and making a resolution. I had to look it up myself in Webster’s dictionary. This is how I made sense of it; last year, 2013, I resolved to start a graphic design business. This year that business is up and running and I need to predict (aka forecast) how I think things will go in 2014.  In other words, I have to whip out my handy dandy crystal ball, stare intently into it, and hope beyond hope I get it right. Let’s face it the resolution part was a damn sight easier. Working it is the work.

I don’t get how other businesses do it and get it right. Forecasting is really an exercise in frustration. I find I have to reconcile my two personalities. The first, “I’m going to get 100 new clients and make a million dollars.” The other, “no one will want to work with me, I’ll have to dissolve, and live in a corrugated box.” Talk about opposites. Invariably the reality is somewhere in the very wide middle.

Thankfully, I have an amazing circle of close friends that are accomplished in their respective fields, marketing/reporting, development/partnering, advising/consulting, and accounting/financial. Over the years I’ve watched as they worked, successfully, in their respective fields and I’ve taken note. Now I’m going to use that knowledge and put it to work forecasting the next 12 months. Angela, Lea, Marla, and Terri, I sure hope I learned well. If not I’ll be picking your impressive brains in upcoming weeks.

Sunny with Chance of Rain, and Rainbows, translates into, Realistic Expectations, Occasional Set-Backs, and Successes. Secretly, I’ll be looking for the rainbows.

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