You can set all the goals you want but if you’re not making progress towards them, what’s the point?! I have several B.A.G.s (Big Audacious Goals) for this year, so let’s see what the steps forward are looking like.
If You’re New to This Series
Since I started my full time food blogging journey back in early 2021, I’ve been setting yearly and quarterly business goals, then writing these recaps every three months to keep myself on track and share how I’m doing. Check out some past updates below:
Ads are Running!
If you’ve been reading these updates for the past few quarters, then you know how hard I’ve been working to gain enough website traffic to qualify for an ad network. Ads mean money, and money means this site becomes more than an expensive hobby. 😉 And as you’ve noticed, ads are now running on MittenGirl.com.
It costs around $2,600 a year to run this website, including the technology and tools I need to make it the best it can be. (And that’s if you don’t count my time or the equipment I use to do the work.) I joined the SHE Media network in early January with the sole goal of making enough money from ads to pay for the site.
If I make more than $2,600 in ad revenue this year, then fantastic! I can start to pay myself for the hours put into MittenGirl.com. But for now, I’m headed solidly towards my breaking even goal for 2023.
Winter Events for Mitten Girl
In 2022, nearly all of my events were in the 4th quarter surrounding the major year-end holidays. But in this first quarter of 2023 I have had just as many events as I did in that fourth quarter of 2022 with more scheduled for April!
Events look to be an additional revenue stream for my business that I hadn’t really considered until now. They’re also a great way to advertise my book and teach people how to make delicious drinks at home.
Two new ones are on the horizon for spring. Watch my Instagram or my book page for more information about these spring events are the details are confirmed.
Learning, Learning, Learning
Just like in 2022, I spent the beginning of March 2023 in Chicago at the Tastemaker Conference getting to learn from fellow bloggers, enjoy the restaurants of Chicago with lots of food-loving friends, and see so many people I usually only talk to through DMs or via Zoom. Connecting with other food content creators is what it’s all about for me.
I’ve also enrolled in two food photography-specific classes this spring - one on how to run a successful food photography business and one specific to restaurant photography. Both are taught by successful female photographers whose work is inspiring. I’m super excited to keep learning all I can about this new-to-me industry.
Happy Anniversary MittenGirl.com
OK, so technically, this site's been around for MUCH longer than 2 years. But in its current form - running on great technology, dedicated to food and drink recipes, and with me consistently dedicating a lot of my time to it? That was 2 years as of March 16.
In an effort to do better at celebrating the business-related things, I asked my friend at Foliage and Flour to create a cake for me. The gorgeous (and absolutely delicious!) blackberry lavender cake she made was the perfect treat to kick off the next year of this website.
74.5% to my B.A.G. (Big Audacious Goal)
When I decided to self-publish my cocktail book, Homemade Happy Hour, I set a lifetime goal of selling 1,000 books. As of March 31, I have sold 745 books, meaning I am 74.5% of the way to my goal in less than 2 years since publishing my book! That is amazing.
Homemade Happy Hour is now available in 22 retail stores in 10 states! All of my retail locations are independent small businesses. Head over to my book page to see all of the locations and find the one nearest you! Even if you already own a copy of my book, give these stores a visit and help support them.
A Very Ambitious Spring
I have a few BIG projects on my plate for spring, including moving my newsletter over to a new email platform, launching a new mocktail ebook, building and launching a new and separate website for the photography side of my business, and creating enough content that my site and social media can largely run itself during July when I intend to take a LOT of time off. Fingers crossed I can get it all done!
Ways to Support My Business
- Leave a review on one of my recipes. Made a recipe from this site that you enjoyed? Go give it a star rating! Google favors recipes that have reviews, so your review helps more people find my recipes.
- Share my site with your friends and family via email or social media. Word-of-mouth is still the best promotion there is!
- Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or join my mailing list! I’m regularly posting new content to all of these social channels and send out a newsletter once a week.
As always, thank you so much for reading and following along on this business-building journey. I appreciate your support more than you know.
xo - Katy
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