The last month of the year…
It’s during December when I begin to reflect on the year and have a ton of extra time due to winter break.
This was a solid month that will set me up for a dominant 2019. Let’s get started…
Virtual Summits
I am going all-in with virtual summits in 2019. When I first decided to go all-in on virtual summits, I decided I’d host three virtual summits in 2019.
Then that number became 4. It then became 8. We’re now capping it at 10.
That’s a little less than one virtual summit each month. I will also maintain the three weekly interviews for Breakthrough Success which means I’ll probably interview over 500 people this year.
It will help that I’ll have interviews scheduled into mid-March by the end of my winter break. That will give me more time to interview people for summits.
That’s fine with me. I really enjoy interviewing people and learning along the way.
Furthermore, all of the virtual summits I create will be evergreen. In the past, the Content Marketing Success Summit has been my only evergreen summit. However, the Wealthy Author Summit is now evergreen and the Productivity Virtual Summit will follow in a few weeks.
So in addition to interviewing people for new summits, I plan to invite speakers to speak at some of the evergreen summits. Combine that with the fact that each new summit I launch will quickly become evergreen (I now know how “evergreening” a summit works), and each summit can stay relevant and valuable long after their launch dates.
Content Marketing Plaza
I’m working on this. I can’t say too much about this now but I know it’s going to be awesome by the time May comes around.
Advanced Influencer Mastermind
While I can’t say much about the Plaza yet, the Advanced Influencer Mastermind is finally up. The mastermind is for anyone who wants to grow and monetize their influence using content and social media marketing.
You’ll get weekly masterclasses from me and a bunch of FB Lives in between. You’ll also get a free 30 day trail to the Advanced Influencer Mastermind if you join us here.
Content Distribution
One of my big goals for 2019 is to hone in on content distribution. I’m currently active on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I have an evergreen posting cycle for Pinterest but I’m not as active there as I could.
One of the big themes of success stories is that they don’t do it by themselves. I’ve always been an advocate of delegating tasks, but sometimes you can shift the delegation to achieve better results.
I now use a 1-sheet for each Breakthrough Success episode that covers the show notes and editing. This used to be a big expense for my podcast as each episode would cost over $30 to produce from start to finish.
I initially cut down on production at the recommendation of my podcast coach, but the 1-sheet I have in place is now a game changer.
Instead of focusing delegation efforts on show notes and editing episodes, I now get to focus on heavier distribution of my content. Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook are on the top of my list.
Accumulating Passive Income
You have to hustle to earn passive income because you need preexisting money to build up your passive income.
However, passive income is possible nevertheless. You’ll never stop working, but it’s nice to have consistent money coming in each month even if you don’t do anything.
For 2019, I am focused on three passive income sources. Two will definitely be realized in 2019 while the third may be realized after I graduate college.
- Using FB ads to drive more traffic to my evergreen virtual summits
- Investing in REITs that offer a 10% dividend
- Investing in real estate
I already invest in REITs and will have FB ads ready to go in mid-January at the very latest. Even if the FB ads give me a return higher than 10% (which I wouldn’t be surprised by), I’d still invest some of the money into REITs.
In the past I relied on one source of income and got burned. So even if FB ads is tripling my investment, I’m still investing some of that money into other areas.
The reason it may be more difficult for me to invest in real estate before I graduate is because I’m looking at warmer climate locations for my initial investment. I’ll probably make my first investment in Florida or Texas. The only problem is that I haven’t visited Florida in a while and have never been in Texas…hence the big problem.
Right now I’m at a stage where I can do research and look at past sales, price per square foot, and other stuff to determine what a good deal looks like, but it may take me longer to invest in my first property.
That’s where REITs fit into the equation for now. I have an income target which I will keep private (I keep all of my income numbers private and was taught to do this at an early age. I know some people share every detail about their income but that’s not how I roll).
I believe we should all think of how we can make our money work for us. That’s a big area I’m focusing on in 2019.
I’m Taking A Day Off Each Week
I took off on Christmas Day. A lot of people did.
As I took this extra time to reflect, I thought, “When is the last time I took a day off?”
I couldn’t remember. I believe I had been working for several months straight. Unless I was sick, I was working.
Which brings me to today. Each week, I’m taking a day off. When you take a day off, you allow your body to recharge. December 26th was one of my most productive days ever.
I had more fight and felt recharged. While you hear about someone like GaryVee working for 16 or 18 hours each day, the part everyone forgets is that he takes the weekends off. Even someone as passionate as GaryVee is taking two off days each week.
Those off days make you hungry. They put you in the zone when the next workday comes. I felt that on December 26th and want to feel that even more.
So that’s why I’m taking a day off each week. On my days off, I’ll read, work out, spend extra time with my family, and play pool. I’m working to include other options in there but that’s what’s working right now.
In Conclusion
2018 had its ups and downs. Overall, I learned a lot this year. One of the best decisions I made was launching the Wealthy Author Summit. I remembered feeling burnt out after the Productivity Virtual Summit and thought I’d stop doing them (and just rely on the evergreen versions).
The Wealthy Author Summit was different. Instead of 50+ speakers, I only invited 30 speakers. Even though I’m hosting 10 virtual summits in 2019, they will be smaller than my first two. I’m expecting anywhere from 20-30 speakers for each summit.
Furthermore, I have a solid schedule for next semester. I only have classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which gives me a 5-day weekend to grow my business.
What were your thoughts on this Performance Report? Do you have any questions for me? Sound off in the comments section below.
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