I am motivated by goals.
I have short term and long term financial goals for my family that we work to achieve. I have spiritual goals as I strive to deepen my faith. As a leader in my day job, I’ve been responsible for developing goals for myself, my team, and others in our company for much of my career. I even get more done when I make “to do” lists to help me prioritize daily tasks.
Recently I was reading a tweet by Tim “Big Shep” Shepler from the About the Cards show which recapped his 2018 collecting goals and results. Despite goals being such a big part of my life in many areas, I realized I’ve never really taken the time to create actual collecting goals for myself.
That changes in 2019!
Vintage PC Goal: Finish Building my 1972, 1974, and 1975 Topps Baseball Sets by the end of the year.
Last year I started putting together Topps sets from the 70s. So far I’ve completed 1971, ’73, and ‘76-‘79. I’ve got a starter lots on the rest with some more filled out than others. Actually, I have already created my list of 1972 needs, so I think that will be the first one that gets tackled. If things go real well I may even tackle 1970 to finish out the decade.
Modern PC Goal: Acquire Base Sets for all three 2019 Topps Flagship releases, two Heritage releases, Bowman, and Bowman Draft.
Ok, there is a lot to this goal with seven sets. However, I think this will work since they are all modern, current year releases. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m not doing the full two case plan this year, but I do still plan on preordering somewhere between a couple boxes and a case from each of these products. That will be a good start on building the sets, and I should be able to trade with friends or buy any missing cards on COMC or Sportlots.
Collecting Financial Goal: Let my collection pay for itself.
So the wording on this goal needs some work, but this is where the business side of the hobby world comes into play for me. I love cards and I love the hobby, but I love it even more when I can put in some work and make my hobby pay for itself. This goal really comes down to only spending money on cards that comes from the sale of other cards.
I guess it’s just the way I’m wired, but I have an entrepreneurial streak that runs through me. There is just something that gives me a thrill when I can add a card to my PC and know I flipped my way into it for “free”. Getting a dud case hurts a bit less when I know it was paid for with a month of SportLots or EBay sales. And here’s a little tip for all you husbands out there: I don’t ever get any grief from my wife about the money I spend on cards when I can show her that it is all coming from other card sales, not the checking account.
It may sound a bit weird, but I know I must be doing something right when I have to report a positive figure on my tax return from card profits.
WaxPackHero Goal: Double my Twitter Followers, YouTube subscribers, and WaxPackHero.com page views by the end of the year.
I started the site just over a year ago with no website or video background. I started it both as a creative outlet and as a way to learn more about technology and social media trends. Why not learn and challenge myself while focusing on a hobby I enjoy!
Currently the site gets about 1,000 page views a month. I’d like to average 2,000 by year end.
I want to grow from 202 Twitter followers to 404.
Finally, I’m going to strive to grow from 280 YouTube subscribers to 560. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to blow those numbers out of the water!
I realize it starts with me creating good content. If you all don’t find any value in what I’m creating, then I’m just wasting time. I do get some personal satisfaction in the writing and recording process, but I really get excited when I get feedback and interaction with readers and viewers. That’s where you come in.
I need your help! Give me feedback on what you like and don’t like. What do you want to see more of? Less of?
I also need your help spreading the word. If you get some enjoyment from reading the site or watching a video then would you subscribe and consider sharing with your friends?
The Wrap Up
There you have it. Four goals which will help focus my hobby attention in 2019.
Now it’s your turn. What are your goals this year? Narrow your collecting focus? Learn about a new topic? Build relationships with more collectors? Spend less? Spend more? The possibilities are endless, but I encourage you to start with something.
Make a goal and if you’d like, share it below!