Megan Auman of CraftMBA says “you’ve got to spend big money to make big money.”

“Having big goals for your business means you have to be willing to spend big money on your business.”

Go ahead. Go read the article. I’ll wait.

Do you have big goals for your business? Are you making big investments in your business?

What gets measured, gets managed. –Words of wisdom from an influential business thinker, Peter Drucker.

Things that get measured, get our attention. What gets measured in your business? What gets a guess?

You probably calculate your costs and your time. What’s not getting your attention?

Do you run ads? Are you measuring their effects?

Do you have a mailing list? (Say yes!) Are you emailing your subscribers regularly? Are you evaluating the effects of your mailings?

Do you measure and plan your new product launches? For some great tips, check out Jess Van Den’s post on Scoutie Girl: 10 Steps for a Successful Handmade Product Launch.

Are you counting your failures? If you’re not failing every now and then, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.

What else could you be measuring? Leave a comment and tell us.

Some tools for measuring, recording, documenting:

- Outright online accounting.

- Google Analytics.

- Evernote for capturing all sorts of notes.

- Etsy Fee Calculator.

- Open Office open source office productivity software.

Hi there! Wonder Thinking is on sabbatical until 2011. New & fabulous posts & resources for your creative business are in the works. Get ready for the blast of awesome in 2011!

Until then, a few good reads:

Artist Lisa Call writes thoughtfully about her day job and how it relates to her art career.

Blogging Wonder Woman Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl has compiled the Best of Scoutie Girl 2010 as a free ebook!

One of the most amazing things I’ve read in a long, long time is Tara Sophia Mohr’s Goals Guide. It’s a free series of emails to get you thinking differently about your goals and life’s path… Total awesome sauce. Sign up on Tara’s Wise Living blog.

Image: Take Me With. Original Photograph by Tricia McKellar. ©2010 All Rights Reserved.

Link love for today includes two awesome articles that have smacked me upside the head recently. Both by the talented Dave Navarro, aka The Launch Coach.

Is your business a ramp or a treadmill?

Your business can be one of two things: A ramp, or a treadmill.

A ramp leads to a bigger and bigger business. A treadmill leads to more of the same, and a plateau of sales. (Or, if you have a fancy treadmill, a gentle incline that doesn’t get you that much farther.)

A ramp gets you to the next level. A treadmill doesn’t.

Read more about ramps & treadmills on Dave’s blog.

Dave’s library of free downloads includes some awesome content. One of my very favorites is 7 Steps to Playing a Much Bigger Game. Give your fears & doubts a time out & get on with your bigger game.

And if you’re thinking of writing an ebook, Dave’s How to Launch the **** Out of Your Ebook is a must. (And yes that’s an affiliate link, because I love Dave’s work.)

Follow Dave on twitter at @rockyourday.

Follow me on twitter at @triciamckellar.

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to weekly Wonder Thinking blog updates!

Image: Crocus No. 1639. Photograph by Tricia McKellar

Oh happy day! You asked and Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl delivered!

The blogging Diva has written a blogging guide for those of us that wonder what to write, where to find inspiration, how to mix things up, how to get started or recharge our blogs.

52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion is an ebook by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. Tara is an amazing force within the design blogging community and she shares her tips for blogging your way, focusing on your creative pursuits, keeping your blog fresh and engaging.

There are 52 writing prompts, one for each week in 2010, with multiple ideas for each topic. Tara also includes a planning calendar to capture your ideas and plan your posts.

A lot of us struggle with blogging about our creative businesses. In the Wonder Thinking poll, blogging was the most requested topic for discussion. I know my art blog has hit a dry spell and I’m looking forward to invigorating it in 2010 with the structure Tara has laid out in 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion.

More time creating. More loyal blog readers. More confident blog writing. Less time preparing posts. What’s not to love?

Read more about 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion.

Yes, that’s an affiliate link. If you follow the link and purchase the ebook, Tara sends me some money. :) And I would not recommend Tara’s ebook if I did not love it!

Wonder Thinking is offering free mini courses to help you with your indie biz! The first to be released is Five Step Etsy Shop Tune-Up for etsy sellers who are looking to uplevel their shops. Five tips to help you rock your shop, each in an email, with a day in between. Each easy to implement. No stress. :)