Goal-Setting: shoot for # of projects or income produced?

[Karin Crompton]

Hey all,

I'm sure some of you are saying "Both!!" right off the bat. And I agree to an extent, but I need to chew on this subject awhile for the sake of focus.

I'm writing my goals for 2014 and am not sure what route to take. I just wrapped up my first serious year of investing, w/a focus on flips. I'd like to get into buy-and-holds as well.

My first thought was to write down the number of flips to shoot for and number of units I'd like to acquire in 2014. In this case, I wrote down 10-12 flips and acquire 10 buy-and-hold units (a stretch for me, but I believe in setting big goals and letting the subconscious go to work on the how-to).

Then a friend mentioned that he wants to do FEWER flips that produce more money per flip, which got me thinking ... should I instead concentrate on the income I'd like to generate? After all, it's conceivable to do a bunch of flips for the sake of notching a dozen of them, but is that the proper focus? Am I thinking quantity over quality? (Though I will add that I'm a pretty strict 70% guideline follower.) Should I instead pursue an income goal for 2014, and pursue that figure in whatever way develops for me in the upcoming year?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Jon Klaus]

My number one personal metric is net worth. Second is income. I want to a reasonable number of deals dictated by number one, mostly. Fewer deals are better than more deals, I want a balanced life, but I'm not sure where to place that in my financial priorities.