2021 seems like The Promised Land. A land of milk and honey. A land of vaccines and pandemic pummeling and a semi-return to normalcy.

I hope so.

Because I got a lot of ideas for 2021. Over the last year, I’ve published some 200 blog posts. I created a free online course about goal-setting. I paid off all my student loans and invested some $15,000. It’s been a nice year, for sure.

But what’s next for me? What are some unicorns on the horizon to chase in 2021? Where will I put my time and money next year? Here are five opportunities I’ll be looking into.

1. A Print On Demand Store

Apparently Print-On-Demand is all the rage these days. It’s sort of like drop-shipping, but instead of selling actual products you sell t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, etc. with your design on them.

When someone orders from you, you get the item made via a third party, and they ship directly to the customer.

It has some dropshipping elements, but the business model really relies more on your own creativity which makes it incredibly interesting to me.

I love reading comments below POD videos on Youtube:

If you want to start your own POD store, here are some resources for you:

• Oberlo has a free dropshipping course that you should definitely look into. You may like the idea of dropshipping more!
• Watch videos from Wholesale Ted. She’s literally the queen of Print-On-Demand and her videos will show you everything you need to know about POD specifically.

2. Philippines Stock Market Investing

I love the Philippines. I love the people, the beaches, even the crowded capital city of Manila. There’s something about it that draws me in. I’m also drawn in by their economic potential.

They’re a developing country, but I believe in the next 20–30 years their economy will drastically improve. I’m putting about 10% of my portfolio into the Philippines, so I won’t incur any huge losses in case I’m wrong.

I don’t think you should just jump right into investing in the Philippines Stock Market yourself.

I think it’s a good idea to have a portion of your portfolio comprised of stocks from Developing countries, though. You can do this easily through a broker like Vanguard.

Vanguard has the VTMGX (Vanguard Developed Market Index Fund) that invests in markets outside America. Here’s what you would have today if you invested $10,000 in that fund 10 years ago.

Here’s that fund’s breakdown:

Every investing book I’ve ever read has stated you need to invest in markets outside of the United States. Most of this one is in Europe, and more than 1/3 is in the Pacific Region.

The USA is not the only market in the world. It would be a good idea to diversify your portfolio in this way for 2021 and beyond.

3. Bitcoin Investing

Bitcoin is on a damn roll these days.

I know nothing of bitcoin, but some well-respected people I know swear by its potential. I plan to read a few books about it first before I go anywhere near it. But it seems too great of an opportunity to NOT take a look at in 2021.

Consider bitcoin earmarked for me.

4. Paid Newsletter

Subscription models are all the rage these days. I’ve made my small fortune online selling digital courses, but I think it’s time to try a new business model.

I plan to create a paid newsletter in 2021 that goes over how to create a successful Wordpress Blog and Online Course business. My site, Finding Tom, gets close to 20,000 views per month, which is nothing to scoff at.

Most of that traffic comes from Google, which I’ve carefully optimized my posts for. It’s free, renewable traffic that comes to me every day without any effort. Free email subscribers straight from the world wide web. It’s awesome.

My course makes me upwards of $5,000-$8,000 per month, too.

I never talk about SEO, Wordpress, or how to monetize online courses specifically. All that knowledge is in my head just waiting to be extracted. Why not roll that out in a paid newsletter?

I will do so in 2021.

5. A Media Company In The Philippines

I miss the camaraderie you normally get in an office setting amongst co-workers. I think being part of something bigger than myself is the biggest thing I’ve missed in my life the last 5 years.

Working by yourself at home is exhausting. There’s a key ingredient to happiness that you miss if you do this, too. You miss that human connection, and in 2021 I’d love to take steps to get that back.

If you take nothing else away from my #5 answer, just remember this..

You need people in your life. You need to invest in other people and take time to build relationships for your best shot at happiness.

I think creating a blog, hiring Filipino writers and Editors, and starting something bigger than ourselves with one huge purpose would be an amazing project. Much needed, too.

That’s what I’m doing in 2021. What about you?