Setting Business Goals

Let’s chat about setting business goals. Running a successful business requires deliberate planning. And now is the time to work on setting your business goals for the coming year. Rely on your business plan to ensure that your goals remain true to your mission and values and are on brand and aligned with your business vision.

Why is Setting Goals Important?

Simply put, creating goals is the first step to success.  And writing down your goals and action steps is a powerful tool to get there.

A Harvard Business study purportedly revealed that only 3% of the population have written goals. According to the study, those with written goals are THREE times more successful than those with unwritten goals and THIRTY times more successful than those without any goals.

The simple truth is that you can’t get where you want to go without a map or GPS.  Well-defined goals, broken down into action steps, provide the navigation needed to reach your objectives. It keeps you moving in the right direction and helps you maintain accountability.

Start With A Review

A valuable exercise before you start choosing goals is to review the past year.  What went well? Is that success repeatable?  What did not go so well? What did you learn from it? If you had the opportunity for a do-over, what would you do differently?  Use that information to inform your choices.

Choose Your Goals

How do you choose goals?  Having a variety of goals makes it easier to stay motivated. Choose a goal or two that you know you can reach easily to start building momentum. Add in a goal or two that requires positive forward action to reach but is completely within the realm of possibility. And finally, add a stretch goal – one that will be harder to reach but will cause you to get out of your comfort zone and grow a bit.

Think about areas of your business that need improvement – maybe it is your systems and processes, or maybe it’s your follow-up with leads and referrals. These are prime areas for setting goals that will move the needle.  Also, think about the opportunities coming up in the short term – is there something you want to take advantage of that would make for a solid goal?

Has there been a trend in your revenue? Can you make projections for next year? What would need to happen to increase revenue? Or lower expenses? Is there some goal material there?

Once you have identified several potential goals, explore whether each is aligned with the mission and values of your company. Will the goal take you closer to the reason your business exists and the people you are meant to serve? Does the goal excite you? If yes, then it’s solid goal material!  If no, take it off the list. A goal that is misaligned with your values or doesn’t further your mission probably isn’t worth the time or effort. A goal that is not motivating is likely doomed to failure. Don’t limit yourself to only big goals. Think about the tiny goals you want to achieve too—they are equally as important!

Prioritize Your Goals

How long will each potential goal take to accomplish? Which will have the biggest impact with the least effort? High-impact low-hanging fruit that will give you a quick win is a great first priority. Then move down the list deciding which goals earn an earlier spot in the pecking order and which can wait until later in the year.

Make Your Goals Visible

Never underestimate the power of making your goals VISIBLE.  Put them in writing and keep it somewhere you will see it every day. Or better still, make it tangible. Create a vision board with symbols for your goals. A revenue goal might be visualized by images of the lifestyle or things reaching that revenue will allow you to enjoy. Engage in visualization exercises. What will your life look like once you reach this goal? How will you feel? What will you do differently?

Whatever you do, don’t just write you goals down and file them away. That’s a recipe for forgetting.  Keep your goals front of mind by making them visible.

Break it Down

I recommend tackling goals in ninety-day sprints if possible. Take the two or three goals you identified for the first quarter and break each one down into specific action steps.

Sometimes it is easiest to work backward. What is the final step to achieving your goal? What has to happen before that in order to reach that final step? And before that? How long will each of these steps take? 

Make sure to capture all the deliverables and deadlines that must be met to reach your goal in a timely manner. Put your deadlines on the calendar. And block time in your calendar to complete the deliverables!

Check-In

Life Changes. Sometimes quickly and significantly. The goals you set today may no longer be relevant next month. Or new goals may emerge that are more urgent. It is important to review your goals regularly.  I suggest weekly check-ins for the day-to-day tasks you are doing to reach each goal and monthly reviews to determine if you are hitting your deadlines and deliverables.

Is the goal still relevant? Are you on track to complete the goal in a timely manner? If not, what course corrections can you make to get back on track? What needs to happen next to keep moving the needle forward on this goal? The simple habit of regular review is instrumental in achieving your goals.  Stay flexible and adaptable. Tweak, change, or delete goals when appropriate, and keep moving forward!

Celebrate Your Wins

During your weekly review, celebrate every single win — even the tiny ones. Celebrating your progress helps build your motivation for achieving your goal. Carry that positive mojo into the tasks you set for next week. Each small win will build upon itself as you start hitting your bigger milestones.

When milestone accomplishments are met, splurge a little. Treat yourself to something special commensurate to the milestone.  Celebrations and special treats will keep your motivation high as you reach for the stars!