Setting Business Goals for Now and the Future

If you started this series because you are wanting to start your business you might be surprised to see “Setting Goals” at this stage. You might think that you need to get started first and goals will come later. The truth is that if you plan your business with the end in mind, things will work together and help you succeed faster. It will all be part of the “master plan!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have spent some time on taking your dream from a place in your thoughts and, maybe conversations with those close to you and turned each piece of the puzzle into part of the plan. Goals are one of the final pieces.

Goal Setting by Category

Many times we think of our business goals in terms of dollars we want to earn or revenue we want to bring in. In reality, both of those are goals but they are interdependent on other things. So, let’s look at the six categories that you should set goals in for maximum success. Not only should they help you achieve MORE, they should help you do it EASIER.

• Financial– While this might seem obvious, you might find there is more than meets the eye her. Sure, you should set goals for overall revenue and for the income you, personally, want to make. But, think about creating goals for the profit margins you would like to be able to see.  Profit margins are something that will generally improve as your buying power and expertise improves. One that is SUPER important, and not always considered, is thinking about what other revenue streams you could create within your business. If we have learned anything recently, it is that you DO NOT want to have all your eggs in one basket.
• Infrastructure- When you are first starting your business, your infrastructure might be fairly simple. Perhaps you will have invested in a POS or purchased Quickbooks to take care of your accounting, but many businesses don’t even start with that. Wherever you start, think about what it will take to keep your business efficient and running smoothly as your grow.  Aside from that, think about what kind of processes you will need to put into place to make that happen- especially as you add new revenue streams. What software and hardware would you need to add to accommodate that growth? Will your current system be able to grow with you?
• Marketing- Many businesses start of with the assumption that posting on social media will take care of all their marketing. It’s FREE so why not? Social media is an important part of most every business’ plan but it is not the only thing to consider. Another lesson we have had drilled into us over the past few months is the importance of having a website- not matter who you are or what you do! Marketing includes everything you put out there to represent your business to your current or potential customer. Your business cards, your mailers, your email list and every networking opportunity that presents itself.
• Customer Growth- Think about how many customers, and their average transaction, it will take for you to achieve your financial goals you have set? We know there is natural attrition of customers so that, along with projected growth needs to be taken into account. You want to set goals for customers coming into your store or business as well as interacting on your social media and website. Being able to quantify these numbers will help you create programs to achieve that.
• Products and Services- Unless you grow the products and services you are offering, your business will become stagnant. Stagnant businesses lose customers faster than anything else. The secret to this is to stay intimately connected to what your customers want and then give it to them!
• Customer Service- Every interaction with your customer, or potential customer, needs to be measured against a standard of superior customer service. Always be looking for ways you can improve this by making easier for them to do business with you. This might translate to adding additional staff as your business grows. Or, it might mean improving systems and processes to make their experience with you memorable and keeps them coming back.
• Human Resources- When you first start your business you might be a staff of one. To stay at that level for very long is something that will keep your business closer to a hobby than a business. Over time, and with proper goal setting, your business should grow and that means hiring more people. Ultimately, you should be acting more in the capacity of CEO and delegating responsibilities to others to free you up to do that. With that in mind, think about who you would hire and when in setting those goals.
• Personal Goals- To be truly successful, you want to design your business that allows you to be multi-dimensional. You need goals that are both business-related as well as personal. Initially, you will be working more hours and investing more money to get your business started and stable. Think about how much you want to ultimately be working as your business grows. How much interaction, on a day-to-day basis, do you want to transition to. Knowing that will help you with goal-setting in the other categories.

Attached you will find a free worksheet with these categories that will help you plan out one year, three years and five years from now. This should get you thinking but it is also something that should be reviewed along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Steps to Goal Setting

• Start with a brain dump. Let the ideas flow. Create a picture in your mind of what your business will look like. What will if feel like? All ideas are viable at this point so let the ideas flow. You can sort and filter those ideas in a minute.
• Organize and prioritize those goals.
• List the action steps for each goal
  • This is your road map. You want to make sure you have the right steps in the right order.
• Assign a completion date for each goal
• Create systems to support your goals
• Review your goals

 

Some final thoughts on goals:

• Whether it is your first year in business or your first year of planning your business with goals in mind you will be a work in progress. Try to be very aware on the choices you are making so that you can review them at the end of the year and see what you liked and didn’t like. What worked and didn’t work?

• Make sure your business goals mesh with your personal goals so they don’t compete and keep you from working efficiently towards those goals.

• Once you have identified a goal make it a priority. Keep it in front of you and as things start coming at you hold it up against your goals and see if it moves you forward to that goal.

• Wishing something would happen is not the same as identifying it as a goal with an action plan attached.

• With each goal you identify, make sure it reflects back to why you started your business in the first place. You should also check it against where you wanted to see your business down the road.

• Some goals might change along the way and that is okay. No one has a crystal ball when they start so circumstances, tastes or your personal life might change that will cause you to rethink a goal.

• In trying to identify your goal think of what you want and why. What is standing in your way that you will have to overcome?

• Take your big goals and break them down into achievable bites. One easy way is to look at your goals and prioritize them into four quarters. You focus on the goals in each quarter instead of bouncing around and never getting anything accomplished. Then you break down each goal and give it actionable steps to keep you moving forward.

• How do you keep track of your goals and keep them top-of-mind? Pick the method that works best for you. It could be a giant white board or a bunch of colorful sticky notes. It might be a notebook filled with pages of ideas and plans. If you prefer you could keep it as a living document on your computer.

• What is important is to find a way to manage these goals so they don’t get lost and forgotten. What will keep them in front of you and keep you motivated to keep moving forward? Does this involve more than just you to get it accomplished? If so, you will need to come up with a plan to present the idea and get the team inspired by making them a part of the process.

In wrapping up this series, I have shared some of my favorite motivational quotes as well as my thoughts and guidance on the importance of goals and how to set them.

If you missed the first 4 Steps in this series check them out here:

Step 1 Discover Your Strengths and Passions

Step 2 Define Your Idea

Step 3 Describe Your Ideal Client

Step 4 Develop Your Plan

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