Setting goals before the new year and forgetting them within a few weeks is common to us. But what’s not common is setting specific goals for business, not necessarily on New Year’s Eve.
Those who do not recognize the importance of setting goals for business, cannot grow fast. But why is it so important? What happens when you do not set specific goals for your business?
Studies have shown that only 3% of people set goals and 1% actually achieve them. So, you can say goal setting gets you one step closer to your dream. When you do not set a goal for your business, eventually you will lose focus and motivation. As a result, you will not find any reason to continue walking on that path.
So, let’s begin with all you need to know about goal setting for your business.
Goal Vs Dream
Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam once addressed a beautiful quote,
“DREAM is not what you see in sleep, DREAM is something which doesn’t let you sleep.”
In my opinion, a dream is something that is in your head. But when you put it down on a piece of paper it becomes a goal.
Dreams do not have any specific deadline, strategies, or daily steps to follow. It is the end result which you really desire to get.
But when it comes to the goal, it needs to be specific. Specific about the deadline, the strategies you need to follow, the steps to maintain the strategy, basically everything.
The most important part is, you need to work on your goal every single day to make the dream come true.
Where to Start (Setting SMART Goals)
Work smart, not hard. You can go one step ahead of most of the people in this game by setting SMART goals. Here SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals.
Specific
Be as specific as you can. Increasing the revenue or start making money are not smart goals because it’s not specific how you are actually going to do it. Instead, make goals like, learn a new skill so that I can target more clients and earn more money.
Measurable
Make goals that you can measure no matter how small or big the numbers are. Start earning money goal is achieved even when you earn $1. When it’s done, it is time to set a new milestone.
Achievable
When we are excited, mostly when we newly start a business, we overestimate ourselves.
Followed by that, we set unachievable goals which eventually demotivate ourselves and stop us from actually achieving them. Set goals that challenge you enough but also you can achieve them.
Relevant
Goals should be super relevant to your business and with the bigger picture. It is easy to misguide with urelement goals.
Time-Bound
You need to fix a specific time frame even for the smaller goals relevant to your end goals. Otherwise, chances are it will never happen. So, it is very important to set a realistic time frame.
9 Reasons Why Setting Goal is Important
Setting goals are important because without it you will not have a clear direction to go. Rough ideas inside your dead even make you more confused. Here are some of the main reasons you should set goals.
Accountability
Goals keep you accountable for your actions. When you decided to start a business, accountability is important to grow.
If you do not have an accountability partner, your goals can make you accountable.
It makes sure you are doing what you need to do every single day.
Eventually, you will see, if you do not meet the daily goal someday it will make you feel a bit guilty. Without a goal, none of this will happen.
Direction
Goals give you direction. With well-defined clear goals, your decision-making becomes so much easier. You can easily put down and pick up tasks based on your business goals.
It gives you a clear path to talk toward and achieve your dream. Your goals are just like the light at the end of the tunnel you need to follow.
Priorities
Goals and priorities complement each other. Without goals, there can be so much confusion in your work life. What to do, what not to do, what to do now, and what needs to be done later are need to be set by priority.
On the other hand, you will have clear priorities if you have clear goals in your business. As a result, fewer things will distract you.
Motivation
Achieving goals is not only satisfying but also motivating. Setting goals can also motivate you to work hard as it helps you to create a dream life you always wanted to live.
No matter how motivated you are about your business, feeling overwhelming is not uncommon. Setting goals can take you through the phase you do not want to work on anymore.
Measuring Progress
Setting goals give you a firmly defined objective to focus on. It provides you with clear small steps to achieve the bigger one.
With a goal and baby steps set beforehand, you can measure your progress toward success without difficulty.
Boost Confidence
When your goals are SMART and if you are determined to accomplish that, most likely you can do it within a limited time.
And when you do so, you will experience a sense of belief which will lead you to a confidant self, which is very important to run a business.
Why Business Fails to Achieve Goals
3% of the population make goals and only 1% achieve them. What mistakes do people commonly do in business goal making? Let’s see some of them so that you can avoid them and include yourself in that 1%.
Making Unrealistic Goals
It is one of the main reasons why small business owners do not succeed. In the beginning, when the motivation level is high, they overestimate themselves. As a result, they set unrealistic goals and end up not achieving them.
If you religiously follow the SMART goal-making process, you can easily avoid this problem.
Not Analyzing Data
You need to remember customers are the heart of a business, no matter what kind of business it is. So, you need to set your goals which revolve around customer data.
If data analysis is not your priority, you cannot be successful. No matter how many goals you achieve.
Along with this, you have to consistently update and change your system according to the data analysis.
Communication Problem
Teamwork is an important element of a business that is often ignored. You can never run a business alone after a short period of time. So, you need to be transparent about your goals with your team members.
Whoever fails to do this, their business fails.
Expense Does Not Match with the Goal
It can happen for your poor strategic planning or uncontrolled expenses. Either way, your business goal will fail.
You need to plan your money in a very balanced way so that it does not finish halfway. The mistake business owners make is, they spend uncontrollably when the fund is full. Avoid this in order to achieve the goal.
Competition
If you are competing with giants in the market, then you have to go slow. You have to admit that there are high chances that you will grow slowly. Manage your goals according to your competitors.
How to Set Goals for Your Small Business
Till now I have talked about the general idea of business goal making. Now, let’s dive a little deep into how you can set goals for your business.
Start From the End: Imagine how you wish your business to look in one year or six months. Break down the tasks on monthly basis. You can do it even weekly and daily. Do not overestimate yourself and your teammates.
Track the Progress: Track the direction you are going. Analyze the strategies and change them accordingly which is not going so well.
Commitment: Commit to your goals but also admit that it is your goal. Your employees will not be as committed as you are if you do not give them their own goals too.
Make the Goals Flexible: In the business world, things change so much in six months or one year. Always keep yourself updated and make the goals flexible according to the changes.
Celebrate the Success: Celebrate the wins, no matter how small they are. It motivates you and gives a sense, of course, to move forward.
Conclusion
Goals are important as you achieve them. Without goals, there will not be any joy when you will hit your first milestone. But that does not mean you have to set your goal so high that, it’s close to impossible to achieve them.
Make realistic goals to motivate you along the way. On the other hand, if your goals are not right and you do not manage you achieve them, it can be demotivating in many ways.
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