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Is there much point in doing anything when you don’t have a reason or a goal for doing it? You go on a journey to get to a destination; you go to work to get money to live, you save money to buy a house, you buy a home because you want to have a family, etc. etc. No matter what you do in life, there’s usually a goal in mind and a purpose. You need to know what you’re working towards. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to get motivated, hard to stay on track, and even harder to achieve anything. In business, just as in life, you need to have goals. You need to set them when you first set up your business, and you need them to keep your business growing and to move forward.
Setting goals gives you long term vision and direction, and they help you to define what it is precisely what you want to achieve and where you want to go and gives you the inclination to do it. Setting goals also give you the motivation you need to keep persevering, as you achieve your short term goals; it will provide you with a boost to continue onto the next target. You also learn along the way what you could do differently and what you might need to focus more on, so ultimately having goals gives you the ability to decide and prioritize. When you have specific, well-defined goals, it is easier to make the everyday decisions in your business. Every time there is a decision to be made, and you’re unsure, you only have to ask yourself: “Which option will help me achieve my long-term goals?” Usually, the decision will be much more definite after that.
Goals give you something to visualize. If your goal is to retire early and play golf every day, if it’s to get yourself on a cruise or it’s to build your own swimming pool and spend your days learning about industrial pumps, then having that goal in mind gives you something to visualize and to work toward.
So how do you go about setting your goals?
Be Specific
When thinking about what you want, you absolutely cannot be vague. You cannot say you want “Some” and you want it “soon,” you need to be specific and think about numbers, dates and times. You need to have a solid goal, an amount of money you want to earn, in a set time frame so that you have a detailed timeline which you can follow and stick to. If you’re not sure how to be more specific then work it out, do you have a business plan? If not, then write one and map out your financials, your goals, your time frames, etc. You want to know every detail of what you need to spend when you need to spend it, what you hope to get back, etc. Leave no stone unturned and that way you will have a full and clear picture of what you want and what you need to get there,
Be Ambitious
You are allowed to think big. At this stage, there is some sense in being realistic but don’t limit yourself right now. Anything is achievable, it might not be obtainable in the first year, but eventually, it will be. You might have to start small but always keep the bigger picture at the forefront of your mind. The bigger picture might be financial goals; it could be multiple businesses, an expansion in the team, a new business stream, or a new product. If you want to be the best in your industry, the number one company doing what you do, there’s no reason why not. If you’re going to be as big as another company like Virgin, for example, then there’s no reason why you can’t dream big and work towards that. Look at other startups who have exceeded all expectations in their space, look at Mark Zuckerburg and Facebook, if these companies can achieve what they have and go from nothing to being worth billions of dollars then there’s no reason why you can’t either. Also, don’t assume that just because someone else is bigger now or already doing what you want to do that there’s no space for you, there is. Consumers are lapping up more and more and more. Just think about the pencil, we didn’t stop using it when the pen came along, so there is always room for more as long as it is meeting requirements that are not being met elsewhere.
Be Open
Whatever goals you have for your company make sure that your whole team is aware of them, so everyone is working toward the same thing and is on the same page. While the goals should be and can be ambitious, they also need to be attainable for the team. So set employee objectives such as higher sales, improved client relations, or more creative and innovative design work. If everyone knows what they’re working toward, then it should be far easier and quicker to get there. It’s also good to keep employees in the loop as while they might have their own personal goals; it’s motivating to be part of something and to know that their hard work is paying off.
Be Smart
When you have huge goals you want to reach this can be intimidating for both you and your staff, so when you’re starting out, you should be smart and divide your goals into lots of smaller, short term goals. This is why you need to be specific and not vague because when you have actual figures and numbers, it is far easier to break it down into smaller, more palatable chunks. For example, if your goal is to reach $1 million in five years, you can quickly work out what you need to make each year, each quarter and each month. The smaller numbers aren’t as daunting, and once you start reaching these goals and seeing results, it will spur you on to keep going.
Be Flexible
While you do need to keep your eye on the prize, if circumstances change, the economy takes a slide, or things don’t go to plan, don’t give up or give in. You can still achieve your goals, but you might need to maneuver them slightly, and you might have to adjust some of the short term goals and the way you’re going to meet the final goal. There is nothing wrong with this; it is to be expected, so don’t be disheartened, expect it, as this is just life. If you add new goals along the way too, that’s ok. Whatever happens, just make sure you have something to work towards. Don’t be changing it drastically and changing it often but just make sure there is room in your brain to accept these changes so that you don’t get sidetracked or put off if things have to be moved.
Be Monitoring
Realistic goals will help you achieve your dream, and one thing you need to do is to keep track of your progress throughout the process. Make sure your goals are measurable and make sure you measure your goals. Whether it’s number of sales, number of repeat sales, number of distribution channels, revenue, transactions per team member, customer satisfaction ratio, etc., these types of goals are all quantifiable and will give you an indication month to month if you are headed in the right direction. You also only want your goals to be partially achievable so that you are still challenged to make that extra push.
Be Persistent
You cannot have a day off from your goals; you have to keep at them. If you don’t think you can stick to it, then you need to tell other people about your goals and ask them to help and encourage you to meet them. Even if that means pulling you up on something you are doing wrong and it doesn’t fit with what you are genuinely trying to achieve. If you had a goal to lose weight, then it’s always advisable to have a buddy doing the same as you and to keep you on track so you can do the same in business. Find yourself a buddy and make each other accountable for your goals.
Be Brave
Achieving in business is about taking risks; it’s about investing in yourself and your ideas and beliefs; it’s about getting out of your comfort zone to achieve something new. So be brave, don’t be afraid and remember if one method doesn’t work at first, try again, try something else or just go a different way. Keep your eye on the goal, and you will get there eventually, so just enjoy yourself along the way.