In the early stages of your business, setting goals is often one of those “I really need to do that” tasks that drop to the bottom of your list.
This was me. For the first 8 years of my business, I had no plan at all. Nothing. My only goal was to stay afloat, then to grow a little, and then to beat the previous year.
“Who has time to reflect and plan when I have a business to run?” I would say to myself.
But all my actions were repetitive, haphazard and by the seat of my pants. I felt like I was running with a limp but not addressing the pain.
Then I had a lightbulb moment.
It’s Not Just About Goals – It’s About The Right Goals.
I started to make goal-setting a priority. And the more I did it, the more focused and effective my goals became. As I figured out how to tweak and adjust my targets to reflect what I really wanted from my business, I started to connect my quality of life to the quality of my goals.
The quality of my clients and the work I was doing vastly improved, and so did my revenue. And I had more time for my family and fun.
Goal-setting is about so much more than just “being organized” and “having a plan”. It goes to the very heart of your business. So for intentional, sustainable growth, you need to set the right goals.
Here are 3 ways to help you define goals that do more than just look pretty on paper – they actually propel your business forward.
#1 – Connect Your Goals Directly To Your Vision
If you’re crystal clear on the vision for your business, goal-setting becomes a whole lot simpler. Your vision outlines the ideal future for your business, but your goals are the defined steps on the path you need to follow to get there.
For example, if you’re the CEO of a production company and your vision is:
“To create a more connected and compassionate world through our content.”
Some of your goals on the path to achieving that might be:
- Work with mission-driven storytellers and creators. (Create selection criteria to establish this.)
- Determine how we measure connection and increased compassion beyond revenue.
- Build a slate of projects with specific audiences and outcomes, including distribution outlets with an aligned purpose.
If each goal you’re working towards can’t be linked directly back to your company vision, that’s when progress and profit will start to slide off track.
Take a look at this article for more guidance on setting your business vision.
#2 – Focus Your Goals On Your Most Impactful Activities
Do you know which of your activities and actions bring the most powerful results for your business?
The 80/20 rule (also known as The Pareto Principle) is based on the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities. The trick is to identify that 20%, so you can make sure your goals are focused on optimizing and improving the results.
Which products, services, or actions in your business drive most of your revenue? That’s where you need to invest more time, money and energy in future, so make sure that your planning reflects that.
Recommended Reading: “How to Get Your Team to Work Together Towards Shared Goals”
#3 – Align Your Goals With Your USP
As a business owner, you know that staying competitive is essential to your success. Sure, you’re leading the pack today, but what about tomorrow? This doesn’t mean you spend all your time worrying about what your competitors are doing. But you do need to do a little digging to discover what separates you from other companies in your space.
What makes your business unique and impossible to copy? This is your “moat” – your undeniable business advantage. And once you’ve identified it, you need to design your key goals and objectives so you’re always leaning further into it. Doubling down on your differentiator is one of the best ways to protect your business as you grow.
Seth Godin’s book “Purple Cow” on this topic is worth reading for some inspiration on uncovering what makes your business stand out and why it’s so important.
If You Need More Help…
It’s easy to get bogged down in goal-setting, just because the possibilities are endless. That’s why we’ve created the Annual Business Goals Workbook. It takes you through 6 essential steps that will help you find clarity, download your thoughts and translate the results into smart, growth-focused goals.
Use it as the foundation for your strategic planning, so you can plot the tailored actions you need to create an exceptional year in business.
