There are many different methods that people use to set goals for themselves and their business, but I would argue that the SMART way is the best way… at least for my own personal business goals.
First, understand that while having a New Years resolution is cute and all, it is far different than setting actual goals. While a resolution offers hope for the future through all of your good intentions and ideas to change your usual habits, they typically end about a few weeks into the year without any real success. The results of resolution often leave people with all the troublesome feelings that surround complete and utter failure. That’s NOT what goal-setting does!
The good news? Setting SMART goals has the opposite, more positive outcome. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-oriented. They take a little work to get down on paper, and a lot more work to accomplish in real life…
Don’t be discouraged. With a few quick tips, you will have a grasp on how to turn your wants and dreams into a mission that you can actually accomplish by setting a handful of goals. And once you have your goals on paper, you will be more prepared than ever before to start working towards them.
First, let me explain what each piece of the SMART acronym means as it pertains to goal-setting:
Having SPECIFIC goals means that you know exactly what you plan to accomplish.
Making your goals MEASURABLE means including any numerical values, amounts, or percentages to be able to measure the progress you are making along the way.
Setting goals so that they are ACHIEVABLE means that they are not elusive and there is an end point in which you will attain the goal.
Focusing on a goal because you know that accomplishing it will add significant value to your business deems it RELEVANT.
Giving yourself a deadline to achieve a goal makes it TIME-ORIENTED.
If you are taking notes, you may want to write that down.
Below is a format that I follow for setting my own SMART goals:
“My goal is to (something specific you want to achieve) by (amount) before (deadline).”
Fill in the italicized words with the details of your goal.
For example, “My goal is to increase my sales by working with 12 new clients before December 31st, 2024.”
Once all goals are written down in this format, it becomes easier to determine if they are achievable; adjustments can be made at this time, but they should be somewhat of a challenge to reach. In other words, don’t go too easy on yourself, but do raise the bar a little so that you have something worth working hard to achieve. If something seems irrelevant to your business, cross it off of your list.
While this seems like a simple thing to do, take some time to really identify goals that are specific to your wants, dreams, and business mission. Whether you have a mission statement for your business or not, I challenge you to make your top two or three goals on your list – the ones that are most likely to make a major impact on your business in the upcoming year – your new mission. Work hard to actually accomplish your new mission within the year by setting a series of short-term goals for each one. It’s okay if you don’t quite get there… you will be able to evaluate your short falls and reset each year.
If you need some further assistance with setting SMART goals for your business, I offer in-person and remote consultations on my Booking Site.
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