Strategic Style: Tips for Setting Business Goals That Work

Mar 5

How happy are you with your business performance? Are you thrilled with your success?

Most business owners realize there's more they can do to reach their business targets, and there's always room for improvement. Setting business goals can help you plan for the future success of your business.

Setting strong, attainable goals gives you a roadmap for moving forward. If you're ready to take your business to the next level, we can help!

Here are some tips for setting business goals that work.

Why Should You Set Business Goals?

Business goals help you measure your company's progress and reach targeted results. Setting goals helps you stay focused on what matters, maintain a sense of direction, and have something to aim for.

Your goal-setting efforts can help you turn your vision for your business into a reality. You can't plan to run a marathon tomorrow without the proper training.

It's no different with your business. You can't get to where you want to be without a business plan and strategic goal-setting along the way.

Think about your vision for your company and how you can set strategic goals to make it happen.

Setting SMART Goals

You want your business goals to be SMART. This goal-setting acronym stands for the following:

Specific goals
Measurable goals
Achievable goals
Relevant goals
Time-bound goals

Setting these types of goals can be very effective. Here's what setting SMART goals means for your business.

Specific Goals

When you set any type of goal, you must know what you want to accomplish and what kinds of actions are necessary to reach your objective. For example, if you hope to increase your business revenue, you need to be clear on the specifics you'll need to accomplish what you've set out to do.

This may include:

A target amount or growth percentage you desire to achieve
Which team or individuals you will need to achieve your business objectives
The deadline you want to meet to achieve this objective
What steps are necessary to work toward your goal
What resources you'll need to help your team succeed

Measurable Goals

Goals are not simply an idea. They should be measurable. Metrics such as numerical values and dates help you track your progress in reaching your goals.

Seeing growth encourages you to stay focused on your goal. Metrics allow you to evaluate your efforts, see what works, accomplish your objectives, and stay motivated about what's ahead.

Tracking your progress helps you see if your plan is working or if you need to shift your focus or modify your goals.

Achievable Goals

A goal must be realistic to be achievable. A goal to make a million in the first year of business is not achievable for most small businesses.

Setting a lofty, unattainable goal is setting yourself up to fail. Although optimism is important, realistic goals will help you grow your business to its full potential.

Achievable goals still require great effort, but setting realistic goals is key to ongoing growth and productivity.

Relevant Goals

Relevant goals aren't the same for every business. A relevant goal matters to your business.

Your business is unique. You know your business and the needs of your customers. Center your goals around making your business one your customers return to time and time again.

Consider what matters to the future of your business. Whether you want to increase revenue, open another location, hire more staff, serve others, or have other goals in mind, they should be specific to the needs of your business.

Time-Bound Goals

If you set business goals without a timeline in mind, you may never reach them. A time-bound goal has a specific time limit for achievement.

Without a time limit, it can be hard to measure how you're progressing. Deadlines put pressure on you to take action.

This may help you work harder and strive more to reach your business goals. If you don't reach your goal when you planned to, you can extend your timeframe or modify your goals.

Setting time-bound goals can motivate you and your team to work harder and faster to achieve your business goals.

Setting Goals for Your Small Business

Understanding what a business goal should look like can help you set actionable goals for your small business. You may hope to measure buyer intent or increase revenue, but you need a business plan to make it happen.

If your plan is to increase revenue with a new service or product, that's a purposeful goal. Providing a product or service your clients want benefits your business and increases customer satisfaction.

Launching a new product or service requires time, employees, and resources. Part of your plan would be to prepare for every aspect of your new venture and all it entails.

Your business goals should also involve your employees. They are critical to the success of your business.

If your goal is to provide more training or increase the skillset of your staff, you can take actionable steps to do so. This could involve hiring trainers to come in or providing online training for your employees.

A well-trained staff is always good for business. Employers who provide training and incentives for future advancement are more likely to have motivated employees.

Employees who feel valued and invested in the company are more productive and more likely to work hard to help you achieve your business goals.

Writing Business Goals

Having goals in mind is great, but you're more likely to work towards your goals when they're on paper. Writing down your business goals is an effective strategy.

The physical act of writing your goals makes them more real and tangible. When you have a record before you of your goals, they're harder to ignore.

Put pen to paper and make your goals a working document that's part of your everyday efforts to grow your business.

Here are some tips for writing tangible and effective business goals.

Write Goals in Active Style

The language you use when writing your goals matters. It impacts how you view your goals and how you plan to approach them.

Consider using definite language such as "will" instead of "might" or "would like to." This uncertain language lacks passion and drive.

Specific, active language has power. It makes you want to act now and doesn't offer any excuses for lack of effort.

Narrow Down What Matters

Choose goals that truly matter to you and your business. Ask yourself if the goals you're setting mean something to you and motivate you.

If you're not motivated to make your goals a reality, they have little meaning. If your goals don't matter to you, they certainly won't matter to your employees. Make sure they do.

If you have too many goals, it's easy to get distracted. If you struggle with motivation, you’ll want to narrow down your list.

Choose goals that are valuable to your long-term success. A long list of business goals can be distracting and lead to feelings of frustration and disappointment.

Motivation is key to achieving your business goals. Narrow your focus and create goals that are valuable to the growth of your business.

Start Small and Build

A grand vision for your business is a wonderful thing. But you should start small and build from there.

Setting smaller goals makes them more achievable. Setting weekly or monthly goals and then meeting those goals provides great satisfaction and motivation.

As your business grows, so will your momentum and confidence in achieving bigger, actionable goals. Step-by-step progress is key to the long-term success of your company.

Ask Yourself Why

Do you have your business goals in mind? Are you sure they're the right goals for your specific needs?

One way to determine if your goals are on the right track is to ask yourself why. Why are you setting this particular goal?

Consider the motivation behind your goal. Will this make a difference in the future of your business?

Having a clear vision and a strong belief in the goals you choose will help you stay focused as you take action toward achieving your business goals.

Break Down Long-Term Goals

A successful business takes time, planning, and lots of hard work. It rarely happens overnight. Breaking down lofty business goals into small, achievable goals will help you focus and see your progress.

You will gain a greater sense of accomplishment as you inch closer to those bigger goals. It's a good idea to identify milestones and track your progress as you meet them.

Setting and meeting weekly and monthly targets is an amazing feeling and an achievement in itself.

Monitor Your Results

There's no point in setting goals if you fail to monitor your progress. Monitoring your results is essential for your success.

Plan to measure your progress at every step to make sure you're on track to meet your business goals. If you're not where you need to be, discover why.

Make the necessary adjustments and keep working and striving towards your business goals.

Communicate With Employees

To meet your business goals, you need talented employees. Good employees leave when there's a lack of communication or a lack of appreciation for their contributions.

Your employees need to be invested in your business goals too. Running a successful business includes creating relationships with your team.

Let them know you care about them and value what they do. Keep the lines of communication open and have an open-door policy with your employees.

You're much more likely to achieve your business goals with happy and content employees by your side.

Create a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Is meeting your business goals about working non-stop and focusing only on the future of your company? No, and if you do that, you and your employees will be stressed and overworked.

Running a business is more than a full-time job. It can be very stressful and hectic, to say the least.

Putting unrealistic pressure on yourself and your employees will not help you accomplish your business goals. And it could do just the opposite.

You need a healthy balance between your work life and your personal life, and so do your employees. Get to know them and respect their personal time.

Make physical and mental health a primary focus for your business. Happy, healthy employees are more likely to be motivated and invested in your vision for the company.

Celebrate Your Wins

Achieving a business goal is a huge accomplishment. Before you jump to achieve the next one, take a little time to celebrate your win.

This is a great time to recognize your team and their accomplishments. They need to know you see them and value their contributions to the success of the company.

Celebrating them will keep them motivated and on board to accomplish the next goal. Find a way to reward their hard work.

Take some personal time to celebrate your success as well. Whether it's a night out, a celebration dinner, or a mini vacation, remember to enjoy the journey as you meet your business objectives.

The Benefits of Setting Business Goals

Setting business goals can be daunting. But setting SMART goals can be rewarding and help you achieve the success you long for.

Setting specific and attainable goals can help you grow your business long-term. Are you ready to take your business to the next level?

If you're a small business owner who needs help developing business goals for your company, a business coach may be just what you need. Brian Carmody can help you design your business to serve your dreams.

Contact Brian today to learn more about his business coaching services.

Brian Carmody