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Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been running your own business for years, taking a long hard look at how you create and act on goals can make a huge difference to your productivity and time management.
I highly recommend that you start with creating a clear vision statement for your business. This will help you define what you want to achieve and give you a sense of purpose and direction.
You can start by thinking about your income goals or what you want to accomplish in terms of your lifestyle or charitable contributions.
It’s also important to take some time to reflect on your personal values and what’s most important to you.
Ask yourself if you prioritize spirituality, family, honesty, trustworthiness, or giving back. This will help you align your business goals with your personal values and create a more fulfilling life.
Now identify your passions, hobbies, and interests. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? This will help you focus in on what you truly love and what motivates you to pursue your goals.
It’s always helpful to know the reasons why, beyond the basic financial, you’re working so hard!
A helpful exercise is to write an obituary for yourself as if you only had six months left to live.
I realize it may seem morbid at first, but give it a try.
What would you want to be remembered for?
Incorporate your values and passions into this exercise. This can help you gain a greater understanding of what you want to do with your life and your business.
And finally, as an entrepreneur, it’s crucial to create a mission statement for your business. This statement will not only guide you but also your employees, customers, and potential investors. It will keep you centered and focused.
Be clear about why you are in business, who you serve, and where you want to go. This will help you stay focused and achieve your goals.
Here is an example of an entrepreneurial mission statement by an entrepreneur for other entrepreneurs. It states her intention clearly:
“I help women entrepreneurs, founders, and freelancers design a maternity leave plan that meets their business model and personal needs.”
– By Ariana Taboada
Remember, you have a lifetime to make a positive impact, so let your passion guide you towards creating something great for yourself and your loved ones.
Before you sit down and get to work on your SMART(ER) goals, let’s discuss the power of visualization and the use of a vision board.
Take a moment to visualize each goal before you put it on paper (or screen). See them as if they are already true.
For instance, if your goal as an entrepreneur is to have a well-written business plan in hand when you go to the bank for working capital, visualize it first. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and imagine your plan being written by a professional B2B copywriter. See it as if it already exists, with all the elements you need.
Next, see yourself in the bank manager’s office with a big smile on their face because they love your well-crafted plan. They see you not just as a potential customer, but as a long-term client.
As you visualize, make it as vivid as watching an Oscar-worthy movie in your head. Add all the proper lights, sounds, and even smells to make it feel as real as possible. Remember, the more realistic you make it, the more likely you are to achieve it.
Another great technique for entrepreneurs is to create a vision board. Take the time to learn about this powerful tool and how you can use it to create your dream lifestyle. With a vision board, you can create a visual representation of your goals and aspirations, helping you stay focused and motivated towards achieving them.
Remember, visualizing your goals and creating a vision board are just the beginning. Use them as tools to guide your SMARTER goal setting and take action towards achieving them. With persistence and dedication, you can turn your dreams into reality.
Is Goal Setting Worth My Time?
The next big question most entrepreneurs have, at this point, is why is all of this worth my valuable time? Why should I commit hours to this exercise?
- You know that in order to succeed at anything in life, you must take action, be consistent, and perform in order to achieve any real results.
- You also know that confidence is essential in life, but especially as a business owner. Setting powerful and actionable goals will reduce your stress. You’ll become more focused on doing all the little things right while knowing exactly what big things to tackle, step-by-step.
- When you are motivated to succeed, your body releases happy chemicals which make you feel great. This, in turn, makes your self-esteem rise because you walk around with your head up and making everyone else feel great as well. And that helps you sell! It’s this boost to your self-image that you can monetize with enhanced brand awareness and visibility.
SMARTER Simplified & Defined
SMART Got SMARTER
SMART goals can trace their origin back to 1981 when an executive with the Washington Water Company published a paper on goal setting for managers. The concept has been expanded since (originally it didn’t include the R and T) and now is one of the most widely used goals setting outlines in North America.
It’s been so successful that occasionally some brilliant mentor or trainer adds a couple letters and in doing so, adds a lot of power to goal setting.
A few years ago, the SMART system matured again and grew up to become SMARTER. That’s the system you’ll learn about now… just keep reading.
S = Specific
Specificity is key! Your goals must be clear for you and your team to be able to put them into action.
An entrepreneur who starts up a coffee shop that sells coffee and amazing chocolate would have specific goals for inventory as an example.
This would ensure that if sales are rocking, the coffee shop does not run out of coffee and then needs to scramble to find a local supplier. The amount of product which needs to be sold per month to cover rent, inventory and employees’ salaries would be listed as specific amounts. For every aspect of the coffee store, spreadsheets would be made. Each sheet would have columns for product, cash in/cash out and salaries.
You have a goal for each one and a list of tasks required to achieve those goals. In another column you would mark off tasks as completed and then, on the side, notes to show what needs to improve next time.
You would also have specific marketing goals on how you are getting the word out, regarding your trendy new coffee shop. Making a list of social media sites, with tasks for tweeting, Facebook posts or Instagram pics of happy customers would go on your list. Make sure to tick everything off as the task is completed.
M = Measurable
What’s a goal if you can’t measure progress and success?
You have to track your progress, and in the case of a start-up coffee shop it would be advantageous to have a quick staff meeting each night after the shop closes. With this, you can check your spreadsheet to see if you are meeting your daily goals.
After that, make a to-do list for the morning staff if stocking product is required, for example. Every week and at the end of every month, you would go over where you need to tweak items.
The goal is not to miss any tasks and since you do have timelines, you will know when that occurs.
These meetings are the time to discuss why a goal was not completed, responsibility for that goal and who will get it done next time, pronto!
A = Achievable
If a goal isn’t achievable, it’s not real.
If you don’t think you will reach your goals, you won’t give it your very best effort. Think of it as someone going for a race, and they have some experience but when asked to join a friend on a longer run, they have doubts. Plucking up some courage, they go anyway, even when in the back of their mind, they feel it is not achievable, and they quit before the end.
Every goal you write out, must scream to you, “I can do this.”
If that doesn’t occur, you should leave it off your goal list. For our specialty coffee shop, they may write an income goal of $65,000.
That’s doable! They know they can achieve that goal, but the possibility of competition moving in across the street is weighing on their minds.
They have to re-assess if that goal is achievable and if there are doubts, come up with new ideas for income.
They may consider adding an extra product to bring in more foot traffic, like a brunch menu.
If even after that, the goal still feels that it “might be,” achievable, then it has to be changed.
R = Realistic
Now we’re adults, we know how important it is to be realistic.
Every goal that is set for this must be based in reality, including personal goals like fitness and overall health.
Many entrepreneurs work long hours to pursue their passion and dreams. They need to be alert and have tons of energy. In making fitness goals, if an entrepreneur wants to work out from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m… is it realistic considering they know most of their workdays are 16 plus hours? How long can an overworked entrepreneur actually do that?
What about realistic goals for expansion? They know they have a great concept and friends are telling them, just three months into the business, that they should franchise it. Would this be realistic?
Is this something any business owner should consider after only three months, or should they wait to even discuss it only after the first full year in business?
T = Timeframes
You need timeframes, we all do!
How many times have you or someone else said, “Oh, I will get it done tomorrow.”
And tomorrow arrives without the task getting completed.
A timeframe, with a positive statement, means it will get done. For example, “I set my alarm for 8:00 a.m. and I will get that report completed and sent to your in-box by 10:30 a.m.” When you hear it stated like that, you feel confident the task will be done.
Entrepreneurs have a near avalanche of tasks to deal with on a daily basis, particularly in the beginning. That’s why all goals need solid deadlines and a list of tasks to complete.
Set deadlines for each task, leading to the goal. For our specialty coffee shop example, they have a singer coming in at noon to attract new customers.
They will use social media and a person with a sign board, just outside the shop, to grab people walking by.
This means they have a task list written up and deadlines for each task. It’ll get done!
Task List Example:
John to be outside with sign board. (10:00 a.m. to noon)
Sara to use the rented coffee makers. Have 6 extra brewed, refilled as soon as empty. (10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)
Ali to handle social media. Tweets and Instagram of customers enjoying coffee and singer. (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.)
Me greeting customers at the door and handing out small chocolate samples. (9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.)
E = Evaluate
Undoubtedly, you pour your heart and soul into your business. Your dedication is unquestionable.
But now, it’s time to evaluate your employees and ensure that they share your commitment to achieving your goals.
When evaluating your employees, it’s important to see each person as an individual. Look at who is responsible for tasks that lead to the completion of each goal. Assess their strengths and weaknesses to determine if they need more skills to excel in what they do.
For instance, imagine you have a goal to sell 10 boxes of a particular brand of chocolate per day, but you notice that it’s not moving at all. It’s time to identify the issue. Maybe you realize that Alice, who delivers coffee to customers, is not upselling the chocolate. Once you identify the problem, you can implement a solution, such as coaching or trying Alice just on cash, while giving Robert the barista position for a trial period.
Remember, the success of your business depends on the collective efforts of your team. By evaluating your employees and ensuring that they are aligned with your goals, you can create a culture of shared dedication and work towards achieving your entrepreneurial vision together.
R = Rewards
Everyone loves rewards!
All your goals should be reward based. If you go to the moon, your reward is to plant the flag of your nation and get publicity.
In the specialty coffee world, our example employees could use some coaching, enhanced training, and of course, a reward system as well.
By going over your daily, weekly, and monthly goals with your staff, they know what is expected. They should also be informed what rewards will be given for meeting goals and what rewards will come their way by reaching milestones beyond the goal that was set.
Don’t think of your rewards system as juvenile. It’s 100% incentivization, and the reason successful people have been using it for centuries is because it works!
Why Some Entrepreneurs Fail To Achieve Their Goals
They have a fear of failure and overestimated their self-confidence.
What this comes down to is mindset. You won’t have to go through this because you’re going to work on your mindset every day.
You’ll start by reading biographies of entrepreneurs who impress you. Or you could listen to a quick podcast or watch a 3-minute video compilation on YouTube of success stories.
And you’re also going to change your negative vocabulary and eliminate words like, “I can’t.” Practice positive affirmations with conviction throughout your day and especially before bedtime.
They get overwhelmed by their goals and begin to procrastinate.
For this, you would re-evaluate your goals and adjust if necessary. If your goals are still doable, break them down into smaller tasks that you knock off, one by one. As you cross out a small task, you will feel a sense of accomplishment.
Remember the saying, “how do you eat an elephant? Well it is one bite at a time and for some folks…with hot sauce.”
They get a bad case of indecision and develop a nearly paralyzed reaction. “Should I do that, or maybe it would be easier to do this first. I don’t know?”
When you write your entrepreneurial goals, you must make sure to have clarity. Know exactly what you want, and then write out the goals. Add in an action plan and a daily, weekly and monthly task list. When you wake up in the morning and your roadmap is completed 100%, you’ll get to your destination on time.
SMART Goals Worksheet
Copy and paste the following questions and examples into a Word document (or Google Docs) and answer each one as best you can.
Specific: What will you achieve with massive action?
Write it with clarity, just like you did with your vision statement.
Write out 10 answers.
Example: I want to start a car wash that will employ teens with learning disabilities, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow as productive members of society.
Measurable: What sort of measures will you put in place?
How will you know you are progressing well towards your end goal? You can use a number or descriptive statement.
Example: I will hire 5 teens and get them on the job training at Easy Car wash starting on June 1st/2023
Attainable: What do you need to attain these goals?
Think in terms of raising money, learning more about how to work with teens that have learning disabilities, how to market your new venture?
Example: I have worked as a teacher in Special Ed with children. I need to upgrade my skills to learn how to deal with teenagers who find difficulty coping with stress and anxiety.
Relevant: What are your big reasons for achieving this goal?
List out the reasons why you decided on this goal? One is not enough, you need to add weight to your goal.
Example: I saw how teens floundered in high school Special Ed and most became unemployed after completing five years due to not truly being taught valuable skills.
Timeframe: When will you be up and running? How long will each section take?
Here you list out the big tasks and when they will be done, so that you have an end date of completion of your goal.
Example: I will get my start-up capital and rental space in 30 days. Have hired and pre-trained staff by 30 days and be open for business in 50 days.
These examples include only the first five of SMART. Begin with those, and you’ll add the final two pieces of the goal setting exercise after you get started.
The last two, E for evaluate and R for rewards, are best left after you begin. But don’t forget about them! They’re powerful and potent and shouldn’t be overlooked.
