Happy New Year!
Did you make any resolutions? Many people set personal goals for a fresh, new year. I often hear entrepreneurs talk about their desires to see their business climb to new heights. What I don’t always hear is a realistic plan to see those dreams come to fruition. I can usually predict the likelihood of them seeing the reality of this goal by the way they talk about their plan.
You don’t need a new year to set new goals for your business—you can make those anytime. In fact, I encourage it! Regardless of when you dream up plans for your business, it takes a solid way to reach those goals if you want to see them actually come true.
Why Your Goals Fail
Have you had some lofty aspirations in the past that you never met in the real world? Do you keep raising hopes about your business only to experience disappointment when they don’t happen? Well, I have a hard truth for you: You’re doing it wrong.
If you continuously set goals without creating practical steps to make them happen, you will fail over and over again. It doesn’t matter how badly you want something to happen—you can’t will it into existence. Without, hard work and a plan that you can break down into actions you do every day as an entrepreneur, you won’t make it.
You can actually accomplish the biggest goals you have for your business IF you work toward them correctly. I have practical steps to guide you through the process of meeting even your loftiest objectives.
How to Meet the Goals You Set
Set yourself up for success with these tips:
1. Set Specifically Defined Goals
Get vague goals out of the way. They turn out like unstated expectations: always disappointing. You need to create defined goals, so you know what needs to be accomplished. This will help you determine the actions you need to take to reach that goal. This also means that you may need to set several smaller goals on your way to achieving bigger ones.
I suggest keeping track of these goals by writing them out. Visuals provide you with a great motivator. You can post the one you currently work on somewhere you’ll see it often. Plus, writing it down forces you to bring it from your imagination into the real world. After seeing it, you may decide you need to alter it.
You also need to decide by what criteria you’ll measure your goal. At what point will you consider your goal met? You should also define this to avoid vague ideas about whether you’ve accomplished it.
2. Evaluate Your Goals
Once you’ve defined a goal and written it down, take some time to evaluate it. Is your goal doable with your current resources? Do you have the skills you need to accomplish it? What do you need in order to make it happen?
With these questions, you can see if your goal is realistic for the current state of your business. Perhaps you need to set up some more easily achievable goals for the immediate future and keep your larger goal as a long-term objective.
If you have a goal of profiting from software that manages social media, you would first need to make sure you have the education you need to create software, knowledge of the intricacies of social media, and the means to get it out into the market once it is created. Perhaps that means you hire experts or get more education. You have to figure out the logistics of each step you need to take on the way. When you lack parts of the foundation for your largest goal, prioritize smaller goals in the meantime.
3. Keep Goals Relevant
Every goal you create should line up with the vision you have for your business. Think through the results of your goals, and make sure they align with your broader purpose.
If you start noticing your tasks get you off track, course correct by modifying goals to match your business objective. That could mean you need to adjust your time management, your weekly schedule, or your task prioritization. Remind yourself of the importance of your smaller goals because they help you to move toward larger ones.
4. Set Deadlines
A goal without a deadline is just a wish. Set reasonable deadlines for your goals. You can add up the time each task should take you and create a deadline based on that information. Keep track of how much time you have with a calendar or a countdown timer.
Setting deadlines for your goals may motivate you to accomplish goals more than anything else. It also helps to have accountability for your deadlines, so have a mentor ask you about your progress. You can join a mastermind group for more accountability experience, and the members can even give you feedback on your goals and actionable steps.
5. Take Action
Now that you have a relevant, defined goal with a deadline, make sure you have some actionable steps lined up to take. I suggest creating a list of actions or scheduling them on your calendar. Breaking down steps makes every goal feel much more doable, and you can easily see your progress when you keep track. It’s a great way to regularly feel more accomplished, and it keeps you moving forward.
Then, keep going! Take every action and do your best. Keep track of your work. Repeat the process until you make it. When you meet these goals, even the small ones, don’t forget to celebrate! Even if you just have a cookie or give someone a high-five, allow yourself to rest in the satisfaction of meeting your goals. Here’s to your best year of success yet!
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