Setting Goals That Matter

Setting Goals That Matter for Your Business is the First Step to Great Success

Goals. We’ve heard about the importance of setting and achieving goals since we were children. But now? Goal setting can become a chore that easily slips away from our consciousness, unless we add the secret sauce…

5 Famous People Who Set Goals and Worked Through Setbacks

Setting goals is a task every single person should embrace. Whether you do it every New Year or at various times throughout the year, knowing what you want in life will prevent that feeling of just floating through each day without purpose. Knowing your purpose and goals motivates you to wake up and take action every single day.

Setting goals in every aspect of your life will keep you focused on what you want. Whether it’s about losing weight to regain your health or increasing your business profits to move to a warmer climate, knowing what you want allows you to put action steps in place. After all, nothing happens in life without taking action.

Successful People Who Set Goals

If you’re feeling defeated with not reaching goals in the past, don’t worry. Even the most successful celebrities and business owners have seen their own failures but continued to set goals anyway.

Entertainer extraordinaire Beyoncé keeps a photograph of an Academy Award by her treadmill where she sees it every day. In 2013 she won an Oscar for the theme song to the James Bond movie, Skyfall.

Michael Jordan, arguably one of the best professional basketball players of all time, was rejected by the high school basketball varsity team because he was too short. Told he would never play at that level, Michael trained even harder and visualized his name in a professional locker room.

Walt Disney was laughed at by many bankers when he proposed his idea for the Disney World theme park. The last laugh is on them because today the entire Disney franchise – including the many theme parks, movies, and merchandise – are worth many billions of dollars.

JK Rowling, famously known for writing the Harry Potter series, couldn’t get book publishers to talk to her. Depending on food stamps to survive, she finally found a publisher who agreed to publish her book after the publisher’s daughter started reading the book and became entranced.

Count Your Failures as Lessons Learned

Thomas Edison is another person who was labeled as “stupid” by his teachers, yet at one point he held over 1,000 patents for new inventions. Most famous for inventing the lightbulb, Edison is also known for this quote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” You may not have reached every goal but that doesn’t mean you stop trying. Revise your goals, voice what is most important in your life, and take action steps toward those goals.

Want to know my 5 Goal-Setting Activities for Creative Entrepreneurs?

Mistakes Business Owners Make When Setting Goals

Do you have your goals set for this year? Business goals help you gauge your success and help you stay motivated to reach those goals. Some people think the planning stage is drudgery but even those entrepreneurs who prefer the “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to running their business have specific goals in mind. Not having goals is equivalent to being on a hamster wheel going nowhere.
Take a few minutes and think about what you want to accomplish in your business and make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes in your goal-setting process:

1. Procrastinating. You don’t need to wait until January 1st to set your goals. Try setting quarterly goals instead. If the idea seems overwhelming, set a timer for 30 minutes and start mapping your goals on paper.

2. Not prioritizing. You can probably brainstorm dozens of goals that you want to achieve but having too many will distract you from the most important ones. Business goals are meant to help you focus, not get distracted; so minimize your goals and place the most important ones at the top of the list.

3. Being too vague. Saying you want to “make more money” is too vague and you don’t have any way to measure if you’re reaching that goal. “More money” could mean an extra $100 per month or an extra $10,000 per month. Which would you rather see? Be as specific as possible with your goals so you can track your progress.

4. Setting goals that are too lofty or ambitious. Sure, you should dream big when envisioning the lifestyle you want but if you set a goal of making six figures this year when you haven’t reached the $50K mark, six figures most likely won’t happen – at least not this year. Be realistic about your goals and break down those lofty goals into smaller, more achievable goals. It might take you two or three years to reach six figures but it’s not impossible.

5. Not working on your goals daily. Every task you undertake should lead you toward your goal. If you’re still doing busy work or behind-the-scenes admin work instead of money-making tasks, consider hiring a virtual assistant. Outsourcing the necessary busywork will free up your time to get creative and focus on your book, next course, or upcoming webinar. Yes, you’ll have to pay your VA but you’ll still end up making more money in the end because you’re solely focused on your money makers.

One more piece of advice: You’re running a business, not pursuing a hobby. So think like a business person and visualize where you want to see your business in one year. What goals do you need for that to happen? What action steps do you need to take every day to make those goals a reality?

If Making a Goals List Sounds Boring, I’ve Got Some Tips for You…

Setting Goals That Matter for Your Business: Ways to Set Challenging Goals

Goal setting is a worthwhile process but are you setting goals that are too easy? Too challenging? Goals that are too easy will keep you in your comfort zone and won’t lead to business growth. Goals that are too challenging will make you feel defeated and possibly cause you to give up on your dream.

Planning on how to accomplish your goals doesn’t require a lot of time but it’s a necessary part of the process. Otherwise you’ll wonder each morning what you’re supposed to be doing and will remain at a standstill. Here’s a way to categorize your goals so you will always be challenged:

1. Small goals. These are goals you can reach easily with just a little bit of extra effort, such as adding 5-10 new subscribers each week. Small goals should always increase but shouldn’t be so difficult that you end up stressed. These should be the easiest goals to meet so you feel some accomplishment at the end of the month.

2. Medium goals. These are the goals that make you step out of your comfort zone. Staying in your comfort zone won’t lead to growth; instead, you’ll stay right where you are and won’t see any changes in your business. A medium goal might be scheduling podcast interviews. Not only would you get practice telling your message but you’d be exposed to a brand new audience, which could lead to new subscribers, social media followers, and clients.

3. Large goals. These are the daydreams or fantasies that may seem out of reach. Remember, out of reach does not equal impossible. Break those goals down into smaller steps, such as monthly, weekly, or daily goals. These large goals may take years to accomplish but you’ll still be working toward those goals every single day.

Why Do You Need Goals?

Quite simply, working every day without having concrete goals in mind is like watching a dog chase her tail: she goes around in circles, never going anywhere. If you’re happy with running your business as a hobby, making only part time money, then don’t set any goals and keep doing what you’ve been doing.

However, if you want more out of life and your business, set aside some time to set goals and prioritize them. Break them down into doable steps and re-evaluate them at month’s end. If they need to be reworked, do so; if you met your goals, continue doing what you’re doing or make them slightly more difficult.

Reaching difficult goals not only grows your business but it gives you a nice jolt of self-confidence. Reach enough of these tough goals and you’ll feel invincible. Are you ready for more goal-setting inspiration?

Tips for Creating a Monthly Action Plan to Reach the Goals That Matter to You

So, you’ve got your vision board filled with photos and you’ve decided on your business goals; now what? Visualizing what you want in life is a wonderful practice but don’t forget about making an action plan to fulfill those goals.

1. Break down your ultimate goals into smaller steps. If you want to double your income, for instance, keep that big number in mind but break that big number down into a monthly income total. If necessary, break that down even further into weekly and daily goals. Knowing these smaller goals will help you focus on daily money-making tasks to earn those totals and ultimately reach that larger goal.

2. Plot your daily money-making tasks. No matter what your ultimate goals, you need to make money with your business and those are the tasks you should prioritize. What tools do you have at your disposal? Think about how to use your blog, social media, email list, affiliate products, JV products, courses, and coaching programs to make more sales. Sometimes all it takes is publicizing your offers more frequently via social media and to your email list. Try emailing your list more frequently. Be on the lookout for affiliate offers that are the perfect match for your customers. Create a group coaching program to attract more people. Don’t be afraid to sell.

3. Plan to outsource. Hiring independent contractors will free up time in your day as well as help you reach your monetary goals. Even if it seems counterintuitive – spending money in order to make money – your focus will naturally shift to delegator and you’ll get rid of the administrative tasks that keep you from producing products or creating new coaching programs. To make outsourcing worthwhile, interview candidates and have a firm idea of what types of tasks you’ll delegate each month. Finding that right person will make the backend of your business run smoothly and you’ll soon appreciate making that investment.

4. Track your progress. Don’t wait until the end of the year or the quarter to evaluate if you’re meeting your smaller goals. When you do your monthly bookkeeping is a great time for this evaluation or consider doing it weekly. Did you reach your daily and monthly goals? Did you have a couple of days where you doubled or tripled your goals? What was different? What did you do on those days? Try to replicate those actions in upcoming months. If you did NOT meet your goals, make changes to your plan and ramp up your actions the next month.

5. Document your action plan. Just because you come up with a great plan in your head doesn’t make it real. Putting information down on paper makes it real and easy to check if you’re following through. Trello is an online platform that allows you to make digital checklists (or boards) of all your tasks.

Share your boards with your VA (Virtual Assistant) or simply make a board for her with her monthly tasks. Your VA could also create her own board that lists the different processes for doing her tasks, in case you ever need to hire another VA.

Dive Deeper into Setting Goals That Matter: 5 Ways Setting Goals Can Lead to Success

It’s that time of year when business owners reflect on the past year and re-evaluate how to grow their business even more this coming year. Non-business owners and students also reflect on the previous year (or semester) and make plans for the next quarter or next semester. Everyone has goals and dreams but not everyone focuses enough to achieve them. Follow these 5 steps to help get you to your goals.

1. Setting goals allows you to laser focus on what you want. Instead of waking every morning with no idea what tasks to focus on, having your goals written down allows you to make a daily to do list and a morning routine with tasks leading toward your goal. No more “flying by the seat of your pants.” Instead, follow your action plan or checklist and focus on important tasks instead of busy work.

2. Keep those goals in sight and look at them daily. A vision board hung in your office reminds you every day about your WHY…why are you working so hard? What do you want to accomplish? Even if you write a simple goal list, keep that list posted right next to your desk so you can read it every day. Keeping a list hidden in your desk or in a file somewhere on your desktop doesn’t serve the same purpose; soon enough your list is forgotten and you’re off track.

3. Be prepared for some hiccups along the way. No one’s path is smooth, especially in business. Usually these roadblocks show up just when you’re feeling confident that you know what you’re doing. Instead of allowing these to ruin your day, find a way to resolve the problem and get back on track toward your goals as soon as possible. Once you resolve the problem, write down the solution in case you experience another similar problem in the future. Having a list of possible solutions is much less stressful than not knowing what to do.

4. Find an accountability partner. Voicing your goals to a partner brings your goals to life and it forces you to do the work or risk the shame of telling your partner you didn’t meet your goals. An effective accountability partner will ask follow up questions and won’t be afraid to hold their partner’s “feet to the fire.” One way to make this partnership more fun is to make a consequence whenever someone doesn’t deliver on their weekly goals. Whether that’s paying for lunch or donating to a charity, it raises the bar a bit higher.

5. Know and understand the real purpose of your goals. This step requires digging a bit deeper into your life and your WHY. Why do you want to earn six figures? To pay for your high schooler’s college so they will graduate debt-free? So you can move your family to your dream home? So you can donate money to local charities? There are no right or wrong answers. Your answer will make these goals important to YOU.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, bestselling author of too many books to mention, marketing strategist, and online entrepreneur, setting goals that matter and working with others to help them achieve their goals and dreams in the areas where I have already achieved expert status. Shall we connect?