Small Business Goal Setting

What’s one thing that everyone seems to do every new year? Set resolutions. Then why aren’t you doing the same thing for your business? Setting goals for your small business helps set the pace for the year. It’s not only a way to hold yourself accountable but also to manifest success for your business in 2022. Read on for a few tips on setting and achieving goals for a successful year.

Vision Board

If you’re stuck wondering exactly how you want to move forward with your business, a vision board can help! And we know - a vision board may seem a little too “trendy,” but it’s a tangible way to visualize your business goals and can be more inspiring than a simple checklist or list of to-dos.

So what exactly is a vision board? A vision board is a collection of images, quotes, and symbols that have meaning to you and represent something you want to achieve. Creating a vision board allows you to really hone in on your goals and vision for your business. The board itself serves as a visceral reminder of what you’re working towards for your small business. It can also keep you motivated and accountable throughout the year.

When creating your vision board, you should think outside of the box! You can create a physical board that you display in your office or go virtual with a vision board that acts as your desktop background or your phone wallpaper. You can add magazine clippings, digital images, photos from your phone, quotes, etc. Keep in mind that everything you add should reflect your business’s small and long-term goals!

SMART Goals

Whether long or short term, your goals should be SMART! SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By making sure your goals check off each of these points, you’ll be more likely to achieve them!

Say I want to set a goal to make more money in the new year. Well, that’s not a SMART goal! Instead, begin with a broad goal and break it down with the SMART index. A better example would be setting a broad goal with a specific dollar amount like, “I want to generate $200,000 in business income with a $30,000 profit in 2022.” And then, I would break down how I plan on achieving that goal with the SMART index.

For example, “Specific” would be “I will increase revenue while cutting down on expenditure and increasing profit by differentiating products and bringing on long-term clients.” “Relevant” would be “Vetting current operational costs will decrease my expenditure, increasing profit.” Are you following us? You essentially want to break down your broad goal and note how it’s specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. You can read more about SMART goals by clicking here.

Track Progress

We can’t stress enough how important it is to track your progress while working towards your goals! How else will you know if you’re working towards success or failure?

Find a way to both track and analyze your progress. Does that mean setting up a workflow for tracking specific goals? How about meeting with your team to track progress? Is there software that can better track your progress?

For us, that means leaning hard into Dubsado, our CRM, and meeting regularly with our team. We also utilize spreadsheets to track expenses and have quarterly meetings to review progress.

The point is to make sure you’re working towards your goals and not away from them. By putting workflows in place to track progress, you can make adjustments when something isn’t working in your favor.

Celebrate Wins (and Learn From Failures)

Last - don’t forget to celebrate your wins! Owning a small business is a feat, so it’s essential to sit with that and celebrate your successes when a win comes around! Whether it’s a small or big win for your business, treat yourself and practice a little self-care.

But we’re fans of celebrating failures too. This quote from Thomas Eddison is one of our favorites: "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

It’s important to recognize that you’ve tried, even though you failed. See the glass half full and treat this failure as a learning experience for your business.