If you haven’t done it yet, it’s time to set your business goals for the new year! While the mission and direction of your business may not change much from year to year, the opportunities and challenges facing you often do. To keep a growing and profitable business it’s important to revisit your goals each and every year. Here are our tips for setting 2020 goals that will set your business up for success in the new year.
Review the Past Year
Before you dive into the new year, first do a review of the previous year’s goals and actual results. Don’t skip this step! Without assessing how you performed on your goals and learning from them, the goal-setting process won’t help move your business forward.
Set SMART Goals
Business goals should be as specific as possible so that you can measure your progress and know when you have achieved them. They should be ambitious enough to inspire and challenge you, while also attainable with the time and resources that you have. An easy way to achieve this is by following the SMART goal setting principles: create goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Create Long-term & Short-term Goals
It’s important to have a mix of long-term and short-term goals for your business. Long-term goals focus on the big picture and help to keep you inspired and on the right track. Long-term goals are closely tied to your mission and purpose as a business. Short-term goals are more relevant for the day-to-day operations of your business and can be monitored on a monthly or quarterly basis. We suggest that you set goals for the year and then break them into smaller manageable chunks to monitor your progress throughout the year.
Types of Goals
Each year I set goals within a few categories of things that I want to achieve. This helps me get very specific within each area. These can vary based on your business model and what is important to you. For instance, I set goals based on the financial sustainability of the business, areas within the business and team that I want to grow, and personally as a business owner and manager.
Financial Goals
Having a solid understanding of your finances as a small business owner is critical to success! Even if financial wealth isn’t your main driver as an entrepreneur, it is important to maintain financial sustainability in order to keep working towards your mission. Here are some examples of financial goals you might set for your business.
- Decreasing business costs on a percentage or total value basis
- Increasing Net Profit
- Increasing Sales
- Maintaining a specific monthly cash flow
Business Goals
These goals focus on all of the other aspects of your business aside from financials. Take some time to really hone in on the areas of your business that you want to change or see growth in. Business goals could include:
- Growing your team
- Adding a new service or product
- Increasing your number of customers
- Optimizing business processes
Personal Growth Goals
It’s easy as an entrepreneur to get wrapped up in the success of your business, but that can often lead to personal goals falling by the way-side. Take this time to get clear on what success looks like for YOU in the new year as a business owner and manager. Some examples to get you started are:
- Attending industry events or training opportunities
- Working a set number of hours per week or having specific off-days from work
- Meeting with a business mentor or coach
Make Your Goals Visible
Once you have fine-tuned your goals in each category, find somewhere to display them! I like to print my goals out and frame them above my desk so that I see them each and every day. Create a schedule for when and how you will check in on your goals throughout the year, such as monthly or quarterly. This step is critical to seeing your goals come to fruition.
Happy goal setting!
