Setting Goals In Business

Annette Houston

Posted / 27th June 2019

Setting goals in your business is critical. Having goals in place helps you stay on plan to reaching what it is you want to achieve for you, your business and your future. Do you want to make a certain amount of profit? Or do you want to grow your business by 30% this year? Whatever the goal, following a few simple steps can show you if this possible:

  • Take a look at your competitors in the industry. What are they doing differently to you? Is it working for them? Being a step ahead is always good!
  • Do a bit of market analysis to be sure where your industry is heading, and what is trending for businesses like yours.
  • Reviewing your past performance can help decide where you should be heading. Have a look at past goals – did you hit them? If not what can you do different this time?
  • Listen to your support network, especially your own team, other business peers and coaches. Their input may make things much clearer. Don’t forget about the impact your business goals have on family and friends too 😊
  • Ensure every goal links back to your vision for your business.
  • Be specific and be sure everyone involved understand the goals and their role in achieving them.
  • Are your goals realistic? Are they achievable? While it is good to stretch those goals, you should be able to reach them within a 5 year period.
  • Are the goals measurable? It is important to know that they can be measured, tracked and analysed to ensure they are working. You want to get back more than what you put in.
  • Who will be responsible for your goals? Will it all be on you? Consider roles & responsibilities in your team as it will never work if you feel over worked and under pressure.
  • Make sure there is some method of accountability for the achievement of the goals set. How often do we check in on progress and how do we measure how we are progressing?
  • Celebrate the wins – Don’t forget to celebrate the success that you do achieve. You don’t need to wait to hit the BIG overall goal to take time out for recognition.  It’s really useful to break the big goal into smaller chunks and celebrate each of these milestones too.

See more tips about setting goals