Top Ways to Crush (or at Least Size Up) Your Business Goals in 2019
This is the year you said you were going to take that next step.
Maybe it’s a resolution to hit those business goals, start that business, write a business plan, work on your marketing and social media, get funding from investors, grow your venture or tackle something else.
Well, no matter what you plan to take on, it’s time to get down to business—2019 is here. Here’s how setting business goals the effective way can set set you up for success this year.
Goals? Why set goals?
Goals are very effective in giving your brain (and body) a direction to work toward. Plus when you take that extra step and write them down, share them with friends who hold you accountable and have that clear action plan, you’re far more likely to see them through. A procrastination study found just 43 percent of those surveyed who just thought about completing their goals would get at least get halfway there or complete them; conversely, that jumped to 76 percent for those who prioritized each goal, gave themselves deadlines and told their friend about their progress.
So there’s something to those methods, but what about actual results here in KC? Here’s a few examples of KC entrepreneurs who are using goals to get things done:
Patricia McCreary is using goals to scale her business that helps the elderly so she can expand throughout the metro, region, country … and maybe even the world. For her, she says it’s all about changing an industry.
Jose Luis Valdez and his family have been using goals for over a decade as he and his family have expanded their tiny ice-pop shop on Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, to multiple locations across the metro and even to Wichita, Kansas.
Katie Petty set goals to help her build on her single pet paw washer (that she first developed for a sixth grade school project) into a line of products that she’s now selling across the U.S. and internationally.
See? Goals get results.
Plus, when you set a goal, you’re coaching your brain on all the real-world stuff you need to do to reach that marker you’ve set for you business. And the outcome is progress, more sales, more customers, measurable growth … obviously great stuff for small business owners.
But reaching those goals can be tricky, so we’ve outlined a few strategies to help you get there:
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Set SMARTer goals
Yes, there is more than one way to set goals (they’re your goals, after all), but there are also more effective strategies that’ll ensure you can actually complete what you set out to do. So let’s break it down into SMART goals. (By the way, breaking goals down and making them manageable makes them A LOT easier to accomplish.)
Specific: Your goals need to be clearly defined so you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve: “I want to post to social media five times a day to grow my social reach by 2 percent.” That’s much easier to track and measure than if you said something more nebulous like, “I want my business to reach more people.”
Measurable: If you want to achieve a goal, you have to quantify it because you won’t know how far you’ve come (and where to go) if you don’t measure the distance.
These measurements come in handy when you’re working incrementally to reach that goal. So if you wanted to increase traffic to your site by 2 percent year-over-year, you might measure the number of social media posts or blog posts you write, which are incremental steps you can take to reach that bigger benchmark. All goals are really made up of a bunch of mini-goals.
Achievable: It might go without saying, but you actually have to be able to reach your goals. If you’ve set goals that are too big, guess what happens? Probably nothing because you likely won’t meet the milestones. So maybe you break down that big deadline into smaller incremental benchmarks. Hitting each will give your brain that pleasurable dopamine kick to keep you going until you tackle the big task.
Relevant: Is the goal tied to what you want to accomplish with your business? If not, it ain’t relevant. If you want to offer a new product to your customers to increase those sales, you better do your market research and see if your customers actually want that new product. Otherwise, you aren’t moving the needle toward that goal. Always be thinking about the reason for the end goal: What do you want to achieve?
Timely: Deadlines help things get done. No deadline? There’s no incentive to complete anything … really, like, ever. Make your deadlines realistic but also realize that some deadlines can also be flexible. Know when a goal is reachable and when you should keep it in the queue for a later date. Keep tabs on your goals and see them through.
Build a KC network to help you
You know what the great thing is? You don’t have to do any of this alone.
Did you know there are hundreds of nonprofit organizations in KC that exist to help entrepreneurs just like you? And we’ve got an easy (and totally free) way to help you to reach out to the right resource at the right time.
Just tell us a bit about what goals you’d like to reach, and we’ll give you your next steps (for free) and let you know who can help you reach your goals. (We’re talkin’ about REAL contact info for REAL people in Kansas City).
Just fill out this questionnaire or give us a call at 816-235-6500, and we’ll help you outline your plan to knock out those 2019 goals, one by one, the SMART way.
Get someone to hold you accountable
Getting a friend, family member or mentor to check in on your progress is always a great idea. And you know what? We here at KCSourceLink can be that accountability partner, too.
An easy first step is picking up the phone and giving us a call or giving us a shout here. One of our Network Navigators can help you outline your next steps. And once you’ve got your personal action plan, we’ll check back in periodically to check in on how things are going and to see if you need any further help.
Stay in the loop
It’s vital to stay in the know about new opportunities that could help you crush those benchmarks you’ve set for your biz.
The easy way to do that?
Take 10 seconds, and sign up for the KCSourceLink newsletter. It’s the quick and easy way to get a curated chunk of content (that you can actually apply to your business) delivered right to your inbox. We don’t spam, and we’ll never try to sell you anything (because all the help we offer is always free of charge).
You’re the only person who can do this (and you CAN DO THIS). So get to it! Set those goals and let us help you crush them in 2019 … and beyond.
Image courtesy of Nina Uhlíková / Pexels
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