5 Mistakes to avoid when setting Business Goals

 

 

Are you prepared to ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’ to make your business work? 

 

We know that you are creative and intelligent! You wouldn't have turned your ideas into a business if you weren't willing to take action, learn and grow. Would you? 

 

We also know that you apply energy and enthusiasm to ‘Goal-Setting’ for your business, as it relies on YOU for it’s success? 

 

Or are you one of those people who finds planning 'too boring'? Maybe you credit yourself with being creatively impulsive or instinctive and that’s worked out just fine for you up until now. If that’s the case, you may be setting yourself up for some pain and disappointment, after all 'you can't be lucky all the time'. 

 

However, if owning a business that keeps up with an ever-changing landscape is what you want, even successful ‘Impulsive’ entrepreneurs have a strategy and they will have specific goals in mind. 

 

I love a metaphor so; 'not having goals is like being in a boat at sea with no navigation, sails or motor and leaving it to the tide to take you to where you want to be'. You can’t get ahead in life with that attitude, and this is especially true in business? 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t wait for the New Year to set your goals? Be the shepherd, not the sheep! Set yourself apart from the crowd and set quarterly goals instead. 

 

Be proactive, put aside a pen and paper and set yourself a timer for 30 minutes sessions to avoid making the task too daunting. 

 

Find somewhere quiet to be with your creative thoughts and get cracking mapping your goals on paper. 

 

Use this time to think about what business goals you will achieve. Your goals don’t have to be perfectly presented: after all your thoughts rarely are. Capturing the idea and the goal is most important to begin with. 

 

 

 

Well done! You’ve come up with lots of business goals that you are excited about and really want to achieve, but where do you start? 

 

Do some float your boat more than others? Are you already identifying which ones you will leave for another day? 

 

Having too many goals will distract you from the most important ones. 

 

Business goals are there to give you focus, and to help develop a plan for achievement. Work on your list of goals and place the most important ones at the top. Do something every day that takes you a step closer to achieving them. 

 

 

 

So you want your business to “Make more money”? Good for you! 

 

The statement is a bit ‘Woolly’ though wouldn’t you agree? “More money” means different things to different people. Do you want an extra £500 per month or an extra £5,000 per month? Be as specific as possible so you can track your progress. 

 

Ever heard of your Reticular Activating System or RAS? It’s a network of neurons located in the brain stem that work with your conscious and unconscious mind to seek opportunities to help make what you visualise happen. Ever planned on getting a new car? You’ve checked out the showrooms and internet, decided on the colour, make and model then….wow!!.. everywhere you look you see that car you want. It’s the same thing. Those cars have always been there passing you along the road but now your unconscious mind is bringing to your conscious attention the thing you want most. It’s the same with visualising your goals and the presenting opportunities that achieve them. 

 

Give this a try.. close your eyes and imagine what it will feel like when you achieve a specific goal. 

 

 

Engage as many of your senses as are appropriate to enrich this goal to make it really come to life and motivate you. The more you visualise it, the more likely your conscious and unconscious mind will seek opportunities to achieve it. 

 

 

 

Of course you should dream big when visualising the business and life you want. However, if you set a goal of making and extra £50,000 in your first year when you haven’t reached the £5K mark yet, then your target figure is less likely to happen – at least not in the first year. 

 

Be realistic about your goals and break down those huge goals into smaller, more achievable ones. It might take you a year or so to reach your target figures but it’s not impossible. 

 

Setting smaller goals also maintain forward motivation. What do I mean by that? Some people are motivated ‘Away from’ things such as: ‘Not wanting to struggle financially’, ‘Not wanting to be unhappy’, ‘Not being reliant on others’ etc…these are valid ‘wants’, but the trouble is that when you are far enough ‘Away from’ the problem…. It is easy to believe you have achieved success because you are no longer in emotional pain and therefore no longer motivated. This type of motivation is often short-lived and it may not to be long before you are back where you started – like being on the end of an elastic band. 

 

A far more healthy type of motivation is ‘toward’ a goal, one where you see it in your future and not running away from the past emotional pain. See? Another metaphor 

 

 

 

Every day should lead you another step ‘toward’ your goal. If you are telling yourself that you’re too busy to put in the work today or you need to focus on admin work instead of money-making tasks, consider getting some help or hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA). 

 

Outsourcing the necessary busywork will free up your time to get creative and focus on the business of making money. 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 business. 

 

The whole idea of having your own business is to provide you with options for your future and to allow you to live your best life. 

 

Remember: 'You’re running a business, not chasing a hobby'. 

 

Really focus on where you want to see your business in one year.