How to set business goals in 2021
Everyone has different strategies for achieving goals. Adopt the strategy that works best for you, the one that makes you feel excited and makes you want to do it over and over again.
That’s the advice that Vanessa Castillo Bell, business analyst with the Arizona Western College Small Business Development Center, recently shared on the webinar “How to Set Business Goals in 2021.”
But once you set a goal, how can you reach it? “It’s one thing to have a goal, great, but be more specific. Have systems in place to reach that goal,” Bell noted.
Why set goals at all? Focusing on one, two or three goals helps to measure progress. Seeing this progress helps a person stay motivated. It beats procrastination.
Goals also help a person determine what they want in life, their short- and long-term visions, for business, family and lifestyle. Bell noted that sometimes a person might have “50 goals” in mind: losing weight, starting a business, going to Hawaii, running a marathon, etc.
“It’s natural for us to want
to do better, to want to progress,” she said. But a person must be careful not to set too many goals at the same time. Each goal takes space in a person’s life and having too many goals will overwhelm. A person can’t do too many things at the same time.
Bell suggested picking the top priorities and then developing steps to reach them. She recommended using the SMART goal-setting process. SMART stands for specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.
Here’s how the SMART system works. A goal should be:
• SPECIFIC: Define specifically what you want to achieve, such as “make and sell earrings on Etsy. com.” Avoid general aims such as “start a business” or “get better.”
• MEASURABLE: Define how you can measure a goal, using numbers and facts you can verify, such as “make sales quota over $30,000” or “add five clients to the books.”
• ACHIEVABLE: Choose goals that you are able to reach. Reaching goals motivates. Missing too many goals means there’s something wrong with your planning.
• RELEVANT: Are the goals relevant to you and your business? Is it something you can influence? Is it the goal you should focus on?
• TIMELY: Does your goal have a deadline? Time limit? “Within 3 months.” “This quarter?” “At the end of the year.” That way you can plan the needed steps. Examples: “Start selling earrings within three months.” “Sell 40 earrings by the end of three months.”
Bell also suggests using the check mark process. For example, for Goal No. 1, is it specific? Check. Measurable? Check. Achievable? Check. Relevant? Check. Timely? Check. If
you check all of them, then go on to Goal No. 2.
Here are more examples of using the SMART system. Broad example: “I want to start a business.” Specific: “I will sell custom earrings on Etsy.com.” Measurable: “I will be ready to take my first order on Etsy in one month and I plan to sell five sets per week.” Attainable: “Set up an Etsy account first, then make 20 sets to sell. I will promote my business on Instagram and through word of mouth.” Relevant: “Selling these earrings will allow me to work from home and stay with my family, doing what I love.” Timely: “My Esty shop will be up and active in one month and I have an inventory of 20 sets of earrings within seven weeks.”
Say you already started the business … Broad example: “I want to grow webinar attendance.” Specific: “I want to increase the number of signups for our webinar by promoting it through social media, email, our blog and podcast.”
Measurable: “A 10% increase over (add current number of attendees).” Attainable: “Our last webinar had 5% increase in signups when we promoted it on our blog and Instagram only.” Relevant: “When our webinar gets more traffic or promotion, more people will pay and sign up for them. This will create more opportunities for them to take other webinars we offer.” Timely: “By the day of the webinar, we will see an increase of 10% in signups by promoting it via social media, emails, our blog and podcast.”
But don’t just set goals. Bell noted that aside from having SMART goals, a person should also implement systems for achieving those goals. A system is how you’re going to do it.
There are differences between goals and systems. Bell pointed out an example used by James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits Book”: “If you are a coach, your goal is to win a championship. Your system is the way you recruit players, manage your assistant coaches and conduct practice.”
Here’s a three-step process
to build a system:
1. Decide what you want to achieve. This is where you list your SMART goal. “I want to make polymer clay earrings and sell them on Etsy.com.”
Bell suggests a person should also think about the “why?” behind the goal to determine how important it is. Ask “why?” at least five times. “Why do you want to make polymer earrings and why do you want to sell them on Etsy.com? Because it’s a hobby and I enjoy doing it. Why? Because I want to work at home. Why? Because I want to make money,” etc.
2. Outline the keystone habits you will need to achieve the goal. “A keystone habit is a system that starts a process that over time can transform everything,” Bell said. “So what keystone habits will help me open my own Etsy store? Specify what you’re going to do and when you are going to do it.”
A system must occur on a schedule: “When X happens, I will do Y.” “Once I pin down the process for making my earrings, I will then create the branding.”
Why are creating habits so important? “Systems replace motivation with routine,” Bell said. She explained that sometimes we’re not motivated to work on goals for that day, but if we have systems in place, routine takes over. For example, if the goal is having a cleaner bedroom, start by only making the bed every day. Once that is habit, move on to something else. The habits become second nature.
Here is an example of scheduled system:
Every Monday, I will work on administrative paperwork or social media.
Every Tuesday, I will work on content creation and new designs.
Every Wednesday, I will spend time building the Etsy shop.
Every Thursday, I will research new clay designs along with order new clay
Every Friday, I will spend time on building my Etsy shop and polymer new designs.
Every Saturday, I will take photos of new collections and use them for Tuesdays.
Every Sunday, I will take a break.
3. Regularly revise
your system. It’s OK to experiment with different habits until finding those that work for you. See what works, what doesn’t work. Do more of what already works for you.
“Modeling others can help, but we need to understand why systems work so we can improve them. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Bell said.
“If you continue to show up and work on the process, the results will come, no matter how many times you have to modify the system,” she added.
She noted that this system works for every kind of goal: home cleaning, exercise, business and lifestyle.
To recap: Identify your goals (what you want to
achieve); split them into bite-size chunks; and use those smaller goals to create repeatable systems.
The webinar will be posted on AWC SBDC’s Facebook and YouTube accounts.
The SBDC helps small businesses reach their goals. Staff offers free counseling on how to start a business, offering guidance along the way, such as help developing a business plan and finding financing.
“We don’t do it for you, we do it with you,” Bell said.
The center also offers free workshops and some in-depth classes, such as Profit Mastery, for a fee.
To schedule an appointment or for more information, call 928-317-6151.