Smart Business Goals
So you want to create a strategic plan and you need to create a targeted business goal? Well, for the purpose of planning, targeted goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time Bound) and need to be short.
Most importantly though, they are not set in stone.
Wait – what? you are ALLOWED to change it?
Yep. You can change it. Unless your business is funded by venture capital or you have a board of directors or are listed on the stock exchange, you are only beholden to yourself. That means that, if after you start the journey to achieve the goal , you realize that the goal isn’t going to work for you, you can revise it.
You can update it to be whatever is reasonable.
You’re the boss, remember?
This is about you achieving the thing you want to achieve, not about killing yourself trying or, even worse, giving up because it isn’t attainable. This is about succeeding.
Note from friendly coach Mandy here…
I know I just said you are allowed to change your goal and you are
– BUT –
make sure that you are changing it for the RIGHT REASONS.
Do not let me find out you changed it because you were afraid of success or playing small.
You are a genius.
You are here because you have something beautiful to bring into the world.
Do not make up excuses to quit on a goal – read about how I did that here (and why I’ll never forgive myself).
The steps to write a SMART goal
Answer the following 3 questions:
- The date. When will the new thing be consumed by the public? If it is a class, when does it start? If it is a podcast, when is your first episode going live? If it is a physical product, when will it be available to ship?
- What is it, specifically? Is it an 8 week yoga class for puppies? Is it an app to help elephants forget things? Does it have a name (if no, that is okay)? Short and sweet and to the point is critical here. This isn’t a sales pitch or an elevator speech. It’s what you tell your nosy neighbor when you can’t meet them for coffee.
- How will you know you “did it?” How will you measure your success? Is it a dollar amount in sales on the first day? Is it number of orders? Or positive reviews? What is the marker that you are using to gauge success?
And remember – you are the boss, you get to change the goal if it is not serving your highest purpose!
Some Examples
- On February 26, I will launch an online 8-week course on basket weaving to 100 people.
- On May 1, I will launch a new clothing line for Yorkshire terriers with 500 orders in the first month of sales.
- On January 2, we will launch an in-person yoga membership to our new studio with 45 members.
See? It’s really simple and only includes things that MUST be true to count the goal met. The goal doesn’t include other products you want to offer, or details like how you will do it or tools you will use. Only include details that are non-negotiable, for example, if your yoga studio must be downtown to meet your desired outcomes or if you require wool in your clothing line for yorkies because you have yards of the stuff in storage.
So what is your goal?
You can even drop your goal on our notion site so we can all cheer you on!