Setting Goals For Your Business
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Setting goals is a vital part of establishing your business plan in order to succeed on a short- and long-term basis. Also, it gives a vision for the business and allows employees and the business owner to know and more importantly understand the direction in which the business is going.
What are business goals?
A business goal is a goal that a business aims to achieve within a set period of time. These can be set on a general scale for the entire business, broken down into the different departments within the company or individually assigned to each colleague. A goal to work towards ensures progression providing it is realistic and suitable. By ensuring your goals are both realistic and suitable, this will increase your ability in achieving them.
Why is it important to set business goals?
Goals are a very powerful tool when it comes to outlining desirable outcomes. They bring attention to these potential outcomes and can set the company’s direction as well as provide motivation. Ensuring you follow the SMART model for setting goals will mean you are setting yourself up for a higher chance of success. By following this method and with a collective effort working towards the goal, it makes it easier to measure the success of the goals.
What are SMART goals?
SMART goals are an acronym used to outline:
Specific: Having a goal is excellent. However, having a specific goal means that the likelihood of success is higher as it has a clearer vision on what the potential outcome might be.
Measurable: Being able to collect data and analyse a goal means you can identify any areas where you are succeeding and highlight any potential issues. This means from the start of setting the goal, it is being monitored to guarantee success.
Achievable: When setting a goal, we might not set one that is actually attainable. One way of making sure it is achievable it should challenge you but also defined well enough to actually be achieved.
Realistic: Ask yourself, is the goal within reach? Do you have enough time and resources? If the answer to these questions is no, then it probably is not realistic enough.
Timely: Set a time limit so you have something to aim for. This will create motivation and drive for all parties involved to push for the deadline.
How do I set these goals?
A good place to start when setting a goal is to break it down into the steps in which you intend to take in order to achieve it.
In turn, this will create a sense of achievement as it will show progress is being made slowly instead of never feeling that sense of fulfilment.
Once these goals are established, assign each objective to the relevant employee or team member who will see it through to completion.
Measure the progress on a regular basis. For example, if you aim to increase your social media following, keep track of this so that you can adjust your goals if they seem too difficult to achieve.
As a Business Support Manager, I can support with growing your business and taking back control of your time and money. You can contact me on 07811 393520 or email me on info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk
Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.
