As a business, you may have a mission and a vision statement. These were likely established when you created your Business Plan and defined your Brand Identity. But what are your business goals?
Business Goals
Business goals are goals, either short-term or long-term, that your business aims to achieve over a period of time. This may sound simplistic, but the types of goals and the way you create them will greatly impact your success in reaching them. Whatever the size of your business, your goals must be specific and include a deadline. This specificity and timeline allow you to easily measure whether you have met your goals or, in some cases, how far you have fallen short.
4 Simple Steps to Success
Setting business goals is important because they help you work with intention. By clearly defining what you want to achieve, you can focus your efforts and resources in the right direction. Additionally, setting goals can help you measure your progress, stay motivated, and make course corrections as needed. However, before establishing business goals, it is critical to perform a SWOT analysis.
Step One: Perform SWOT Analysis
As stated above, the first step in setting and, ultimately, reaching your business goals, is to perform a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
What are your business's strengths and weaknesses? What are the opportunities and threats your business faces? It is important to gather information inside and outside your business to find answers to these questions. So, as a part of your SWOT analysis, you will need to do market research.
If you’re new to SWOT analysis or would simply like the assistance of a professional, our business consultants can assist you. After you have done this, you can use what you have learned to begin setting goals.
Step Two: Create SMART Goals
It can be overwhelming to set business goals. So, the easiest way is to start with a broad goal. As an example, perhaps you know you want an increase in your social media following. Although this goal is vague, it is a good place to start. Once you have a broad goal, you can get more purposeful by using the SMART method of setting goals.
SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Referring back to our example of increasing your social media following, now is the time to get focused. Perhaps you decide that what you really want is a specific amount of newsletter sign-ups. Set a measurable goal that you believe is attainable based on what you know from your analysis. Make sure this goal is relevant to you and give yourself a timeline.
Work with your team when creating SMART goals. This way everyone will be on board and working toward the same goal.
Step Three: Make a Plan and Take Action
One advantageous thing about setting SMART goals is that, through the process of creating them, you are forced to purposefully think about the specifics of how you will achieve them. Still, you need a plan. With your goals laid out in detail, creating a plan will be much easier. Your plan will want to include when, where, and how you will invest to achieve your goal. It needs to include how you will finance the project and what your staffing needs will entail. You can Download our Action Plan Template for assistance in this step. Then, once you have your plan figured out, it’s time to take action!
Step Four: Measure Your Success
This is a crucial step in setting and reaching your business goals. Once the deadline for your SMART goal has come and passed, it is important to measure and assess your success. Did you meet your goal? Did you surpass it? If you didn’t meet your goal, how far did you fall short? What worked and where do you need to invest to see better success next time? Take the time to reflect on how well you achieved your goal. Look at what could have been done better and make any necessary changes. Then, set a new goal and start the process again.
Reaching Your Goals
To reach your goals as a business, you must first set yourself up for success with a SWOT analysis, SMART goals, and a plan of action. This way, you have a specific, measurable, attainable set of goals relevant to your business’ vision and mission. And, you can easily track your progress when your goals have a timeline. Measure your success so you can learn from the outcomes of your goals and celebrate your wins!
Finally, remember Community Futures is here to help. The best way to succeed as a small business is to connect with the right kind of support. Community Futures offers many resources, a wide variety of business coaching and training services, and flexible business loans. We're always here for you!
