How to Set Actionable Goals for Your Business
Entrepreneurship can feel like a shot in the dark, like you're throwing things a at a wall, hoping they'll stick. And while there's a part of entrepreneurship that requires experimentation and learning by doing, how do you actually know if what you're doing is sticking? How do you focus your efforts so that your experimentation leads to success just as much as it does failure?
Goal setting.
Setting goals is often something we do routinely for our personal lives but can be forgotten amongst the mile long task list we entrepreneurs tackle every day. Setting clear, actionable goals for your business will do a few things...
It will give you focus. That mile long task list I mentioned, check it against your business goals. Make sure each task on that list is going to get you closer to your goals. If there are things on there that aren't in line with your goals nix em'.
It will give you clarity. When you set measurable goals (and then measure them) you'll know exactly where you stand. Our minds are great at making things up, like the feeling that we aren't doing as good a job as we should. Tracking your goals will erase these negative stories since you'll get to see every step you take.
It will get you thinking big picture. It's so easy to get lost in the day to day details of running a business, I know I do! When you set aside time to write business goals it allows you to get out of the details and work on your vision. I use this time to check in with what feels in alignment and what doesn't so I can steer Zagga Creative in a direction that brings me joy, fulfillment and of course money.
Now all goals are not created equal. We don't write goals down just to say we did, we write goals to propel us forward.
3 keys to writing goals
active, present voice
Words are incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to writing goals. I recommend using the active, present voice like your'e already embodying your goal. For example, if I have a goal of setting aside creative play time each week I would write it like this...
"I set aside time every week for creative play."
It seems simple but using "I set aside" instead of "I want to set aside" or "I will set aside" triggers your brain to start working on that goal versus thinking "I'll get around to that eventually".
measurable
Make your goals measurable. This is key to knowing when you've actually achieved your goal. The metric you use for each goal is up to you. It could be time, dollars or followers but it could also be things that are a little less tangible. Maybe you're dealing with burnout and what you really want is to feel joy in your work again. If your goal is to feel more joy you could keep a mood journal and track your feelings as a metric.
To expand on the above example, adding in a metric could look like this...
"I set aside 1 hour every week for creative play."
by when
Include a clear "by when" with each goal. A "by when" is the date that you're going to achieve your goal by. Giving each goal a timeline creates accountability. I, myself will never get things done when there is an unlimited amount of time. My mind always says "Oh we'll get to that later, we have plenty of time."
"I set aside 1 hour every week for creative play by the end of February 2021".
Remember, you aren't carving these "by whens" into stone so if you underestimate how long something will take, don't sweat it just adjust.
Now that we've covered the nitty gritty details of writing a goal statement here are some structure ideas to get you started so you aren't staring at a blank page.
consider categories
I honed in on my goal writing process when I worked for lululemon (they are ALL about goals). When we wrote personal goals it was typically broken up into 3 categories - personal, health and career. I loved this structure because it prompted me to consider all areas of my life.
Here are some business categories to consider...
Money
Most people immediately think of revenue when setting money goals for their business but there are other things to consider when setting financial goals, like setting aside 6 months of business savings so you can survive something like a pandemic or giving your employees bonuses or budgeting for a big rebrand and website upgrade.
Learning/Skills
It's always important to continue learning in business. Is there a course you've been dying to take? Have you learned something new but haven't found the time to practice your skill? Incorporating learning new and furthering old skills into your goals will help your business growth.
Customer Experience
Your business would be no where without your customers so why wouldn't you think about them when setting business goals? Maybe you want to improve your client work flow so you can get projects done more efficiently or maybe you want to start sending customers hand written thank you cards or surprise and delight them with a free gift in their online order.
Pro Tip: If you're not sure how to improve your customer experience, ask your customers! Send out a survey so they can tell you exactly what they love and what they're missing when buying from you.
Impact
How do you want to make a difference with your business? Maybe you already give back in some way but you want to expand your impact, how would you do this? There are so many ways to give back as a brand other than donating a portion of profits. You can have your team volunteer at a non-profit in lieu of a normal workday or commit random acts of kindness in your community or mentor a college student who's looking to work in your industry, the possibilities are endless.
CEO
Last but certainly not least is the CEO category. This one is all about you, the entrepreneur that guides the ship. What do you want to work on personally? Maybe it's being more in the forefront of your brand or delegating tasks so you can stay in your zone of genius or setting aside time to work on a passion project.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of categories. You can break up your goals into categories that feel right for you and your business. And if you're more of a free bird and don't want to feel trapped by rigid categories then by all means ditch this idea! Your goals, even your business goals, are personal to you.
Work backwards
If you can't tell already, I'm a big fan of structure. Another way I structure my goals is to look at my 10 year vision and work backwards, setting goals for 5 years and 1 year that support that vision. At lululemon we liked to call our 10 year goals "BHAGS" or "big hairy audacious goals" because those are the ones that you're a little scared (or maybe a lot scared) to put onto paper.
You write your 10 year goals the exact same as any other goal, using the 3 keys from above. If that seems impossible to think that far out, change up the timeline. Instead of 10, 5 and 1 year goals you could do 5, 3 and 1 year. Still too long? This is your party, use whatever timeline you'd like. The key here is to start with the longest timeframe first so you can then align your other goals so they help you get to your big vision.
What now?
Goals aren't just a one and done kind of deal. Now that you've written your business goals, set yourself up for success by creating an action plan. Choose a goal that will be simple to implement and decide on how you'll track your progress. I'm partial to sticker charts myself but you could use a spreadsheet, digital calendar, check list etc. Whatever you choose make sure it's easy for you to use and somewhere where you'll update and check it regularly.
Once you have your tracker, what are the things you need to procure or setup in order to achieve your goal? Make a list and decide when you'll complete each task. For example I have a goal this year to write and publish 4 blog posts a month, in order to make that happen I need topics to write about each month, thumbnail images and social media posts to promote. Each month I have my blog checklist and it helps me tackle one small chunk of the work at a time so I don't get overwhelmed by the thought of producing 4 quality articles every month.
Check in with your goals regularly, I recommend at least once a quarter if not once a month. Goals are an invaluable tool in your business that can help you grow in a way that is sustainable and fulfilling. We used our goals to guide our 2020 Brand Review, setting us up for success this year by deep diving into what was working and what wasn't working in the business.