Article by Jane Tweedy, Business Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre
Happy New Year! Have you bounded into 2018 full of hope and plans to not repeat the resolutions that failed in 2017? Well how about we help to set you up for success rather than failure.
No more New Year’s resolutions!
Sure at a barbeque you can talk about your New Year’s resolution but if you want the resolution to succeed, you must create and write it down as a SMART goal, create an action plan to achieve it and establish new daily HABITs to make it work!
Before setting your business goals it is a good idea for a small business owner to first consider their family and lifestyle goals, and the time they must devote to their business and still ‘have a life’. Failure to do so results in internal conflict that can eat away at you.
For goals to be SMART they should be:
S – Specific: Setting a goal to increase sales is no good, as a $1 more in 12 months would be a technical success, when we may have intended to double sales in 6 months.
M – Measurable: Without the right measure how will we know if we meet our goal? For instance, going to the gym 3 times a week is a measure, but is it the right measure? Ask, what would it look like if I achieved that (remember going doesn’t mean doing!)? If your goal has no natural measure you can create a scale.
A – Achievable: Although, it is beneficial to set at least one ‘WAG’ (wildly audacious goal), as they tend to lead to the biggest changes in our lives, goals ultimately need to be achievable. A WAG for a non-runner may be to run a specific marathon in 2 years. It may be achievable, but only with an action plan to support it.
R – Relevant: Do you have enough reason to follow through the actions to achieve your goal. Identify your inner motivation, your ‘why’, it can get you through tough times.
T – Time-constrained: Set deadlines for completion and include some short and long-term goals.
Once you’ve created SMART goals, check to make sure they don’t conflict with your personal goals, and combined are a stretch but are achievable. Set priorities, sub goals and action plans to achieve.
HABITs
Forming HABITs takes at least 21 days straight according to various studies. Each break sees the clock restart, but if you fall off the wagon, make sure to get back on! Have a plan, attach reward and punishment to help motivate you to succeed. You can install apps on your phone like HabitBull which can help you track your daily HABIT process (note it suggests 66 days for a HABIT to truly form).
If you need help with goal setting and action planning for your business, please contact your advisor or click here to book now!
