Goal Setting

  • The Challenge of Business and Life Goals

    Life and Work balance

     

    One of the big issues when you start your own business is whether or not you will have time to actually live your life. Striking a balance between the two has always been a problem for entrepreneurs forever. I know at times I struggle in this area as well.

     

    You think you have it together the plans and strategy and then life happens and all of a sudden you’re off balance. So the best thing to do is to affect balance without sacrificing your goals for either.

     

    Does this sound familiar? You start a business so that you can have more financial freedom in life and then you don’t spend any of your earnings because you are always working. Working for yourself may fulfill a lifelong goal, but you don’t have time to spend with your family, enjoy recreation or take a vacation.

     

    It can be hard to find time for both work and family, especially when you are doing it all alone. But, there is hope.

     

    Let’s look at 5 Balancing Tips for Business and Life

     

    Get help as soon as you can

    – Yes, it will be hard in the beginning. You may work long hours, but there is a brighter day coming. As soon as you are able to afford help without sacrificing profits, then get it! Extra help will free you up to handle bigger tasks and knock off of work early to enjoy the simple things in life.

    Flexibility

    – Rome wasn’t built in a day and your business won’t be either. Realize that there is more to life than working all the time. Build in time for family activities instead of finding more time to work. Keep your schedule somewhat flexible to account for sudden changes because we all know they happen!

     

    Life Balance

    Communicate

    – Keep your family in the loop about what is going on with business. If you need help from them, then ask. Make sure that you make decisions together as much as you can, so that no one misunderstands what is going on. Even though it is your business enterprise, it is a family concern in many ways.

     

    Use time wisely

    – Time management is always important, even if you don’t own a business. When you are working, divide tasks to get everything done in the allotted time frame.  While the week is mostly for work-related goals, let the weekends lead off as family-oriented. Adjust your schedule to take off a Friday now and then for a long weekend getaway with the family. Does that sound nice?

     

    Enjoy yourself

    – If you are not happy in your life or with your business, then nothing you do will matter. You won’t be motivated in either arena. Does the business seem to be sucking you dry? Take a new perspective on your goals. The same goes for your life. Making changes can lead to fulfillment and success. Life is too short not to get pleasure from it.

     

    So keep in mind your “why”. Why did you start your business and when it comes down to it does it bring you the lifestyle of your dreams? If you are struggling in this area reach out to me. Business building is easier if you don’t have to go it alone.

     

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  • How to Actively Set Goals

    Goal SettingHave you ever set goals but then found that maybe they were too vague?  While vague goals may seem more achievable, they do not provide the inspiration that more specific goals do.  For example, you might set a goal to sell more this month than you did last month.  But what does that really mean? Do you want to sell $10 more or $1000? Either will make it seem that you have achieved that goal.  But which one would be more preferable, right?

     

    The better way to reach a goal is to make it measurable.  The measurement doesn’t necessarily have to be a dollar amount.  It could be a percentage increase to your profits by next month, or a number of website visitors or mailing list subscribers you would like to reach in a certain amount of time.

     

    You Don’t Want to Get Stuck in Your Comfort Zone

     

    It’s a great feeling to meet your goals, isn’t it?  It’s even better to meet them regularly.  But if you are exceeding each and every one of your goals all the time then it may be time to aim higher.

     

    Some people will set themselves up with easy goals that they can attain so that they don’t scare themselves. But in doing so, they don’t motivate themselves as much as they could.  And that may lead them to not working up to their potential.

    comfort zone

    Instead of setting goals that you know you can achieve, consider stretching yourself a bit.  You know that saying, “Step outside your comfort zone”. Start out small if it makes you more comfortable but not too comfortable!  If you meet the slightly loftier goal, make the next one a little more ambitious, and continue this pattern with each goal that is reached.  Before you know it, you will be in awe at what you are achieving!

     

    Give Yourself Time for Goal Setting

     

    Running a business is hard work, I know. It’s not uncommon to get so caught up in day-to-day operations that we forget to make goals.  But if we avoid this crucial step, we miss out on an opportunity to evaluate how we are doing and give ourselves new things to aim for.

    setting time
    Setting up time to determine our goals is well worth the effort.  Adjusting long-term goals and setting short-term ones at regular intervals is time well spent.  A good time for goal setting is at the beginning or end of each month or whenever it works best for your schedule.  If you have a team be sure to get them involved in the process.

    Setting new goals should be an ongoing process.  It is important to reward yourself for reaching goals, but it is equally important to continue to set new, higher ones.  The more goals you reach and the higher they are, the more you can reward yourself. Now that sounds like fun, right?

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  • Reach for the Stars When Setting Your Goals

    When going into business, setting goals is an important thing. It helps you focus on what you want to achieve and motivates you to do what it takes to succeed. Reaching your first business goals is truly something to be celebrated don’t you think?

     

    Once you’ve reached your goals, what’s left to do? Make new ones! Goals are most effective when they are continuously updated. They motivate us to keep challenging ourselves and achieve higher and higher levels of success.

     

    Reach for the StarsHow to Set Effective Goals

    Some small business owners make the mistake of setting goals that are too vague. While vague goals are more attainable, they do not provide the motivation that more specific goals do. For example, you might set a goal to have higher sales this month than you did last month. Whether your sales are ten cents or $1000 higher, you will have achieved your goal. But which one would be more preferable?

     

    The best goals are ones that are measurable. The measurement doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary, though. It could be a percentage that you would like to increase your profits by next month, or a number of website visitors or mailing list subscribers you would like to reach in a certain amount of time.

     

    Don’t Get Stuck in Your Comfort Zone

     

    It’s a great feeling to meet your goals. It’s even better to meet them consistently. But if you are exceeding each and every one of your goals, it may be time to aim higher.

     

    Failure is so scary to some that they set goals that they have a good chance of attaining instead of ones that might not materialize. But by doing so, they don’t motivate themselves as much as they could. And that may lead to not working up to their potential.

     

    Instead of setting goals that you know you can achieve, consider stretching yourself a bit. Starting out small is fine if it makes you more comfortable. If you meet the slightly loftier goal, make the next one a little more ambitious, and continue this pattern with each goal that is reached. Before you know it, you will be in awe at what you are achieving!

     

    Set Aside Time for Goal Setting

    Reach for the Stars

    Running a business is hard work, and it’s not uncommon to get so caught up in day-to-day operations that we forget to make goals. But by skipping this crucial step, we miss out on an opportunity to evaluate how we are doing and give ourselves new things to aim for.

     

    Setting aside a time to determine our goals is well worth the effort. Adjusting long-term goals and setting short-term ones at regular intervals is time well spent. A good time for goal setting is at the beginning or end of each month. But if those are busy times for you, choose a time you will find easier to stick with.

     

    Setting new goals should be an ongoing process for every business owner. It is important to reward yourself for reaching goals, but it is equally important to continue to set new, higher ones. The more goals you reach and the higher they are, the more you can reward yourself.

    If one of your goals is to learn new skills check out some of my upcoming training sessions at https://strategizeyoursuccess.com/events-2/

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  • Why Not Reward Yourself When Setting Your Goals?

    Why Not Reward Yourself When Setting Your Goals?Goal setting is a vital part of business planning.  It helps to keep us on track and measure our progress.  Meeting goals makes us feel good and keeps us motivated.  So why not reward yourself when setting your goals?

    That’s not to say that you have to buy yourself a new car for every goal you achieve.  That could get rather expensive.  But the reward should be appropriate considering how lofty the goal was and how much achieving it impacted your business. 

    Small Rewards for Small Goals

    Why Not Reward Yourself When Setting Your Goals?Every goal doesn’t have to be a huge accomplishment.  Smaller goals keep us motivated until we can reach more significant milestones.  This is especially important when getting started.  It may take a while to build the momentum necessary to attain loftier goals, and we need to reward ourselves for the smaller things in order to remain focused on achieving the larger ones. 

    Smaller goals can be the steps necessary to achieve a larger goal.  For example, your big goal may be to have a certain number of clients in 6 months.  Breaking this up into gaining 1/6 of that number each month could give you a monthly goal to work for. 

    Deciding ahead of time what your reward will be can give you an extra incentive.  For small goals, you could pick out a purse or a pair of shoes you’ve had your eye on.  Putting a picture of the reward up on your office wall will serve to remind you what you can look forward to if you meet your goal.

    Big Rewards for Big Goals 

    When you reach your larger goals, you will have even more to celebrate, so your reward should be a big deal.  Think of a big-ticket Why Not Reward Yourself When Setting Your Goals?item that you have wanted for a long time, or perhaps a trip for yourself and your spouse or family. 

    The larger reward will require some advance planning.  It’s important to be sure you’ll be able to afford it once you’ve achieved the goal in question.  If you reach the goal and are not able to get the reward you had your heart set on, that will lead to disappointment.  And disappointment does nothing to motivate or boost morale. 

    Once you’ve determined that the reward is feasible, you could put up pictures to remind yourself of it just as you do with the smaller rewards.  This gives you incentive to work harder to achieve your goals in both the short term and the long term.

    Setting goals is important to a business, but rewarding ourselves for attaining them is equally important.  By giving ourselves something to look forward to, we can motivate ourselves to reach for the stars.  Once we get there, we will be ready to aim even higher so that we can continue to reward ourselves.   

    At Strategize Your Success we would like to help you with your marketing goals for 2014.
    Contact us today so that we can be your partner for the New Year.

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