3 Simple Steps to Achieve Your 2012 Business Goals
In my last post I discussed the need for small business owners (bizowners) to set goals. From experience I know that most bizowners have a lot of difficulty setting and reaching goals.
I think the main reason for this trouble is that, because bizowners are responsible for everything, day to day issues just keep getting in the way. Remember the old saying: "When you're up to your neck in alligators, its easy to forget that the initial objective was to drain the swamp!" This is what bizowners are facing all the time. We spend so much energy each day just trying to survive; we forget why we started the buisness in the first place.
So let's suppose you heeded my advice and set at least one major goal for the business to achieve in 2012. How can you make sure you will achieve the goal by the end of the year? Let me give you three simple steps to help you reach the goals you set.
Step #1: Make sure the goal is realistic and can be broken down into small parts. Having a goal to increase sales in 2012 is not a good goal. Stating that you want to increase sales by 20 percent in 2012 is much better because it is specific and measurable. This goal can be broken down to measurable units by time (each month, each week, and each day), and what needs to happen in each time period.
Step #2: Make sure the goal is in front of you each day, and make sure you say the goal aloud each day. How long does it take to do this, 30 seconds, one minute? Each day is the key. Goals must become habits and this is the first important habit of goal setting. Ask yourself: What do I need to accomplish today, to meet my goal for 2012?
Step #3: Break down the larger goal into measurable units that include both action items and a timeline. In the goal above, one way of breaking it down would be to set smaller monthly goals. For example, the small goal might to increase January 2012 sales by 20 percent over last year. The actions I need to accomplish this might be to spend two hours each Thursday going door to door to prospect for new business. Or the action might be to call 30 new prospects each week, or if you are an introvert, you might decide to identify 30 new prospects and e-mail them information on what you do.
These three simple steps make all the difference in the world when it comes to goals. One thing that also should be added to your goal is your reward for reaching your goal! Adding a reward to the goal in step 1 adds a big incentive for you to focus on the goal each day. Make these three steps a habit, and by the end of 2012 you might find that for once, you really were able to "drain the swamp!"
