Setting SMART Business Goals: A Simple Guide for Success in the New Year

The end of a year is a great time to reflect on the past twelve months and set goals for the upcoming year. For business owners, setting goals that you can achieve is a critical part of keeping your organization on track and achieving success in the long term. In this blog post, we will go through the steps you can take to plan your business goals for the new year.

Reflect on the Past Year:

Before you start setting new goals for your business, take some time to look back on the past year. What were your accomplishments? What goals did you not meet? What worked well, and what didn't? This reflection will help you to assess where your business stands and what areas need improvement. It can also help you identify any roadblocks or challenges you encountered in the previous year so you can work to address them moving forward.

Some examples of things you might reflect on include:

Sales: Did your business meet its sales targets for the year? If not, what contributed to that miss?

Customer satisfaction: How satisfied were your customers with your products or services? Were there any common complaints or issues that arose throughout the year?

Employee satisfaction: Were your employees happy with their jobs? Did you see high turnover rates or low engagement from your team?

Market trends: Were there any significant changes or developments in your industry? Did your business adapt to these changes or fall behind?

By looking back at these and other vital factors, you can get a sense of what you should focus on in the upcoming year.

Set SMART Goals:

Once you've reflected on the past year, it's time to set new goals for your business. When setting these goals, it's essential to ensure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Specific: Your goals should be clearly defined and precise. Avoid vague phrases like "increase sales" or "grow the business." Instead, be clear about what you want to achieve, such as "increase sales by 10% in Q2."

Measurable: Your goals should be quantifiable so you can track your progress and assess whether you've achieved them. For example, "increase social media followers by 1000" is more measurable than "improve our social media presence."

Achievable: Be realistic about what you can achieve. While it's great to set ambitious goals, they should still be attainable, given your resources and constraints.

Relevant: Your goals should align with your overall business strategy and be pertinent to your industry and customers. If you're a software company, for example, "develop a new mobile app" might be more relevant than "create a line of physical products."

Time-Bound: Set a deadline for achieving your goals, whether that's by month, quarter, or year-end. This will help you to stay accountable and focused on achieving the goal within a specific timeframe.

Some examples of SMART goals for businesses might include:

Increase revenue by 15% in the upcoming fiscal year

Launch a new product line in Q2

Cut operating expenses by 10% by the end of the year

Improve customer satisfaction ratings by 20 by the end of Q3

Once you've set SMART goals, make sure everyone on your team is clear about what they are and what specific actions are needed to achieve them.

Prioritize Your Goals:

Being realistic about what can be accomplished in a given timeframe is important. Some goals may be more urgent or important than others, so you must prioritize them effectively. You might use a grid or chart to help you visualize which goals are high or low priority, or a ranking system where goals are assigned a number or letter (e.g. A/B/C, 1/2/3, etc.).

When prioritizing your goals, consider the following:

Alignment with overall strategy: Are your goals aligned with your business's overall strategy and mission?

Impact on business: Which goals will have the greatest impact on your business's success?

Resource availability: What resources (time, money, team members) do you have available to dedicate to each goal?

By prioritizing your goals, you'll ensure that your team's efforts and resources are being directed towards the most important objectives.

Break Down Goals Into Manageable Tasks:

Once you have established your overall goals and priorities, it's important to break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This process can help you identify the steps needed to achieve each goal and can make the goals feel more achievable and less daunting.

For example, if one of your goals is to "increase website traffic by 25%," some of the manageable tasks involved might be:

Conduct keyword research and optimize website copy accordingly

Develop a content marketing plan and calendar

Increase social media presence and engagement

By breaking down your goals into tasks, you'll also be able to allocate these tasks to specific team members or departments, so everyone knows what they need to work on.

Involve Your Team:

Goals don't just come from the top down - involving your team in the goal-setting process is also important. By asking for input and ideas, you'll help your team feel more invested in the success of the business and you may also uncover opportunities for innovation and growth that you otherwise wouldn't have thought of.

Here are some ways you might involve your team in setting business goals:

Hold a group brainstorming session to generate ideas and goals

Ask team members to suggest areas where the business could improve

Provide team members with a list of proposed goals and ask for their feedback and input

By involving your team, you'll make sure that everyone is on the same page and feels motivated to work towards the goals.

Review and Revise Regularly:

Lastly, it's important to stay flexible and adaptable as you work towards your goals. Your business environment and circumstances might change throughout the year, and adjusting your goals and plans is important.

Make sure to regularly review your progress towards your goals and assess whether you need to make any changes. Do this on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, depending on the scale and length of your goals.

If you find that you're not on track to reach a goal or that the goal is no longer a priority, don't be afraid to revise it or even scrap it altogether. It's better to be agile and adapt to change than to be rigid and stick to a plan that's no longer working.

Conclusion:

Setting business goals for the new year is critical to the success of any organization. By reflecting on the past year, setting SMART goals that align with your business strategy, prioritizing effectively, breaking down goals into manageable tasks, involving your team, and regularly reviewing and revising, you'll be well on your way to achieving success in the upcoming year.

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3 Simple Steps To Crush It In The New Year

No matter where or when you were born, we all entered this world in the same way, naked and uneducated. Each of us had a unique childhood, and through childhood, most of us were under the guidance of another human being. Growing up, those around us influence our thoughts and beliefs.

Most of us did not get a choice of who we wanted to become due to rearing by a caretaker, influencer, demographics, geographics, or activities that went on around us. Many blame current problems on past situations. 

Well, that was the past, and this is the present. Now, you are responsible for you. No one is keeping you from achieving your wildest dreams, but you. Now is when you strip yourself from your past. You are not what you were born into; you are not under guidance anymore. You make choices every day that are impacting your future. Most of us enjoy our independence, but we still need direction and some accountability. It is ironic how we all came into this world the same, yet when we leave this world, our achievements, self-worth, and sense of accomplishment will differ vastly. Are you going to leave this world crushing it, or not?

Here are three simple steps to help you crush it in the New Year so that you can live to your fullest potential.

Get Serious

Life is a serious business. We only get one shot.

When working with individuals in their golden years, I often hear the common phrase, I wish. I wish I would have done this; I wish I would have done that. This reflection is a reflection of regret. Regrets that they did not fulfill their passions.

Each day that passes, all of us are getting another day closer to our golden years. We will not physically be able to do the things that we can do today. Like most, we will have a lot of time on our hands to reflect. 

When we get to that stage in life, we will be reflecting in one of two ways. One, what a beautiful life I've lived. Everything I wanted to do, I did. I cannot imagine changing anything.

Or, two, a regret. I wish I would have started this or done that. I wish I would have gone here or seen this. I wish I would have been kinder to my spouse so that he/she would not have left me, because it sure is lonely living these last years on earth alone.

We have a short amount of time on this earth. The moment we are born, we begin to die. Get serious about today because tomorrow will be here before you know it.

Make A Plan, With A Strong Why

A critical part of this process is also figuring out a reason to carry out the plan and figuring out why you are going to stick to the idea. Bypassing this step is the number one reason why most people fail to accomplish their goals. New Year's resolutions are a prime example of failed accomplishments.

Only 8% of people are ever successful at achieving their New Year's resolutions. That is less than 1 out of every 10 people. The reason? There is not a strong enough "why" to fulfill these goals.

The number one New Year's resolution year in and year out is to lose weight. Now, if less than one out of every ten people ever achieve their resolution, how high do you think this percentage would rise if we added a strong enough why? What if your doctor had a crystal ball and told you today that if you do not lose 30 pounds that you will die of a cardiac arrest in 90 days? And that you would never see the children or spouse that you love so dearly ever again. Think the percentage of achievement and the drive would increase?

The "why" is like the main ingredient to a recipe. If you do not have the main component of a recipe, your odds of achieving a fantastic edible meal are very slim. You can have all the ingredients of a recipe to make mouthwatering ribs. But if you do not have the ribs, then you are not going to have ribs for dinner.

Before making a goal or plan, you must figure out a strong "why." This plan of action is critical for you to discover, or you will never have the determination to carry out the hard work to achieve your goals.

Take Action

The late Jim Rhone, a personal development speaker, describes success like this, "Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines (actions), practiced every day."

That sounds simple, right? Easy to say, easy to understand, right? Most successful people say the only thing that separates them from others is that they took action. Everyone knows what to do, but most don't do it. You have to take action in your life today that will impact your tomorrow. Think about where you would be in a year if you took steps every day and build on them each week or month. Start small or start big, just start.

Actions take time. The more you repeat an action, the more natural it becomes. It is an ongoing process. Actions require repeated efforts until they become habits. And with the right habits, success follows.

The ability to drive a car is a perfect example. Most people were nervous about learning to drive for the first time. Yet, in no time at all, it becomes habitual. So routine that most everyone I know has driven past an exit or a turn they usually take and not realize it until later. We get set on autopilot and are so focused on other things that we just drive, and before we know it, end up on an old route or at an old job site.  

Changing or taking action takes time to become habitual. 

Closing

Life is a serious business! Each week passes faster than the last. 

Make a plan with a strong enough reason "why" you need to achieve this goal.

Take action! Make my mantra your mantra, "Do today what others won't. So tomorrow you can do what others can't."

You can do this!

#1 Reason Your New Year’s Resolution Does Not Work!

For most, somewhere in the middle of December, something triggers anticipation. The anticipation of counting down to the new year. The anticipation of counting down to a new you.

The count down, the anticipation, and the determination that, this time, I'm going to do it. This time, I'm going to conquer my New Year's resolution. 

Kudos and high fives to everyone that never gives up trying. That is awesome and important! But it is also essential to realize why so many people fail time and time again. Some statistics show that only 8% of people ever achieve their goals. That is less than one out of every ten people.

Why is that? Hint: part of the question is part of the answer. Do tell, you say? Let's go.

The number one New Year's resolution, year in and year out, is to lose weight. And, for a good reason. No matter how much or how little, most everyone I know could lose an inch or so after the holidays. Of course, I'm not judging. I am often in the same boat.

So, for that reason, let's focus on weight loss as an example.

Of course, there is an abundance of reasons why most of us would fail before we even began to see substantial results. They vary from: it's too much work, the results are not coming fast enough, self-doubt, lack of a plan, lack of motivation, no social support, and on and on and on.

But, for those that are determined to succeed this time, there is one critical component to be considered when planning out your New Year's resolution to succeed.

Realizing the success rate of goals is only 8%, how high do you think the success rate to lose weight would increase if you went to the doctor today and he said, "If you do not lose 30 pounds in 9 weeks, you will die of cardiac arrest, kidney failure, or diabetes." If you knew you would not see your loved ones ever again or would not be there for your children when they graduate or get married, would the fact that you would not be around when your family needs you most be a motivator to change your lifestyle? Do you think the percentage of New Year's resolution achievements would go up?

I don't know about you, but the possibility of imminent danger usually gets my attention loud and clear. Realizing that my lack of effort may cause me not to be around for my family when they need me most, gets my attention. And most people feel the same way.

So, why do we fail so often? Actually, because "why" is the answer. The lack of a "why" to be specific. 

For everyday purposes, we are going to refer to your "why" as the main ingredient to your favorite recipe. You cannot successfully prepare an edible meal if you do not have the first part. If you are attempting to smoke chicken or ribs, you can vary the measurements of the rub, spices, coal, and wood for smoking. But, if you do not have the chicken or ribs, aka - the "main ingredient," you will not have chicken or ribs that day.

You have to have a strong enough "why" or you will not accomplish your goals. If your "why" is strong enough, you will find a way to achieve your goals. You will do what it takes and make fewer excuses. You are always busy, but if you have time to remember the main ingredient every day, you can meet your goals!

This year, start with a strong "why" behind your goals and build a successful plan from there. You can do this!