New Year, new business plans?
I am sure we all have an example of where you have set a goal or New Year’s resolution only to find a few weeks or months down the line the goal has fallen by the wayside.
The act of setting a goal is easy, we can all set goals we’d like to achieve. It’s implementing and sticking to the goals that people find the hardest. Why? Because setting and achieving goals normally means hard work and change, and for many people, change can be unsettling; scary even.
But there is a reason as to why you set that goal in the first place – because it is something you want to achieve. Here are some steps that can help you set your goals and stick to them.
Make your goals specific.
For example, saying ‘I want to spend more time networking in 2020’ is vague. A vague goal will achieve vague results. Many people swear by setting SMART (opens in a new window) goals to add the detail required::
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time focused
By using the SMART acronym, the above example can turn into ‘I will attend at least one networking event a month in 2020.’
Specific goals provide the details required to keep focused. Set specific goals and you are more likely to stick with them.
Make your goals realistic
There is nothing wrong with ambitious goals, but unrealistic ones can be damaging to morale and motivation. Are your goals achievable in your current situation? If not, what needs to change for them to become reality?
Break your goals down into manageable, smaller goals
For example, if you want to increase your profit margin by 50% by the end of the year, what steps do you need to take in order to get there? How many more clients or sales will you need in order to achieve that? What actions do you need to take to secure more customers or sales?
Be accountable
Write your goals down and own them. The only person who is responsible for reaching your goals is you, so be accountable for them. Share goals with people you trust like a business partner or your team. If you are self employed, do you have a ‘business buddy’ to use as a sounding board or update?
Ask for help or support
No one can run a successful business on their own. Recognise and acknowledge that in order to achieve your goals, you might need help. For example, you might want to outsource your finances to an accountant or your business admin to a Virtual Assistant.
Regularly review your goals and be flexible
It’s so easy to be consumed by working for your clients and managing the day to day requirements of running your business. But it is so important to regularly review the progress and evolution of your goals. You might find that as you progress, the goal needs to change or becomes redundant. It’s important to recognise this early rather than continuing to work on an outdated goal, by doing so you will save valuable time, effort and possibly money.
Good luck with your goal setting, but more importantly, good luck with your goal implementation. I’d love to hear your tips on how you stick to your goals.
Testimonials
Here at Koobr, we hired Assistopia and Andrea to assist with client communication, project management, CRM administration and many more things. Andrea also identified areas of the business where we could make more money, a task which resulted in generating income that more than paid for her role for a year.
We think of Andrea as an integral and essential part of our team, all of the staff love working with her!
One of the great things about working with Andrea is that she’s not just virtual – she attends team meetings, keeps herself up-to-date with our operational challenges and offers suggestions on how to help.Andrea and Assistopia have been instrumental in improving our invoicing process significantly and now our credit control is actually under control thanks to her hard work. She even handles our tediously boring jobs quickly and with a smile too!
I’ve worked with Assistopia with 2 organisations and it is clear to see that Andrea is organised, dedicated and asks the right questions and can work autonomously with the ability to push on a project. She is diligent and demonstrates her experience time and time again. I would recommend!
Andrea helps me with research projects. She is friendly and professional and always delivers on time and to brief. By working with Andrea, I’m able to free up some of my time so I can expand what I’m able to do for my clients.
It’s been really great working with Andrea and Assistopia. Andrea is very organised and professional – exactly what I needed from a virtual assistant. Highly recommended.
Andrea is the Donna to my Harvey!
Assistopia and Andrea have been such a help to me and my business. Andrea is a self starter, flexible, approachable and extremely professional. I would not hesitate in recommending her and Assistopia to anyone.
When I looked for a virtual assistant in Derby, I came across Andrea from Assistopia and asked her to help me complete a complex digital administrative task that I was finding very time consuming. Andrea came to the table with a quick understanding of what needed completing, took full ownership of the task and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. Highly recommended.
