In order to see success in business, your company must set achievable short term and long term goals. Profitable companies that see high growth are accustomed to setting business goals that create ongoing progress for them, as well as their clients and investors. But to see improvements in your company, it isn’t just simply a matter of setting the right business goals; it is also making sure that these goals are clear, knowing how they will be achieved, and who will be involved in achieving them. Here are some tips on how to set achievable goals for your business:
1) Know your reasons, and make sure they are profound enough
If you don’t have strong and deep enough reasoning for the business goals you are setting, you are likely to lack the motivation you need to get you through the biggest challenges that come with the goals, and fail to achieve them. Most goals that companies set are related in some way to better serving customers, increasing profits, growing the company or contributing more to the community.
2) Set Specific Deadlines
Achievable business goals have timelines that include a deadline of when you want to have accomplished your goal, along with a timeline of how the goal will be reached by that deadline.
3) Be Realistic
When setting business goals for your company, make sure that what you are looking to achieve is in the realm of possibility, and isn’t so lofty that it will overwhelm everyone helping you work towards it. You should take a look at what resources you will need to achieve the goal you set, and ensure that your company has those resources within their reach. This includes money, product, people, time, etc.
4) Be Descriptive
When setting business goals, you need to know the details of what end results you are looking to achieve. To set an achievable business goal, spend an ample amount of time brainstorming and envisioning the specific details that goal is composed of. Examples of these details include a specific amount of decrease in employee turnover for your company, or an estimated percentage that you want profits to increase over a given period of time.
5) Measure and Evaluate Results
When working towards a business goal you have set for your company, you need to be able to track and measure the effort you are putting in to meet the goal, and analyze how close you are to achieving it. Otherwise, you won’t know when you have finally met your goal, and how successful the work you are putting in has been. Along the way, it is possible you may have to make adjustments to the details of your goal, and how long it will take to achieve it.
6) Celebrate Milestones
When working towards a long term business goal, it can seem at times that the end is nowhere in sight. So don’t wait until you have achieved your entire goal to celebrate success. Recognize small achievements along the way that indicate you are making progress, such as reaching a percentage of the growth you want in profits for your company.
Author: Jessica Cody
Jessica Cody, a native of Fairfield County, Connecticut, has a background in online marketing and public relations. Currently, she works at VHMNetwork LLC in the role of Marketing Analyst. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she studied Journalism and Political Science. She is also an avid runner with a passion for the outdoors.
