The New Year is almost here, which means you’re probably starting to think about your 2023 New Year’s Resolution and other goals you want to meet this year!
Every year, I like to make a business-related New Year’s Resolution in addition to a personal one.
Working toward and achieving my goals is something I take very seriously, so now, I’d love to help you achieve yours!
Setting and achieving your business goals isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of hard work, a dedicated strategy, and time to do it right. How can you achieve your business goals in 2023? Let’s dive into it!
First Things First — You Need to Set the Right Goals.
It’s not enough to simply set goals — you need to be sure you’re setting the RIGHT goals that will lead you toward success in all aspects of your business!
Most people only think about their business goals for a minute.
They tend to go with the first thing that pops into their head, and never really consider how it’ll help them long-term or the steps they’ll take to achieve it — and this is a big part of why a lot of people never end up actually accomplishing their goals!
Before you decide to run with the first idea you have, ask yourself a few questions:
● How can I run my business better?
● What area of my business needs the most improvement?
● What will the time and resources I have available allow me to do?
Answer these three questions, then decide which goal meets the criteria the best. Then, run your goal through the SMART goal equation!
What are SMART goals? Let’s get into it…
What are SMART Goals, and How Can I Set Them?!
SMART is an anagram that helps people think deeper and set the best goals they possibly can.
Let’s say you start with a goal to increase profits in 2023. Now, let’s make your goal SMART!
● Specific. Don’t just say your goal is to “increase profits in 2023.” Instead, say you’re going to, “focus on marketing through more relevant channels to grow my audience and get more sales than ever!”
● Measurable. Make sure you have a reliable way to keep track of your progress. How many people did you grow your audience by in January? February? Check on your progress periodically to see what’s working and what needs to be adjusted!
● Achievable. Feeling like you’ve failed at your goal can be a real blow to the self-esteem. When you’re setting your goals, make sure to ask yourself one question, and answer honestly — can I reasonably achieve this with the time and resources I have available?
● Relevant. How will achieving this goal help your business as a whole? With our example of increasing profits, you can say it’ll help your business by giving you more resources to continue growing in the years to come!
● Time-bound. How much time do you have to reach this goal? Can you do it in the timeframe you’re allotting yourself?
By asking ourselves these questions and setting limits and check-in points, we’ve made our goal much “smarter.”
We begin with a simple goal — increase profits in 2023. After running it through this equation, we’ve ended up with:
Find the best channels to market through to grow my audience as much as possible, and ultimately, increase my sales. I can achieve this by logging the changes I’m making, then checking my numbers each month to see how much my audience has grown and adjusting my strategy as necessary. If I can do this by the end of 2023, it’ll help my business by giving me more loyal customers, increasing sales, and giving me more resources. Resources I can use to continue advertising, offer promotions, and grow bigger than ever!
When you’re setting your 2023 business goal, remember it doesn’t always need to relate to profits or sales. It could be as simple as improving your relationships with your existing clients!
The number one thing to think about is, “what do my clients want to see more of?”
If they’d like to see new products, focus on increasing your inventory. If they just want a more personal experience, focus on getting to know more of the people who support you.
I’ve Set My Goal — Now What?
You’ve decided on the perfect 2023 business goal. Now, it’s time to create a plan of action that will help you meet that goal!
To achieve your goal as quickly, effectively, and completely as possible, follow these three tips:
● Be realistic
● Set time aside
● Create and stick to a strategy
How can you do this? Let’s discuss.
Be Realistic
Nothing will slow your progress down like unrealistic goals, timeframes, or workloads.
We cut out any possibilities of unrealistic goals when we put them through the SMART equation, but now you must be realistic about your timeframe and workload!
Never take on more than you can handle. You’ll have a much easier time if you work within your limits than if you spend time, resources, and energy that you really can’t spare.
Set Time Aside
Just like you set aside time for answering messages, packaging orders, and the other everyday aspects of running a business, you need to set aside time to work toward your goals!
This is another time when being realistic is essential — maybe you have time every night after dinner to revise your strategy, check the numbers, and everything else related to working towards your goals.
Or maybe, you only have time to check on everything once a week or once a month.
Whatever time you can spare, mark it on your calendar and stick to it. This way, you know exactly when (and for how long) you’ll be checking your progress, and months won’t go by without any real action.
Create and Stick to a Strategy
You have a goal, but now you need a strategy to meet that goal!
You already answered the hardest questions when you created your SMART goal — you know the specific steps you’ll take to achieve it, how you’ll measure your progress, and how long you expect it to take.
Now, it’s time to take that information and create a strategy.
The strategy that will work best for you depends entirely on your goal, and the time and resources you have available.
But generally, your strategy will address the following items:
● Specific times you’ll work on achieving your goal
● What you’ll do at different points in time
● Qualitative AND quantitative data you’ll use to measure progress
● The tools you’ll use (Meta Business Suite, Instagram Analytics, etc.)
Once you decide on your strategy, stick to it. You can always make small adjustments as needed, but in general, it’s always better to stick to a plan.
Achieve Your Goals Effectively in the New Year
Now that you know all the steps you’ll need to take to accomplish your business goals, it’s time to make 2023 YOUR year!
Remember your SMART goal, stick to a strategy, and always be realistic about what you can do with the resources at hand.
And, if you ever get stuck, be sure to check us out on Instagram for tips and tricks that’ll help you run your business more effectively than ever!