If You Dont Know Where Youre Going, Any Road Will Get You There

What do you want to achieve?

Before you actually set up, decide what you want to achieve with your business. If you are already in business, review where you are going ? are you clear about this?

Why not take some time out to think about and write down your goals for your business?

Write it down

Research shows that only 3% of people write down their goals, and on average these people earn 10 times those who don't have goals. Plus research shows that people with up to date written goals are as much as 3100% more successful than people who do not have up to date written goals.

And make sure your business goals don't conflict with things you want to do personally. When you are thinking about your goals, think about and write down your personal goals too. And if you are a multi owner business you will obviously need to discuss your responses with your colleagues, and agree on a shared set of goals for the business.

SMART goals

Make sure that the goals you write are SMART. What does this mean? It stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timed

Apply these five measures to each of your goals.

What does it mean to you in reality?

Once you have written down your goal as a SMART goal, think about what the effects would be if you didn't achieve itl. What is the "pain" that you and those you love will experience if you don't achieve your goal, ie ill health, poverty, unhappiness etc. (Why do this? Because recognising this pain is an enormous motivating force that will help you to work even harder to make sure you don't fail!)

Then decide what you will gain when you succeed - ie wealth, health, happiness, a prosperous retirement etc. What will you see, hear and feel? And what else will your success allow you to achieve/do? And finally write down the key things you will need in order to achieve your goal. For example, it could be new resources, contacts, skills, actions etc.

Repeat this process using a new sheet for every single goal you would like to achieve.

Prioritise

Next try and prioritise the goals you have written. Lay out all of your goals in front of you and decide which are the most important to you, which are less important and which (if any) are, on reflection, not important after all.

For each goal that is still important work out how you will achieve it, break it down in to smaller steps to make it easier to manage.

Plan in timescales to do each step, write them into your diary or planner. That way you make reaching your goals part of your daily activities.

Look at your where your time goes

Its worth having a look at how you spend your time at the moment, and comparing this to the way you would like your life to happen. Then you can fit your goals into this as well.

To do this, look at the personal goals you set out and list out the broad areas of your life that are important to you eg family, friends, business, health, fitness, money etc Make a note of the percentage of your waking time that you would like to spend in each of these areas in an ideal world (make sure that the column adds up to 100%) Estimate approximately the percentage of your waking time you think you are actually spending in each area at the moment, - just a rough and ready approximation here, don't waste time trying to get pinpoint accuracy? the aim is just to get a broad feel Then calculate the gap between the two Looking at the gaps does it suggest that you need to make changes in order to achieve your goals? If it does, what changes are you going to make?

Next steps

Think carefully about everything you have just done and thought about. What are the implications for what you are doing in your business and your life - and what you should be doing?

Transfer the things you should be doing to an action planner. Keep this somewhere where you won't lose sight of it, so that you are reminded on a daily basis about what you want to achieve.

If you think it would help contact an advisor, mentor or coach to discuss what else you can do to achieve your goals. Sometimes it helps to go through the whole exercise with a third party, who can be more objective and help you to focus on the right things.

Review your action planner. Prioritise it. And start taking action!

And remember, however good your ideas and intentions are? they will come to absolutely nothing unless they are turned into action.

So focus on taking ACTION. And start taking it today.

_______________

Julia McDaid is a business coach and author, specialising in helping business start ups. . For more information on these issues or on coaching for new business owners, see http://www.startupright.co.uk or enrol on Julia's unique Start Up 101 ecourse, where you can go into each subject in a lot more depth.

Julia also publishes a free ezine 'Secrets of the Successful Entrepreneur' ? to sign up just send an email to ezine@startupright.co.uk

Related News

Fitness success depends on SMART goal-setting - BCLocalNews Fitness success depends on SMART goal-setting BCLocalNews, Canada -Aug 13, 2008 Setting unattainable goals simply sets up failure. If you have a major fat loss goal, break it down into small attainable goals. As you achieve each smaller ... GAZA STRIP: Siege-busting boats setting sail - Los Angeles Times GAZA STRIP: Siege-busting boats setting sail Los Angeles Times, CA -8 hours ago Halper, an Israeli citizen, said the primary goal is to publicly put Israel in a legal bind. "I don't think they really know what to do with us. ... Pro-Palestinian activists set sail to challenge Gaza blockade amid ...Xinhua all 88 news articles Setting the benchmark - Prague Post Prague Post Setting the benchmark Prague Post, Czech Republic -16 hours ago It’s my goal to expand that business further. One thing is clear — as long as the market, economy and our clients will allow us to grow and expand our ... At 18 or 21, goal is responsible drinking - The Oregonian - OregonLive.com E Canada Now At 18 or 21, goal is responsible drinking The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR -22 hours ago The idea was to expose us to alcohol use in a more sophisticated setting than just chugging beer in the dorms. We had amazing discussions of history, ... Video: Advocating Lower Drinking AgeCBS IU not part of petition on legal drinking ageThe Herald-Times (subscription) Lowering the drinking ageMemphis Commercial Appeal ScienceBlogs all 1,296 news articles US tops Brazil in OT to win second straight gold - Sports Network TVNZ US tops Brazil in OT to win second straight gold Sports Network -8 hours ago The United States also defeated Brazil in the 2004 Olympic final in overtime on a goal from Abby Wambach, who missed this tournament with an injury. ... Final: USA 1, Brazil 0USA Today McMillan: US women athletes are role modelsTimes Herald-Record all 660 news articles Office Politics: Is goal setting holding you back? - Nova Scotia Business Journal Office Politics: Is goal setting holding you back? Nova Scotia Business Journal, Canada -7 hours ago The truth is, the traditional goal-setting method is no longer effective, even though most teachers, books, trainers, coaches and schools are still teaching ... Local campuses noted for green programs by conservation group - The Capital Times Local campuses noted for green programs by conservation group The Capital Times, WI -2 hours ago Edgewood College received a high grade for "environmental or sustainability goal setting." University of Wisconsin System schools UW-Eau Claire, ... : Personal Performance Management Starts with MyStrategicPlan - NewsReleaseWire.com (press release) : Personal Performance Management Starts with MyStrategicPlan NewsReleaseWire.com (press release) -Aug 20, 2008 To facilitate SMART goal-setting and meet the growing demand for the integration of performance management and strategy, she has spearheaded her company’s ... Goal personal planning setting success – Here is the secret of ... - Corsavoo.com Goal personal planning setting success – Here is the secret of ... Corsavoo.com, France -Aug 20, 2008 Maintaining a program of regular reviewing and goal setting requires a high degree of discipline. If you do not have enough discipline, you will not be able ... Women's Soccer Opens Regular Season this Weekend - GoCreighton.com Women's Soccer Opens Regular Season this Weekend GoCreighton.com, NE -9 hours ago With her record setting year last season, she is now the career record holder at Morrison Stadium in goals (13), points (31), shots on goal (50) and total ...