Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their daily, weekly, quartely or yearly goals around their business. It could be more revenue, hiring clients or launching a new product or service, where setting goals presents a fresh opportunity to achieve different objectives. It's not always rosy achieving them due to challenges that may present themselves or other opportunities that distract you from the main goals.
We asked entrepreneurs to share their best ways of shattering their goals and here's what works fro them.
#1- Working hard
When I am focused on my vision nothing will get in my way to inch closer top it. What I do in the addition of working smart, is work hard!! I will fit 6 weeks of work into 4 weeks. Above all that will give me a 50% increase in production at a minimum. I have the relentless work ethic, commitment to putting my goals into action. Overall, I will just outwork my opponent, period!
Thanks to Danny Ray, PinnacleQuote Life Insurance Specialists!
#2- Starts with goal design
Make sure you set high goals that you're actually excited about achieving. If you set goals that involve work outside of either your passion or your expertise, then there's a good chance you'll struggle to find enthusiasm to complete them. I also tell clients to limit their goals. Set 3 goals a year, 3 goals a quarter, and 3 goals a day. Setting limited goals keeps you laser-focused on achieving them!
Thanks to Allison Dunn, Deliberate Directions!
#3- Getting emotional clarity behind the goals
We shatter our business goals, by getting clear about the emotional reason why we want to achieve the goal in the first place. People generally set goals logically; which causes them not to follow through because human beings are emotional creates. Get emotional clarity behind the meaning of your goal – and you'll follow through.
Thanks to Khabeer Rockley, The 5% Institute!
#4- Working backward towards the goal
As Desmond Tutu once famously said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time ” and this certainly applies to crushing your business goals. It's important to set your business goals and then work backwards and breakdown the exact steps you need to take to achieve your goals. You can then work on achieving these ‘micro goals' which will help you to reach your overall goals. What previously may appear as a daunting goal is not purely a set of precise steps you need to take. You can then establish deadlines for these ‘micro goals' so you can track your progress on a regular basis (weekly or monthly). It's important to have specific and measurable goals which are actually attainable and not some lofty and grandiose visions far away in the future.
Thanks to Matt Woodley, MoverFocus!
#5- Focusing on only one or two main objectives
You know how folks say too many cooks spoil the stew? The same thing is true for goals. Having too many top-level goals makes it less likely that you will hit any of them out of the ballpark. Try focusing on only one or two main objectives for a given month or quarter. It could be nailing a product launch. It could be driving increased revenue. It could be launching a new brand around your product or company. Pick a single overarching goal and put everything you've got behind it. That doesn't mean you stop focusing on other aspects of your business. It simply means your priorities are clear when you have to choose where to focus your time and resources. That makes it much likelier you'll shatter your business goals.
Thanks to Jói Sigurdsson, CrankWheel!
#6- Keep a log of things I’ve achieved
Unrelenting focus on your goal and not wavering from it helps you smash your goals. Doubt and insecurity can seep in so you have to continually remind yourself why you do what you do and refocus on the progress you are making and looking forward. I keep a log of things I’ve achieved and we share all our progress and success with our investors and customers in our monthly newsletter. Keeping track and seeing this progress keeps me motivated! An example of when we smashed a huge goal was crowdfunding. We never gave up hope or courage right until the end of the campaign when we pushed even harder and gave it all we had to smash our goal, which resulted in us overfunding on our target. We used all the resources we could possibly think of to help us reach our goal. Our team, our family and friends, and our network. Never underestimate the power of your network!
Thanks to Sukhi Jutla, MarketOrders!
#7- Investing in myself
For me, shattering my business goals means taking care of myself. I won't get the same results from myself when my tank is on E. That means getting enough sleep, working out, starting my day with a meditation, and eating right. All of these things help me to keep my focus and drive, and my planning and execution flow when I am in that place.
Thanks to Kristie C., Bucha Brewers!
#8- Starts with a vision
Shattering business goals is imperative to achieve stability and confidence to move forward with every step. We start with a vision which promises the greatest potential towards our business growth. Based on our vision, we figure out the possible challenges that are likely to come across. All these things help us in understanding where we are heading and what all hurdles we have to face. Now comes our strategy part, where we focus on the things which we need to accomplish at every step to ensure a smooth flow towards goal accomplishment. Also, we need to consider the things that are needed to support the same, which mostly includes resources like finance and technology, along with the best team comprising of skilled and experienced professionals.
Thanks to Telsea Greene, Cogneesol!
#9- Learning from other people
The way I shatter my business goals is to invest in courses in order to learn. When you keep on learning new things, you understand how others do their business. I also started using a business coach to help me see holes in my business and how to fill them. With the help of other business owners, you can shatter your goals easily. It is better to spend the money learning from other people instead of wasting time figuring out everything yourself. If you can’t afford to hire a business coach, start going to Meet Up groups for entrepreneurs in your area. It will be invaluable to meet with other like-minded people who have been where you currently are. They can offer guidance and advice on how you can meet your goals. Always be in competition with yourself and not other people. If you do, then you will end up discouraged. Those other business owners may have more experience than you do, so that’s why they are more successful.
Thanks to Becky Beach, MomBeach.com!
#10- Take consistent action
I use what CAN I do attitude approach to take steps daily toward the ultimate goal. Even if a decision is hard to make, staying in indecision is far worse. So taking one baby step is more beneficial than taking no steps at all. I also utilize a strong support network and reach out when I need a resource. There is no fear in the ask. We build relationships and form connections so we can help one another reach new levels of success. If I get stuck in my own way, my goal gets stuck right there with me. By staying in action, goals are met and lessons are learned.
Thanks to Ivy Slater, Slater Success!
#11- A number of ways
As far as shattering your business goals go for entrepreneurs that's no question a great strategy. But as one word of caution, that should not be your desired end result if you haven't created them yet. make that mistake and because of general human nature, you won't make your goals as aggressive as they probably should be, and while at the end of the day you may shatter them, the effect on your business overall could be negligible. That said, wite them down and make the detailed and specific. Keep a written copy of them at your desk or wherever you work and reference them often. For example, at the end of each workweek, you should look at your goals and where you stand as far as progress. Another note worth mentioning is that you should have several sets of goals. Ideally, you'll have things you want to accomplish in the next 30, 60, and 90 days, along with a set of annual goals. Beyond that, for the most part, monitoring them and not forgetting about them are the two keys if you want to shatter them. As an additional note, once you reach a goal, instead of crossing it off your list and forgetting about it, immediately increase the goal and then get to work on how you'll reach the higher benchmark. As you can see, flexibility is the biggest key if you want to shatter your goals, without sacrificing the overall effect on business operations.
Thanks to Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers!
#12- Resetting when needed
As a startup you need to move really fast, and sometimes this means going really fast in the wrong direction. The reset button isn’t easy to hit, especially when business seems to be going pretty well. About a year after founding Lumanu, we had a steady revenue and an offering we believed could grow but we were in a crowded space and saw the future going in a different direction. It took a lot of self-reflection in order to recognize we actually needed to go back to square one and think about the bigger problem we wanted to solve. In order to build a viable long-term business, we needed to take a huge step back. This meant scrapping a majority (close to 50%) of our product features, letting go of paying customers and turning down new customers in the process. The hardest part was re-aligning our team, including letting a couple people go to support moving in the new direction. The decision paid off, and Lumanu is now uniquely positioned with proprietary access to brand, retailer, and influencer data that gives marketers complete visibility and control over the distribution of influencer content.
Thanks to Tony Tran, Lumanu!