Did you set goals for your business back in January of this year? It’s a common practice among self-employed professionals and creatives to set new intentions when the year begins. So, how are you doing on those January goals?
It’s all too common for self-employed pros to get to December, and realize:
- They’re nowhere near reaching the goals they designed for the year.
- They don’t remember what their goals were, or have just now recalled they even had some.
- They feel like a failure because they didn’t reach their goals.
- All three of the above.
Would you like next year to be different? Here’s what you need to do:
1. Know exactly what your goals are.
Don’t just state your goals; define them. Goals often fail to be realized because they aren’t specific enough. “Get more clients” isn’t a goal; it’s a wish. “Get four new retainer clients paying $750 each per month by March 1st” is a goal.
2. Design a way to track your progress.
When you make a goal numerical, it’s easier to track. If you’re shooting for four clients and you have three, you’re 75% of the way there. With a goal that’s more qualitative, you can still track your progress by assigning a starting and ending grade or score. Then instead of the vagueness of “learn to write better proposals,” you can benefit from the exactness of “raise my proposal-writing skills from a C- to a B by June 30th.”
3. Check in with your goals on a regular basis.
Periodic check-ins remind you what your goals are, motivate you to work toward them, and help you plan what to do about them each month, week, or day.
4. Build in an accountability structure.
You need something or someone that will remind you of your intentions frequently. Depending on the level of accountability you might need, this could be notes in your calendar, video chats with a business buddy, meetings with a success team or action group, or sessions with a business coach.
5. Divide big goals into projects and commitments.
Goals can be too large to tackle all at once, and that can make them seem overwhelming. For each goal you set, consider defining either a project (something you do once and then it’s complete) or a commitment (something you do repeatedly). “Update copy for my services page” is a project. “Publish one new blog post per week” is a commitment.
6. For motivation, use rewards, not punishment.
Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t reach a goal; instead, design a juicy reward you will earn when your goal is achieved.
If you didn’t take any of the above steps this year, December isn’t the time for blame and remorse. Instead, use this year-end time to set yourself up for success in the year to come, so you don’t find yourself losing track of your goals again by next December.
