Setting Achievable Goals To Grow Your Business

In the heart of every small business owner beats the rhythm of ambition—that’s why you took the leap and became an acquisition entrepreneur in the first place. You dream of growth, wealth and creating a lasting legacy for you and your family, but translating that ambition into tangible results requires more than just passion. It demands a strategic approach to create well-defined, achievable goals that will propel you and your business forward.

Having goals will focus your efforts on things that matter and help you to not get stuck in the daily grind and operational realities of running a business.  

Understanding Your Goal Landscape

Many people think of goal setting as a purely business- or financial-related exercise. But as an entrepreneur you should also have personal goals to ensure you don’t burn out or neglect the ones you love the most. What does it gain someone who achieves great wealth and success if doing so requires 80-hour work weeks, no vacations and constant stress? Consider both personal and business goals as part of your goal-setting exercise:

• Personal Goals: These focus on your individual aspirations, like mastering a new skill, improving your health, or spending more time with family. A personal goal may be that you want to take a fully disconnected two-week vacation next year or work no more than 40 hours a week. They also include your own development as an entrepreneur, such as improving your leadership skills or mastering new technologies. Personal goals are meant to fuel your passion and drive, indirectly impacting your business success.
• Business Goals: These are goals related to your income and vision, and directly affect the growth and prosperity of your business.

Income goals are quantifiable and trackable, like doubling revenue, expanding into new markets, launching new products or services, or improving operational efficiency. Income goals are the tangible markers of your business progress. 

Vision goals are what you ultimately dream for your business. A vision goal might be becoming a household name, revolutionizing your industry, or leaving a lasting social impact. Your long-term vision serves as the guiding star, aligning all your smaller goals toward a larger purpose.

How To Create Your Goals

Defining your goals may be harder than you think. To get the ball rolling, I often start by asking the business owner to think about next year’s New Year's Eve. Imagine you are toasting your family and friends about what you accomplished this year. What would that be? What made it an amazing year? 

On a piece of paper, draw two columns. In the first column list all your personal goals and in the other column your business goals. Think of your goals in context with your vision. For example, if your vision is to grow your business to the point that it will be in the top 100, by revenue, within your industry, then maybe planning to increase revenue by 50% this year would be a good, relevant goal.  

Don’t worry if your list of goals is long; write as many as you can think of. When you are done, review the list again and choose two to four that you would like to achieve this year. Don’t expect to achieve everything all at once. Save the list for next year and perform the same exercise—you’ll be amazed at how your goals change over time. 

The best goals follow the SMART framework, meaning they should be: 

• Specific: Clearly define your goal. Instead of having "Increase sales" as a goal, be more specific. For example, "Increase total sales by 50% with 25% of that coming from our flagship product line.”
• Measurable: Quantify your goal. How will you track progress? Sales figures, website traffic, and customer feedback are all good examples of potential measuring sticks.
• Attainable: Set goals that are challenging yet achievable. Aiming too high can lead to discouragement, while setting the bar too low stifles growth.
• Relevant: Ensure your goals align with your overall vision. Don't chase trends just because they're hot; focus on objectives that support your long-term strategy.
• Time-bound: Give your goals a deadline. Procrastination is the enemy of progress. Give yourself a specific timeframe to achieve each goal.

Goal setting is an ongoing journey, not a one-time event. Be prepared to adapt and adjust your goals as circumstances change. Celebrate your achievements, learn from setbacks, and keep your eyes fixed on the bigger picture.

Converting Goals into Financial Targets

Quantify your top-level goals into tangible annual targets. For example, if your goal is to increase revenue by 50% next year, calculate what that specifically means in terms of monthly sales, new customer acquisition, pricing tweaks, etc.

Putting dollar amounts alongside objectives makes them more concrete and easier to track. It also allows you to determine the level of revenue, gross profit, net profit, and cash flow required to hit your targets. If you have a CFO or can leverage an outside financial consultant, work with them to incorporate your goals into the monthly reporting package.  

Calendarizing Goals into a Monthly Roadmap

With annual, quantifiable goals defined, break them down into month-to-month targets by building a detailed calendar roadmap. Plot the key activities needed each month to drive toward your targets and achieve the progress expected.

For instance, if your goal is $10M in revenue next year, aim for at least $833k in revenue per month, considering seasonality. If your business is a retailer that has a very large holiday demand, adjust your month-to-month targets to take that into account.  

Seeing goals mapped to specific months will make them feel more manageable. It will also give you a template to execute against and re-evaluate as needed. It is important to remember that most business is not linear, meaning that just because you may not make your target one month does not mean you will not hit your annual target. For reasons beyond your control or knowledge, some months may be better than others. The converse is also true, so don’t take over performance for granted. Your annual finance targets are what you should hold yourself accountable to as daily, weekly or monthly data can be too unpredictable.

Setting Quarterly Milestones

While calendarizing provides a monthly view, it's also smart to step back and define bigger quarterly milestones or checkpoints. These should be stepping stones towards your annual goals. Setting quarterly milestones enables you to:

• Focus on larger, multi-month projects
• Validate that monthly activities are aggregating up to drive quarterly and annual goals
• Make any necessary course corrections if you need to get back on track

For example, your Q2 milestones might be to implement a new IT system, hire another associate or outsource a part of the business to allow for scale. 

Take Action

In the 1940s, notable economist and social philosopher Ludwig von Mises published his now-famous book titled “Human Action”. In his monumental achievement (the book is over 900 pages), he puts forth a comprehensive treatise on economic theory. Within it he posits three requirements that must be met for an individual to take action:

• They must feel a sense of unease or dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs.
• They must be able to visualize a better state.
• They must believe they can reach a better state through their actions.

You may not feel that all three of these requirements currently exist, making your goals feel arbitrary. You can overcome this by creating projections of the future. What will your business look like in one year, two years or five years? What will your life look like if you meet your goals during those time frames? Visualize the future state through the calendarization that you create. 

Even if you think your business is doing fine right now, unless you continually improve and transform it, atrophy will set in that will ultimately lead to underperformance or worse. Achieving your goals and realizing your vision will put you on a path to success. You have the power to change the future into whatever you want it to be.

Key Points To Remember To Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goals

• Be clear: Clear, well-thought-out goals will lead to actions that produce results.
• Write your goals down: Psychology professor Gail Matthews of Dominican University of California conducted a study to determine the impact writing goals down had on achieving them. She found that writing down your goals does make a difference. (She also found that having accountability to someone else to achieve them was even more powerful. See our “Seek support” bullet point below!)
• Be flexible: Adapt your goals as needed based on market conditions, competitor activity, and customer feedback.
• Celebrate milestones: Acknowledge your achievements, big and small, to maintain motivation.
• Track progress: Regularly monitor your progress and adjust your strategies as needed.
• Seek support: Sharing your goals with a friend or mentor and asking them to meet with you at the end of the year to review them is a great way to ensure accountability. Hire an outside CFO, coach or consultant to help track your goals and ensure progress. Your success also is the success of many others, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from your team as well.  If applicable, include your spouse or other family members in goal setting and accountability. Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family, I know business is often discussed at the dinner table. Your goals should align with their expectations. Family can be your greatest support.
• Be the owner, not the sole-doer: You need to own your goals and the goals of the business, but that does not mean you need to be the one doing all the work. Leverage down. For example, if a goal is to increase revenue and you have a sales manager, tell them about your goal and why, and delegate to them the responsibility to hit it. 

Conclusion

Setting achievable goals is the cornerstone of successful business growth. By following the principles outlined here, you can transform your vision into a roadmap for success. Think big, start small, and watch your business blossom one SMART goal at a time.