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SMART is the key to success. Have you ever wanted to achieve something in your business but had no idea how to get it? Goals and achievements can seem very far away from us at times. This is why all entrepreneurs should learn how to create SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Having a SMART goal goes with designing a project to reach those goals. As mentioned before, here are the qualities your SMART goals should have and some examples:
Specific
Being specific helps us avoid nebulous goals and milestones that can easily be changed as the project moves f
orward. Make sure you have specific goals by answering the following questions:
- What do I want to accomplish?
- When do I expect this outcome to be accomplished?
- Can I set milestones to track my progress?
- Why do I want to accomplish this goal?
A simple example of a specific goal is “having more customers.” If you have one more customer in a year, you can say that you accomplished your goal. But, was that what you wanted? Why did you want to have more customers? How much money did you want to earn? Did you try to accomplish this goal for a specific moment or event?
Measurable
There is a very famous saying: “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” And it is true. You need to identify the metrics you’ll use to measure your progress.
An example of a measured goal is “getting the sales manager position.” Let’s say you have to get good sales and positive feedback from your customers. So, you would need to measure your sales every month, compare them with previous months and measure your customer satisfaction. You would also need to measure your improvement week by week and month by month.
Achievable
People are very likely to strive for the stars. Don’t get me wrong, being ambitious is not bad, but it can be frustrating to set a goal that is not aligned with our skills, timeframes, resources, and tools.
An example of this can be “getting a good amount of new customers for the next month.” You can see how many customers you have gotten the last month, what new skills and techniques you could implement, and figure out a number from there. For example, if you have had an average of 20 new customers per month in the last months, you can strive for 25. With that in mind, a goal that is likely to not be achievable would be “to get 500 new customers next month.”
Relevant
Your goal should be worth your time and effort. But, first, consider if your new goal is aligned with your overall business goal. If it doesn’t align with your business, maybe it would be better to forget about it or adjust it.
An example of a relevant goal is: If your business differentiation offers the best quality in the market, you should be looking for improvement and innovation. Don’t strive for low-cost materials for your product which don’t doesn’t align with the whole company.
Time-bound
Creating an accurate timeline that includes a start, some milestones, and an end stimulates progress and motivates you to keep moving. It is easier to achieve small milestones that altogether make a bigger goal than choosing to have a big goal alone. A timeline also helps us to assign deadlines, avoid confusion and have a purpose.
An example of a time-bound goal is: Imagine asking the sales team for a report you need for a meeting at 11am. If you are not specific with your team about the time, they might think this is just a task that they can get done at any time of the day.
Now that you know how to set your business goals, do this for every part of your business. It is also important to have your business protected against lawsuits and claims. We are an established and growing law firm that specializes in business litigation matters for businesses located in California and the Pacific. Call us now for a Strategy Session. We can talk about how we can help you to run your business without worrying about the underlying legal consequences. We can be reached at (714) 415-2007 or reserve your spot by clicking here.
