By Aga Merx
Studies have shown that nearly 80 percent of small-business owners don’t keep track of their businesses’ goals. This is an alarming statistic, as setting goals and achieving them can be important aspects of a business’ development and success. Establishing meaningful goals involves introspection into what makes your business tick and what you want the future of your business to be. While most people want to achieve their goals, many don’t want to put in the necessary work it takes to create achievable ones. The more time and effort you devote to creating your goals, the more achievable and effective they become.
Here are a few points I would suggest for small-business owners to consider as they look to establish meaningful goals to help improve their businesses. Consider whether these suggestions make sense in your business’ particular circumstances. And, as always, you should get legal and tax advice from a qualified professional.
1. Separate your long-term goals from your short-term ones. Long-term goals should embody your business’ mission statement and help your business stay true to the reasons it was founded. Long-term goals usually fall within four general categories: growth, profit, service and social. They can sometimes have a timeline of several years. Keep in mind that in an ever-changing economy and business climate, long-term goals may need to be modified along the way.
2. Once you’ve identified what you want to accomplish in the long term, it’s time to find out how to get there by establishing your short-term goals. As you look to set short-term goals, consider the acronym SMART (specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, time-specific). Short-term goals may have a timeline of a couple of weeks to several months. Keeping your short-term goals SMART can help ensure they serve as a roadmap for accomplishing your long-term goals by achieving incremental improvements.
3. Focus on your employees during the goal-setting process. You may have a clear vision of where you want your business to go, but if your employees don’t share this vision with you, you may have a difficult time achieving your goals. By involving your employees in the goal-creation process, they will feel a sense of ownership of the goals and a responsibility to see them achieved. Additionally, your employees can offer valuable insight during the goal-setting process by sharing their perspectives on realistic timelines, processes and results.
4. As your list of goals begins to grow, be sure that your goals can co-exist with each other. Here’s an example to help illustrate this point: A business may set a goal of achieving 100 percent customer service and another goal of achieving the highest margins. The problem here is that top-level customer service is expensive, so the highest margins may not be possible. Your goals should complement each other rather than conflict.
5. Be prepared to modify your goals along the way. It’s important for small-business owners to understand that as the economy and business climate change over time, it’s OK for your goals to evolve. What makes sense for your business today may not make sense in 18 months. This means that some of your goals might need to adapt to these changes over time — and that’s not a bad thing.
6. Keep your goals in the forefront of everything you do. After you have given the proper time and attention to establishing achievable and effective goals to help improve your business, don’t set them aside. Weave them into the day-to-day workings of your business and regularly schedule times to review goal progress. Keeping your goals at the forefront of your day-to-day procedures and decision-making processes can help ensure they aren’t neglected.
It’s never a bad time for small-business owners to reevaluate old processes and implement meaningful goals and ideas for their businesses. Consider beginning the goal-setting process today. These goal-setting ideas may help you see improved success as a small-business owner.
Aga Merx is a vice president and SBA department manager for Bank of American Fork. She has worked for the Small Business Development Center, an SBA-approved agency to help small businesses apply for loans, prepare to meet their lenders and prepare business plans.