Setting goals is a key part of achieving small business growth. While you may already have a product or service that you know you can sell, more specific goals will give the business direction and help facilitate growth. Here are some of the benefits of developing effective small business goals.
Refocus on key objectives
It’s easy to get bogged down with the day-to-day management of a business, especially as it continues to grow. This can make a small business lose motivation. It may also lead to spending resources on unimportant tasks.
Additionally, the business might waste time on activities that do not help it grow. Taking a step back to understand the situation and where the business should be moving by setting new goals is a great way to reinvigorate a business.
Look at staffing
Understanding your aims means you can understand what resources you need to achieve them. This can mean hiring new people, but it can also mean ensuring that every current employee’s role is well defined, suits them and that they aren’t losing sight of their key role due to being dragged on to other projects or tasks. This should have the added benefit of improving employee wellbeing and motivation. If everyone knows what they are working towards, then productivity should rise in turn.
Metrics for success
Having a goal means progress towards it needs to be measured in some way. Knowing what your goals are is the first step to understanding what you need to do to achieve them. Figuring out how to measure progress and developing KPIs will allow you to measure the performance of your business both day-to-day and over longer periods. This will allow you to identify areas of underperformance, as well as areas your business is doing well.
Make sure your goals are SMART
SMART goal setting is a method of making sure that your goals are effective in helping you work towards them. SMART is an acronym:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
- Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
Each of these qualities assist in making a goal effective. It will help motivate your team and move your business forward. Some have also added two more letters to the acronym: Evaluated and Reviewed, emphasising the importance of feedback and reviewing.
Do you need some help in identifying goals and finding new direction for your business? We can help you develop positive goals and assist with wider elements of business planning. Send us an email at news@allthingsbusiness.co.uk or give us a call on 01604 267677 to get started!
