A Guest Blog from
Starting a small business is only just the beginning. You have the idea. You create the business plan. Business starts rolling in. You dabble with some marketing, both in the real world and online including the utilization of social networking. Things are going good but how do you take it further? How do you get to the next level?
You need to set goals for your business. Competing against yourself to reach your goals will continue to push your business to the next level. Your goals though must be concise and specific in order to motivate you or your employees to reach past them. You goals must be smart
A smart goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Smart goals have been taught over and over again. The concept is overdone, true but when something works, you keep practicing it. Marketing professionals everywhere keep passing the information along to reach that one more manager or business owner that needs the extra boost. That is what we are all here for, right; to share our successes and learn from our failures?
- Specific: Set your goal. Write it down if you need to. Make it as clear as possible. Your goal should not be broad like “Be a better business” but instead answer the five main questions of who, where, what, when, and which.
- Measurable: You will never accomplish a goal that does not have limits. “Do better” is abstract and can be interpreted differently by each person that works on the goal. Using a measurement like a dollar amount, sales figure, or productivity amount will lead you something the business can actually see results from exceeding.
- Attainable: Simply put, do not set unrealistic goals for your business. Start by simply taking your business to the next level, not to the top. By setting new goals as you accomplish your old ones, your next level will eventually get you to being the best you can.
- Relevant: It is crucial that the goals you set are important to your business right now. Is your goal actually going to get you to the next level? Having a goal to sweep the shop floors once every two hours is specific, measurable, and attainable but what is it going to do to further your business?
- Timely: Be sure to include a timeframe when creating the goal for your businesses next big move. Does this need to be done this week, this month, or this year? Include that in your goal and planning.
A lot of this information may seem obvious but unless you combine it all together, you will not have a meaningful goal that will take your business from where it is today to where you want it to be tomorrow.
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. She has spent time working for major media news outlets in San Antonio and Dallas.
