13 Keys to Business Growth

THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING ACHIEVABLE GOALS WHEN BUILDING A BUSINESS

1. Knowing how to set goals is every bit as important as setting the goals themselves.

Shoot too high and your goals may forever seem unattainable, and you will soon lose faith. Shoot too low and your business may never get the traction that it needs to begin competing for survival.

2. Goals need to be hyper-focused and incremental.

Be careful not to confuse goals with your mission statement, which speaks to the purpose and future of your business, rather than the path.

3. Your mission statement and your goals are related, but they are NOT the same thing.

Envision your mission statement as your planned destination, and your goals as the waypoints on the map you have to pass through to get there.

4. You need to pass through all of the stops along the map to get to your destination.

Don’t spend too much time gazing at your destination; start mapping out your journey by writing down your goals.

5. The key is to make your goals achievable.

Stack them up one on top of another to create the momentum you need to get to the destination you seek.Envision the quiet and methodical accomplishment of these goals as the foundation upon which you will build your successful business. It is important that it be built right and strong if it will support your business for years to come.

6. It is important to savor every goal—no matter how little—that you reach successfully.

There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of small goals for you to set and reach in order to build it right. Reaching each goal should be celebrated.

7. Write your goals down (chronologically if possible) and work your way through them.

What are you going to name your business?

What is the ultimate product you hope your business will offer the customers?

Where are you going to register your business?

8. More than a simple to-do list, these are questions you need to answer in order to ever have a business; these are all separate goals you need to set and then meet.

The goal is to create that perfect name for your business.

The goal is to design and perfect that product that is going to go compete for you in the marketplace.

The goal is to find the best state and location that will support your business aspirations.

9. Don’t look at goals as burdens to get through, but rather as way points that are part of your businesses’ success journey.

The accomplishments of these goals all pile upon one another as your business rises from nothing and reaches to the sky.

10. Start with the small and build out to the big.

Look at every task as a goal; once you start achieving the smaller ones, the larger ones do not look nearly as daunting. Every successful business is just a series of accomplished goals that someone set on their way to satisfying their own businesses’ mission statement. And the success reaped from each one will give you the momentum and confidence to keep building and climbing higher.

11. Do not take any of your “necessary” goals for granted.

The research, care, and dedication you put into succeeding at each one of these goals as you build your business will give you the experience, the “know-how,” and the confidence to ensure your new business’ success.

12. Do not “mail it in.”

Put the necessary work into every effort, dedicating time specifically to each one of your goals, individually, until you are satisfied that you have what you believe to be the best possible execution of that goal. Then, turn to the next one and repeat.

13. All success, in almost anything in life, can be broken down into a succession of specific goals—every achievement brings you toward your ultimate dream.

Your first goal should be writing down the goals you need to get your business up and running.