Velocity Business Blog Spot

Goal Setting - Why should I set Goals?

“Many small business owners go into business by accident”

“If you want to do something you find a way. If you don’t want to do something, you find an excuse”
- Dawn Bauer

When I dived into my first real small business I was only 18 years of age, having no idea what I was in for. I had enthusiasm but didn’t know half the time whether I was coming or going. Everything looked so easy from the sidelines and looking at other people’s mistakes made me think that anyone could do it, why couldn’t I?

The reality was I was ill prepared for what I was about to embark upon and with no real preparation or goals I very quickly found myself in trouble. Short on money, short on experience and quickly running out of precious time, these were only the beginning of my troubles. But for some strange reason that didn’t seem to faze me in the slightest as I was driven by a hunger to stand on my own two feet and make something of myself. To prove to my peers that I was capable and moreover, successful in life. This is the basic animal instinct we all have to survive. It is within each and every one of us. But not everyone is cut out to run their own small business…or aren’t they?

Looking back on my mistakes and how painful they were lead me to where I am today, a lot wiser and a lot more eager to listen and learn. Striving for pleasure and away from pain, is now my driving force pushing me to make the right decisions and ‘work smarter not harder’.

So let’s start off where I stumbled, where so many do, at the very beginning.

We will be going through a series of stages on how to start your soon-to-be successful business.

Stage 1
Goals & Drivers:

Any successful business person needs a reason to get up out of bed every morning. Whether your goal is to make $1,000,000 before age 30, or spend more time with your family or even to be in a position to start a family, goal setting can be done in many different ways. We all need to start somewhere so let’s start by setting some basic but empowering goals that you wish to achieve in both your new business and personal life.

By writing out our goals in simple point form we can discover, and keep focus on, what we really want out of life. We can then implement those goals into our vehicle which is our new business or assess if we should even be considering starting a business. Think of it this way, your goals are your destination of where you want to be, your vehicle for getting there is your business. Choose your new business carefully as there’s nothing worse than setting off on a long journey in an uncomfortable vehicle.

All journeys are bumpy and can be trying at times. There is no such thing as a smooth ride, but there’s nothing worse than hating every leg of your trip and wishing you were doing something else. This can be minimised or even avoided in some cases with careful planning.

Begin with creating a list of things that you want in your life.

Here are a few examples of Life Goals:

• Own your own home or an investment property
• Buy a new car or boat
• Go on the holiday of your dreams
• Self development: Learn a musical instrument; Start an exciting hobby
• Have a career where you are respected and admired
• Invest in a portfolio of shares
• Afford to send your kids to university
• Be able to afford gifts for friends and family
• Have more time with loved ones

Fear is a primeval and useful motivator when you know how to use it to your advantage. Define your fears (nb: not phobias) and use these to assist in driving you out of your cave (the place where excuses reign supreme) and toward the Life you’ve Imagined.

Here are a few examples of fear drivers:

• No food on the table
• Never enough money to buy essential
• Never enough time to invest in yourself or enjoy with loved ones
• Unhappy Family life
• Going without because you can’t afford it.
• Dissatisfied with your current career

These are drivers but are not to be your focus. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.

Remember: The Quality of Your Life will largely depend on the Quality of Your Goals.

Now grab a pen, take 10 minutes and get all of your goals out of your head and onto paper! The best way to achieve them is to write them down and there’s no time like ‘the now’! Don’t be shy. No one is going to read them but you (later we’ll discuss enlisting the help of others in your ‘Dream Team’). List everything you desire. No limitations, no reins on yourself. Don’t be limited by what you “think” you can achieve. Just get it out of your head without judgement or self-restriction and onto that piece of paper.

If it helps, use a framework such as “Thing goals” - What do you want to have/own? “Personal Goals” – What do you want to do, see, become? And “Career Goals” - What do you want to achieve in status, income and position?

Planning for Success

Once you have listed all of your goals sort them into short term and long term. Next to each one write the order of priority in your life. Which goals do you want to obtain within 1 year, 2, 5 or 10 years? Let’s look at making a 5 year plan to start with. This can be expanded later to include longer term goals depending on where you are in your life and how old you might be.

Break up your goals up into the following:

The year end goals are your long term markers and the 3 monthly goals are your short term and medium term markers. Give yourself plenty of short term goals along the way. Make these achievable points that you can get to so that you can feel like there is progress. Also remember to reward yourself for getting through to each stage of your journey.

Example:

These are just examples. Keep things simple. The more complicated you make things now the harder it will be to get to where you want to go and you might find yourself not meeting up to the extreme amount of self-expectation. Keep your short and medium goals modest but escalating so that you are always striving to reach the next one. If you’re casual about your goals, you’ll end up a casualty!

In the next editorial we’ll cover Modelling from the Best and Choosing Your Dream Team to take the next steps and make the decision: Am I ready to start my own business or do I keep working for somebody else?

Quote of the Week:

“Great things are done by a serious of small things brought together.
- Vincent Van Gogh

Written By

Gerardo Altman
Solutions Consultant
Velocity Host