Establishing your SMART goals is the first step to almost anything in the business world. You can’t develop a website if you don’t know why you’re doing it. You can’t outline a marketing strategy if you don’t know what you’re marketing for. You can’t do search engine optimization if you don’t know who to target. You might as well be flying blind!
As an aspiring business owner, you’ll want to define your goals and commitments first. For this, you should be following the SMART technique, something that has been very helpful in our endeavors as a business and SEO company in Los Angeles. SMART goals will be the basis of your business and will affect its processes from here on out.
1. Specific
Your goal needs to be clearly identifiable so you can figure out a plan of action. If it’s too broad or if it is something you’re not even sure how to do, then you won’t make much of an impact.
A good rule of thumb is to use the five W questions: what, where, when, why, and who.
- What: What is my goal?
- Where: Where do I want to achieve my goal?
- When: When do I want to achieve my goal?
- Why: Why do I want to achieve my goal?
- Who: Who is involved in this goal?
A broad goal is, “I want to lose weight.” A specific goal is, “I want to work out at home three days a week so I can lose weight.”
2. Measurable
Once you’ve got a goal in mind, think of metrics and milestones. Most of your business goals will probably not be achieved in a long while, so achieving little goals that’ll help you score the big goal will keep you motivated. It will also help track your progress and identify positive outcomes you’ve already accomplished.
Make sure that they’re good indicators of your success and that they’re easily quantifiable.
Using that same example, a measurable goal is, “I want to lose two pounds of fat each week.”
3. Attainable
Pursuing an impossible goal is a colossal waste of time. You could put in as much time and effort as you want into it, but a non-attainable goal will remain non-attainable no matter how hard you try. You want something that will challenge you, yes, but not something that’ll have you die trying.
Ask yourself if your goal has something that’s been done before. What resources and skills do I have to achieve it? Do I have them, and if not, can I develop them?
Your goal might be to lose twenty pounds in one day, but that’s not going to happen unless you chop off a leg or something.
4. Relevant
You want to make sure the steps you’re taking to achieve your goal actually contribute to your success. Are they directly related to your goal? Do they help you achieve your goal? Do they work consistently?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, then you’ll probably want to prioritize more effective ways of accomplishing your goal. You want something that is tried and tested over something that’s a gamble.
Exercising every day and eating fruits and veggies are proven to help you lose weight. Putting on weight loss patches and drinking weight loss teas are not.
5. Time-Bound
Your goal needs to have a start and end date. This will keep you motivated by instilling a sense of urgency. If measured correctly, it will also tell you what you should have accomplished by the end.
So, if we put all of our examples together, we have:
“I want to lose weight by exercising and eating healthy. I will work out at home three times a day and aim for two pounds of fat loss each week. After ten weeks, I should be 20 pounds lighter.”
Conclusion
As you can see, having a clear goal in mind will help get your bearings. Not having one is a huge no-no, especially if you’re just starting out in the business. Goals keep you on track, keep you pushing forward, and keep your sights set. If you build your goals around this technique, stop to evaluate and redo once in a while, and work your hardest to achieve your goals, then you’ve got the makings of a great business.
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