It’s a new year. Let’s get the year started right and set goals for 2022. 

 

Why Set Goals?

 

Why do you even need goals? Your business did alright last year and the year before. Why do you need to set goals now? Goals provide focus. You would never get in your car to go to a specific restaurant that you have no idea how to get to and just drive around hoping you find it. You have to know where you’re going to figure out how to get there. It’s the same with your business goals. 

 

Setting goals also provides focus for your team. You can communicate your goals to your team and everyone will be able to work together towards a common result. It keeps everyone motivated and moving in the same direction. It can also increase morale because there is nothing worse than working for someone and not knowing what they want from you.

 

Goals are also the best way to measure success. If you set a measurable goal, you will be able to tell if your efforts were effective based on whether you reached your goal or not. 

What Kinds of Goals

 

There are  4 different kinds of goals. It would be beneficial to set goals in all of these categories for 2022.

 

Long Term Goals

 

Long-term is up to 5 years. Examples of a long-term goal might be to hire more employees, hire an employee a year, or expand your services and offerings. 

 

Short-Term Goals

 

When we say short-term goals, we mean 30 to 90 days. Some examples of short-term goals might include networking, developing your personal brand, or getting busy on social media. 

 

Financial Goals

You may set the goal to build personal and business credit. A lot of people have personal credit with no business credit. Another financial goal could be to create an incentive program. You could do this for your team or your vendors. It could be something like “if we reach this goal everyone gets a 5% bonus”. That could be really motivating for your team. 

 

Personal Goals

 

The last type of goal we recommend is personal goals. I don’t know a single successful woman in business who doesn’t also volunteer her time in the community. Maybe your goal could be to serve on some boards this year. Another good personal goal is to get more organized. This can be super helpful for those of us who are great at organization when it comes to our business but not so much when it comes to our personal lives. 

 

As you’re setting your goals remember they’re going to look different for everyone. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

 

Questions to Ask Yourself

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you set your goals.

 

1. Does this grow my business? 
2. Does this increase productivity?
3. Does this reduce expenses?
4. Will this impact the client experience?
5. Does this enhance the employee experience?
6. Does this promote employee skill development?
7. Did you include objectives for this year, not just short-term?
8. Are your goals SMART? (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely)

 

Be a Goal Getter

 

This is a great place to start when setting your goals for 2022. Make those goals and achieve the results you want in your business.