I don’t think a day goes by without me seeing #Goals on social media. Most of the time, you’ll see this hashtag under a picture of a cute couple, a really expensive car, or an exotic island someone is visiting! Since none of those things apply to me right now, I’m focusing on different goals that benefit my business!
Since I’m not naturally a business person, I’ve read some books and articles to help me through my journey. It’s interesting because the information in many of the readings have similar advice about achieving success. Most everyone agrees it’s important to write down your goals.
I was skeptical during my first year of business. I decided I didn’t need to waste time writing down my goals because I knew them already!
Goal #1: I want to plan events.
Goal #2: I want to make all the money.
Simple right!? I mean, who needs to write that down???
I quickly figured out my way wasn’t working. I wasn’t satisfied with the progress I made during my first year. I knew I had to make a change. It was finally time for me to try the approach I kept reading about over and over again!
As I began this process, I found that simply writing down goals is helpful, but there’s a couple more things I needed to include to ensure I was invested in accomplishing the goals. The first thing I needed to add were details!
Let's go back to take a look at my original goals again. Writing these goals down in their current form is useless. How in the world would I even know if I've accomplished anything? That’s why being specific is important!
For my second year in business, I started by revising my original goals. I took some time to think about my responsibilities (example: my full-time job) to determine what was realistic for me. Then I focused on being specific in my statements. After some thought and positive fine-tuning, my goals were edited to say the following:
Goal #1: I will be hired to plan 5 events.
Goal #2: I will make 3x the amount I made last year.
The next and final step required me to create a plan. This plan needed to include a few tasks that would help me achieve my goals. It would also include a hard deadline. Adding "how" and "when" to goals makes them real! Once I incorporated these items, this is what I came up with:
Goal #1: I will be hired to plan 5 events.
How? I will participate in 3 networking events. I will participate in 2 local bridal shows. I will connect with 3 new vendors to share information about my services.
When? This will be completed by December 31.
Goal #1: I will make 3x the amount I made last year.
How? I will secure 2 Partial Planning weddings. I will secure 2 Month-Of Coordination weddings. I will secure 1 non-wedding event.
When? This will be completed by December 31.
Not bad, right???
I'm still not a pro at goal setting, but I'm learning. I've come up with a few more goals since I revised my original ones. It was necessary because I met Goal #1 and Goal #2 in April of this year! *Takes A Bow*
I'm proud of myself, but I don't want to stop there. Meeting a goal just means I need to make a new one!
No matter what your goal is, know that writing it down, being specific, and making a plan increases the odds of achieving it! And while I don't have people commenting #Goals under my IG pics (yet), I'm certainly happy meeting and exceeding the important goals I have for my business!