This post will talk about why you should set goals before business establishment and what goals you should set. Also about how to quantify your goals to go the realization. Doing or making something without any goals just like you are going to go to un-defined destination. How can you go without knowing where you are going to go?. Starting a small business is not like you are going to go to supermarket, huge of energy, capital, time and effort you will devote on it. So, it is obviously impossible for you to start own small business while you don’t know what you expect to be achieved.
Yet, goals are more than a destination toward, they will be your lights sign you can notice when you’re missed in the middle of the way you are going.
For better illustration about goals—will lead you—to the right direction you want, let’s take one example:
You just hate your current job which been generating $40,000 for good reason, while you have a great skill in providing a good services for certain unique niche market which has no significant competitor, and you “think” you could be a good expert for that niche in 4 years effort. You analyze your idea and discover that you won’t be able to generate $40,000 income for at least the first year. But since you are sure that you will be a good expert and your income will grow exceeding $60,000 on the second year onward, you will be likely go and proceed your planning. Despite the cut in income on the first year, you decide to the risk are worth it, so you will start your own new small business.
I hope we make a good understanding about how important goals are. Now let’s define what your goals are.
Yet, goals are more than a destination toward, they will be your lights sign you can notice when you’re missed in the middle of the way you are going.
For better illustration about goals—will lead you—to the right direction you want, let’s take one example:
You just hate your current job which been generating $40,000 for good reason, while you have a great skill in providing a good services for certain unique niche market which has no significant competitor, and you “think” you could be a good expert for that niche in 4 years effort. You analyze your idea and discover that you won’t be able to generate $40,000 income for at least the first year. But since you are sure that you will be a good expert and your income will grow exceeding $60,000 on the second year onward, you will be likely go and proceed your planning. Despite the cut in income on the first year, you decide to the risk are worth it, so you will start your own new small business.
I hope we make a good understanding about how important goals are. Now let’s define what your goals are.
Here are some natural goals human have:
Financial Goals
Of course, everyone want a business to be success. But what measurement of success you use, generating 3 times of your current income? Assuming you've been in the work force for a while, you know what kind of lifestyle you can afford on your current income, so you'd probably like to earn more. Many people feel that self-employment is the way to do make it so.
Here I short of some possibilities of financial goals:
Increase Incomes: Some people believe working as an employee in a corporate setting limits their earning potential, so they want to make own business to increase their earning.
Suplement Incomes: You may require a second source of income, which translates into a part-time business.
Replace Income: Some people have been downsized or whatever it's called these days, and they need to replace their lost income.
Be realistic about how long it will be before your new business becomes an established and secure source of income. Most businesses don't immediately produce profits for the owner.
Personal Goal
There's a certain satisfaction in "doing it yourself" that may not be quantifiable, but which is nevertheless important. Typical reasons that people choose to start a business include:
Career change: Most people change jobs or even careers several times during the course of their lives.
Satisfaction: Some people feel trapped in a field they don't enjoy, and they want a chance to work at something they find more interesting.
Recognition: Being an expert or authority in a particular field is also an important factor for some people. So recognition is one of their goals.
Flexibility & Work/Life Balance: Work/life balance issue is become more and more significant in work fields recently, and self-employed people have more freedom to choose businesses allowing them to satisfy personal preferences.
Professional growth: Some people believe their ideas are being ignored or not being used properly in a corporate setting, and they want the chance to do it the "right" way on their own way.
Freedom: Owning your own business is a way to achieve personal freedom on many levels.
Goals won't just determine whether you start a small business, they'll also play a prominent role in just about every decision you make along the way, from how you structure your business, what strategy you are going to market your products or services.
Now that you have some idea of what your general goals are, goals will be a set of destinations that will warn you for any decision you are going to make on your way to establish and develop your business. The next step is to make those goals concrete by quantifying them.
Quantify Your Goals
Here are some guidelines you may follow when quantifying your goals:
[1]. Use numbers
Be specific and establish targets that can be easily measured, and use numbers as targets whenever and wherever part possible, i.e.: your goal is achieving $100,000 net earning, Or your goal is achieving 1000 customers a year. And always tie the specific number to a time frame.
[2]. Be realistic
Having high expectations is great, but establishing reasonable yet potentially achievable is a must. If you are going to produce computer software, and you set your goal to become bigger than in one year, that is not realistic.
[3]. Be aggressive
Hey, you can be realistic and still target high. Setting something that too easily to be achieved won’t bring you to any successful story. The way to make that happened is by setting short and long term goals. Several short goals synergized and supports each other, continuously. If you keep in the right way and you think you could be bigger than Microsoft ® within 30 years, go for it.
[4]. Be consistent
Whatever your goals, no matter how realistic they are, no matter how aggressive they are, juggling one goals to another different un-related goals could jeopardize anything you are establishing. Consistence is never less important than other aspect.
How to Start It?
Setting your goals is just like making a birthday wish-list, the difference is on who will make it true. Birthday wish-list is a list of things you expect somebody else would give you on your birthday. Goals list is a list of things that you would expect to achieve on a certain period you set by doing some constant effort time by time till you get there.
Financial Goals
Of course, everyone want a business to be success. But what measurement of success you use, generating 3 times of your current income? Assuming you've been in the work force for a while, you know what kind of lifestyle you can afford on your current income, so you'd probably like to earn more. Many people feel that self-employment is the way to do make it so.
Here I short of some possibilities of financial goals:
Increase Incomes: Some people believe working as an employee in a corporate setting limits their earning potential, so they want to make own business to increase their earning.
Suplement Incomes: You may require a second source of income, which translates into a part-time business.
Replace Income: Some people have been downsized or whatever it's called these days, and they need to replace their lost income.
Be realistic about how long it will be before your new business becomes an established and secure source of income. Most businesses don't immediately produce profits for the owner.
Personal Goal
There's a certain satisfaction in "doing it yourself" that may not be quantifiable, but which is nevertheless important. Typical reasons that people choose to start a business include:
Career change: Most people change jobs or even careers several times during the course of their lives.
Satisfaction: Some people feel trapped in a field they don't enjoy, and they want a chance to work at something they find more interesting.
Recognition: Being an expert or authority in a particular field is also an important factor for some people. So recognition is one of their goals.
Flexibility & Work/Life Balance: Work/life balance issue is become more and more significant in work fields recently, and self-employed people have more freedom to choose businesses allowing them to satisfy personal preferences.
Professional growth: Some people believe their ideas are being ignored or not being used properly in a corporate setting, and they want the chance to do it the "right" way on their own way.
Freedom: Owning your own business is a way to achieve personal freedom on many levels.
Goals won't just determine whether you start a small business, they'll also play a prominent role in just about every decision you make along the way, from how you structure your business, what strategy you are going to market your products or services.
Now that you have some idea of what your general goals are, goals will be a set of destinations that will warn you for any decision you are going to make on your way to establish and develop your business. The next step is to make those goals concrete by quantifying them.
Quantify Your Goals
Here are some guidelines you may follow when quantifying your goals:
[1]. Use numbers
Be specific and establish targets that can be easily measured, and use numbers as targets whenever and wherever part possible, i.e.: your goal is achieving $100,000 net earning, Or your goal is achieving 1000 customers a year. And always tie the specific number to a time frame.
[2]. Be realistic
Having high expectations is great, but establishing reasonable yet potentially achievable is a must. If you are going to produce computer software, and you set your goal to become bigger than in one year, that is not realistic.
[3]. Be aggressive
Hey, you can be realistic and still target high. Setting something that too easily to be achieved won’t bring you to any successful story. The way to make that happened is by setting short and long term goals. Several short goals synergized and supports each other, continuously. If you keep in the right way and you think you could be bigger than Microsoft ® within 30 years, go for it.
[4]. Be consistent
Whatever your goals, no matter how realistic they are, no matter how aggressive they are, juggling one goals to another different un-related goals could jeopardize anything you are establishing. Consistence is never less important than other aspect.
How to Start It?
Setting your goals is just like making a birthday wish-list, the difference is on who will make it true. Birthday wish-list is a list of things you expect somebody else would give you on your birthday. Goals list is a list of things that you would expect to achieve on a certain period you set by doing some constant effort time by time till you get there.
Set your goals before establishment of your new small business and get lead to a right business and strategy.
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