What kinds of goals can you set for your business?
We've talked about setting goals before. The importance of establishing your company vision and the direction you want to move in, gaining clarity on your business and marketing goals, and how to use the S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) framework to define your goals with more intention.
But what are some of the different kinds of goals you can set for your business? And how do you decide what to focus on?
Revenue, profits, and expense goals
If you’ve started your own business, chances are that there was some financial motive behind your decision. Maybe you dreamed of financial freedom, not living paycheque to paycheque, or simply having more control about the money you were taking home each month.
These are all great intentions.
But when was the last time you reviewed your revenue or profits? Or the last time you raised your prices? What about the last time you revisited those financial motivations and reassessed if they still suit you and align with your values?
Intentions are great, but there has to be specific measurables and clear action behind them to make your ideas a reality.
When we’re talking about money, there are a variety of directions you can take to set goals.
If your goal is to increase revenue, you need to sell more of your offer or increase your prices.
If you want to increase profits, well, you can sell more, increase your prices and/or reduce expenses to achieve this one!
Or, maybe you just want to audit your spending and reduce unnecessary expenses without much concern as to how it plays out on the balance sheet.
Financial goals can sometimes have negative connotations, and while "they" say money doesn't buy happiness, let's be real.
We live in a world that's controlled by money, so not having enough in business or in life means struggle.
Living in a state of worry and struggle isn't a recipe for happiness. And it can be incredibly stressful when you're trying to live off business revenue that barely covers your operating costs.
Get clear on what you’re trying to achieve and the vision you have for your life and business, and set your money goals accordingly.
Customer-focused goals
The businesses people like most tend to keep the customer at the center of their decisions, so this is a great focus to have in your business and in your goals.
You will never improve your business for customers too much.
Consider brands you love. What do they do well?
On the other hand, you likely also have some businesses you avoid purchasing from because of headaches they’ve caused you in the past. What did those experiences look like? What could the company have done differently to regain your trust and business?
Now consider these same questions when it comes to your own business. What feedback have you been receiving recently from customers or team members?
Are your processes too cumbersome internally or for customers, causing lag or avoidance?
Do you need to streamline some of the technology you use to manage sales or other customer touchpoints?
Do you have broken systems or automations?
Especially if customer retention isn’t where you want it to be, customer-focused goals will be incredibly supportive in making changes to your business that will help its long-term sustainability and growth.
Operational goals
Efficiency is key to maximizing revenue. The more people you can serve, the more money you can make.
But there’s a trade-off. If you want to find more people to serve, you have to reach more people and that often means more work, more marketing, and more burn-out.
Your resources as an individual trying to do everything are limited. There are only so many hours a day and only so much energy you can exert to complete the tasks on your list.
And so, operational goals often revolve around hiring and automating, or setting up systems and processes in your company in order to expand your capacity to serve.
Be mindful however, that your hires align with your company vision, that your automated processes don’t fully remove the human connection your customers enjoy, and that your systems don’t frustrate you more than they support you.
Otherwise all of these tactics can backfire and create more problems than they solve.
When setting operational goals consider:
What has been working well for you? What hasn’t?
Where have you been spending a lot of your time and energy? What are you finding to be most draining?
Do you need to outsource work to free up some of your time?
Could you incorporate systems that simplify the delivery and value your customers get?
What tasks are you doing daily or weekly that could be automated?
When was the last time you checked in on your current automations and systems to ensure your team and customers find them valuable and helpful?
Is there a mentor or coach you could hire to support you in streamlining your business?
When your company begins to flow more effortlessly and automatically, it frees you up to step further outside of the business, embodying the role of the visionary and looking towards the future.
Business expansion goals
Speaking of looking towards the future, chances are you have goals of expansion. Expanding your business though, can mean a number of different things.
You could add new team members, clients, or regions to define your expansion. Maybe you’re wanting to expand your space, but not the people (note though that that usually requires additional revenue, and isn’t always necessary). Maybe you want to expand your vision and impact.
Because there are so many variations, in order to set yourself up for success you first need to clarify what expansion means to you.
Ask yourself,
What, specifically, do you want to expand?
How much do you want to expand by?
These goals often work hand-in-hand with your operational goals, as you’ll need to find ways to become more efficient to allow for growth.
Values-based goals
There has never been a better time to be open about sharing your values in business, particularly when you’re setting goals for how you move forward.
It’s one of the ways you can set the tone for your internal culture and take concrete actions that reinforce your commitment to upholding your values.
And these promises don’t just impact your internal team. They also help you reach your ideal audience and develop trust. Remember, consumers want to support companies who share their values and visions for the world, and who take aligned action based on those commitments.
The first step in this process of course is sitting down to determine what your values are to begin with. Why did you start your business? What change do you want to see in the world? What impact do you want to create? What does your ideal customer value and appreciate?
Once you have a clear idea of your company values, you can begin infusing these values into everything you do. What processes or guidelines do you want to implement that are in alignment with the direction you want to take your business?
While ideally these values have been built into your company from the beginning, and woven into everything you’ve done, it’s never too late to start or shift. Your business is an ever-evolving being and it’s natural for your values to change as you grow.
Here are a few examples of goals you can set that revolve around your values:
Add or increase revenue sharing so employees get more than their base pay for contributing to your growth.
Establish guidelines for diversity and/or sustainability and choosing vendors.
Establish guidelines for diversity and accessibility in hiring.
Establish guidelines for diversity and accessibility in your marketing.
Create and/or modify ethical or values-based guidelines you incorporate into your business operations in dealing with clients.
Creating the change you want to see
Once you’ve had a fun brainstorming session on all of the changes you want to see in your business, you can start to work backwards to allow these goals to come to fruition.
Remember to use the S.M.A.R.T framework so you have clarity on what you want to achieve, a timeframe in which you’d like to see your goals realized, and so you can ensure your goals are realistic. There’s no point overwhelming yourself or your team or chances are nothing will get accomplished.
KCW Consulting is always here to support you in connecting these goals to actions with a marketing and content strategy that covers your business today and for the future. Learn more about how we can work together here.