Heading into a new year always offers a timely opportunity to look ahead to all you want to achieve in your business. For most of us, this time of year feels like finishing one chapter and turning a fresh page. Like a clean slate. Like a time to revamp and reinvent and start anew.
When it comes to goal-setting, it can be easy to get caught up in what awaits you at the finish line and forget about everything it takes to get there. Hint: Try to embrace the journey. If you try to jump from square one to square 10 without the in-between, you’ll likely find yourself jumping on circles or triangles and wondering where the heck the squares went.
Here’s the Bestola roadmap to setting thoughtful business goals you’ll actually achieve in 2024:
1. Start with your personal goals.
Many entrepreneurs go into business with the goal of not just an upgraded professional situation, but a better lifestyle. Which means there’s no use in achieving all the professional success at the expense of your personal fulfillment. (I learned this lesson the hard way this year!)
If spending more time with your kids is something you want in the new year, make a plan to set firmer boundaries around working hours. Or, try time-blocking your calendar. Even better, if work is your time culprit, evaluate if what you’re working on is the biggest priority for your business and strategize how to get more efficient with your days. That could include growing your team in 2024 or outsourcing.
Often, our personal and professional goals are intertwined. By setting intentional personal goals, you’ll likely find the benefits will rub off in your professional world, too.
2. Reflect on your why.
Think of your why – the deeper reason you do what you do each day – as your compass. It guides your direction and the decisions you make along the way.
While using your why to look inward is a necessity, using it to look ahead to what you want to accomplish is just as critical. Is the path you’re headed down aligned with your purpose? Are your habits and actions serving your mission?
Establishing goals from this view isn’t just good for the soul, it’s strategic and it’s intentional. Two Bestola favorites!
3. Write your goals down.
You’ve heard it before: What’s written is real. Once you’ve landed on your goals for the new year, put pen to paper. Whether it’s in your journal, on a whiteboard in your office or tacked onto a vision board, define those goals in a physical way.
It’s one thing to write your goals down. As an entrepreneur bouncing between tasks and ideas and all the things, your goals can easily slip from being top-of-mind, which is why you need to keep them somewhere you’ll see them on the regular. Perhaps it’s as simple as printing them off and hanging them where you’ll see them daily, or making them the background on your screened devices.
4. Find a goal accountability partner.
Having a goal accountability partner is a lot like having a workout buddy. When someone else is along your journey with you, it gives you that extra push to not hit the snooze button at 5 a.m.
Like the exercise partner who wants to hit happy hour instead of the smoothie shop after the gym, not all accountability partners are created equal. Here’s what to look for in your go-to goal gal (or guy):
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Someone who is honest with you. If (when) you fall off course with your goals, you need someone who is going to guide you back. This person needs to be okay with telling you what you need to hear, when you need to hear it.
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Someone who truly supports you. You need someone by your side who is genuinely cheering you on and wants to see you win.
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Someone who is working on their own goals. You are the sum of those you spend the most time around. If your circle is slacking off and making excuses, what do you think you’ll do?
5. Make a step-by-step plan.
You’ve got the goals. You’ve written them down, and you’ve got a partner to hold you to them.
How do you actually go about achieving them?
Here’s our three-step guide:
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First: Break down your goals into bite-sized pieces. If your goal for 2024 is to grow your email list by 20%, identify each step you need to take to get there.
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Second: Put timing around your mini goals. In pursuit of a larger email list, if your first step is to create a pop-up form on your website, evaluate the time it will take for you to do that and give yourself a deadline.
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Third: Be realistic. While your goals should be big and lofty, one step toward your goals each day will result in significant headway this time next year. Stay consistent, stay focused and keep going!
6. Revisit your goals often.
Unlike the processes in your business, when it comes to your goals, you don’t want to set them and forget them. Prioritize keeping your goals front-and-center. A few ideas:
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Each month, do a review of the month prior and forecast for the month ahead. This helps you do a pulse check of where you’re at, what’s working and what needs attention.
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Ask your accountability partner to check in on your progress.
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Talk about your goals! We often keep our goals to ourselves, so try to incorporate them into your conversations with friends and loved ones so they become more ingrained in your day-to-day life.
