Why Micro Business Owners Need Goals

"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." 

–Zig Ziglar

So did you know that you need goals for your business?

Goals help you to develop a successful process for your business so that you can reach the success that you want!

But before I go any further, let me ask you this….

Do you ever leave home and get in your ca and just drive around?

Or do you leave home with a destination in mind?

If it is a new destination to you, you might tell yourself that you could look at the street address and figure out how to get there.

‘coz you know which road run east to west and north to south. So you got it.

But instead of trying to figure it out on your own, you might choose to use Waze or Google Maps or Bing to help you get there

So just with those applications we can see that there is more than one option that you can use to find the directions to get you to your destination.

So what does using a navigation system have to do with needing goals for your micro business, right?

Just to make sure that we are all on the same page,

 What Is a Goal?

A goal is a desired result or an aim.

Merriam-Webster dictionary states that a goal is “the end toward which effort is directed.”

So when you put a destination in your navigation system, that is the end that you want to reach, right?

But it sounds kinda odd to identify the end first. But that’s the fun part of goals.

You identify what it is that you want to accomplish…that end that you want to get to.

Then you identify how you’re gonna get there.

When we use our navigations systems, they provide clarity and focus on the directions that we need to follow so that we can accomplish our goal to reach our destination that we put in.

But to get to that destination, we have different steps that we have to take.

Think of each step in the directions as mini goals that you have to reach.

With each of those steps, there is estimation of the distance that you have to travel and the amount of time that it will take for you to get to that step

When you reach that step, you get excited because you know that you are staying on the correct route towards your destination!

If you’re a person that can make wrong turns even with directions, then you know what I’m talking about when you get excited that you took the correct exit or made the correct right turn!

The point is that you might have that big goal as a micro business owner to solve people’s problems with the product or service that you are offering, but you still have small steps that you have to take to get to that goal. Just like all of those steps that you take when you follow your navigation system.

Sometimes the directions from the navigation may seem long and overwhelming when you scroll through them, especially if you are driving long distances such as end to end in your state or driving 2 states over.

But when you take long car rides, you identify rest stops right? So you can do the same with the goals for your business.

You can identify the month or quarter that you want to have that “rest stop” on your way to accomplishing that goal for your business. It might not be the first quarter, but it might be the third one.

 Those rest stops are going to be when you stop to check to see how you’re doing…the progress that you are making towards your goals.

The key is to be reasonable with your goal setting and deadlines so that you can encourage yourself and your team to reach your goal rather than putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and inhibiting you and your team from being successful.

But there’s even more that you need when you are following your navigation system to reach a new destination.

You need to listen to the voice prompts, be able to look at the picture of the road and identify the images, know your left from your right, be able to match road signs to what the navigation system is telling you, and more just to be able to comply with the directions from the navigation system.

As micro business owners, when we identify a goal… a big goal….we need to break that big goal into smaller goals. I know that I have mentioned that already.

But when you break down a big goal into its smaller goals, you also need to identify the skills that you will need in order to accomplish the smaller goals.

Along with identify skills, you need to identify the tasks, sub-tasks, metrics, and everyday actions that you need to take to accomplish the smaller goals that lead to the bigger tasks.

Remember I mentioned about taking rest stops? Those would be great times for you to review your metrics.

 Why Micro Business Owners Need Goals

With all that said, why do micro business owners need goals?

1. Because they give us the direction that we need to follow for our business

2. We get to identify the smaller steps to accomplishing those goals and give ourselves a deadline for how much time that it will take for us to accomplish that step…that smaller goal

3. Be able to identify the skills, tasks, sub-tasks, metrics and daily actions that we need to take so that we can accomplish the smaller goals that lead to us reaching our aim

Summary

In case you’re wondering about examples of those ends that require effort. Here are some goals that micro business may have that  you might relate to:

1. Growth and expansion

2. Employees

3. Obtaining funding

4. Getting sales and generating income

By the way, be ready to accept that you might have to take some detours and some stops along your journey to your goal.

That’s where a strategic plan is crucial. I have a few video trainings on strategic planning that can help you create your strategic plan.

If you are ready to set your goals for your business, start with my planning guide. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. 

Regards, 

Dr. Priscilla "Dr. P" Kucer

Solutions+Actions=Results! (SoAR!).