If you haven’t already thought of your business goals for 2018, now would be the time to start. The fact of the matter is if you wait until January, then it will be too late. At that point, everyone who started planning in Q4 of the previous year is well on their way to implementing their goals.
If you feel overwhelmed by the possibilities, use these questions to help you narrow down your business goals.
What does this year’s data tell you?
I’ve become a huge data geek in the last couple of years. Mostly because I’ve learned to use data to direct some (not all) of my business decisions. I geek out on it so much I even teach some of my strategies to my group coaching students.
One of my favorite pieces of data when mapping out business goals is my good old accounting software. The numbers can give you a lot of information you can use to create the next logical goals.
This allows me to see which offerings are performing well in my business and which ones I need to drop. For example, my group coaching program is killing it so I will continue to focus on it in 2018. This data also helps me do a client audit where I determine which writing clients need to go.
Here’s an example of how to use the data:
- How much revenue do you want to earn in 2018?
- Which offering will help get you there the fastest based on the data?
- How can you improve sales for this offering?
By simply answering these two questions you can already begin to create business goals that make sense for your growth. For example, a couple of years ago I knew a rebrand was in order for me to take my business to the next level.
What do you need to let go of?
Sometimes business goals can be about what we need to stop doing. For example, I know that in 2018 I need to take some time off from traveling so much. This is so that I can implement the strategies that will help me reach my revenue goal for the year.
I’m also kind of tired from traveling so frequently the last two years. In other words, it’s time for a break. What’s interesting is one of my students came to this same conclusion for her business as well.
(Note: You’ll notice how this is really more of a personal goal that just so happens to align with my business as well. That’s okay. The lines between work and personal can get blurry when you run your own company.)
What would be fun to do?
I personally believe there’s not much point to taking on a big business project that is no fun. I chose to work for myself so that I could enjoy what I do for a living. That’s why I still question whether or not an idea will be fun for me before taking it on.
For example, I’ve had some requests to do workshops around my city. That sounds like a nightmare to me so I’m not doing it. I’ll stick to the online world where there are less logistics involved.
Final Thoughts
By determining your business goals you’ll know who to ask for help, what projects to take on and what to say no to. By figuring out your goals now, you’ll be ready to go by January 1st.
