5 Ways Setting Goals Can Lead to Success

Successful business owners schedule time to routinely reflect on their progress and to re-evaluate how to grow their business even more.

Everyone has goals and dreams but not everyone focuses enough to achieve them.

Follow these 5 steps to help get you to your goals.

1. Setting goals allows you to laser focus on what you want. Instead of waking every morning with no idea what tasks to focus on, having your goals written down allows you to make a daily to do list with tasks leading toward your goal. No more “flying by the seat of your pants.” Instead, follow your action plan or checklist and focus on important tasks instead of busy work.

2. Keep those goals in sight and look at them daily. A vision board hung in your office reminds you every day about your WHY…why are you working so hard? What do you want to accomplish? Even if you write a simple goal list, keep that list posted right next to your desk so you can read it every day. Keeping a list hidden in your desk or in a file somewhere on your desktop doesn’t serve the same purpose; soon enough your list is forgotten and you’re off track.

3. Be prepared for some hiccups along the way. No one’s path is smooth, especially in business. Usually these roadblocks show up just when you’re feeling confident that you know what you’re doing. Instead of allowing these to ruin your day, find a way to resolve the problem and get back on track toward your goals as soon as possible. Once you resolve the problem, write down the solution in case you experience another similar problem in the future. Having a list of possible solutions is much less stressful than not knowing what to do.

4. Find an accountability partner. Voicing your goals to a partner brings your goals to life and it forces you to do the work or risk the shame of telling your partner you didn’t meet your goals. An effective accountability partner will ask follow up questions and won’t be afraid to hold their partner’s “feet to the fire.” One way to make this partnership more fun is to make a consequence whenever someone doesn’t deliver on their weekly goals. Whether that’s paying for lunch or donating to a charity, it raises the bar a bit higher.

5. Know and understand the real purpose of your goals. This step requires digging a bit deeper into your life and your WHY. Why do you want to earn six figures? To pay for your high schooler’s college so they will graduate debt-free? So you can move your family to your dream home? So you can donate money to local charities? There are no right or wrong answers. Your answer will make these goals important to YOU.