5 Business Goals Entrepreneurs Should Have

Being an entrepreneur is like any other profession in that you need to have goals. While there are many reasons to begin a business—such as the freedom to determine your own schedule, the ability to increase your profits by cutting out a middle man, or simply following your passion in life—you can’t be successful without determining where you started and what direction you would like to go. 

It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the daily grind of running your own business if you don’t have some plans set out to follow. Having goals written down on paper is a beneficial to help keep your head above water even when the waves of the entrepreneurial world can seem overwhelming. It is also important to chart those goals.

When setting goals, it is important to look at the short-term and long-term goals for your business. Creating short-term goals for your business will help keep you motivated and on the right track to eventually smash those long-term ones. Here are five business goals that can help you stay centered while following your dreams.

1. Financial Goals

Money and finances are a huge part of running a business. It is imperative that you set realistic goals, especially when first beginning your business. A lot of start-up businesses will not be profitable straight out of the gate.

Setting financial goals means more than how much revenue your business makes every month. As an entrepreneur, you need to understand that there are several types of financial goals that you should have to make sure that your business finances are moving in the right direction. Focusing on revenue and not paying attention to profits, for example, can make you feel like you’re doing well but in reality, you may be losing money.

Some examples of financial goals include:

• Revenue
• Expenses
• Profit
• Burn-rate

You will need to have set goals for things such as your budget, a plan to pay off any debts you incur starting up your business, sales goals, and ways you can work to increase your profits.

2. Customer Satisfaction Goals

Building relationships and proving your value to your customers is really the number one priority in creating a successful business that will outlast the ups and downs. When your customers are happy, many of the other steps will take care of themselves.

Listening to your customers with direct face-to-face communication, or seeking feedback through the creation of surveys and polls, can help you better understand what customers need from your business, and what you can do to help meet those goals.

You also need to understand that your business will not be the right fit for every customer, and that is OK. Working on keeping those who value your business happy is going to be the best use of your time and energy.

3. Marketing Goals

One of the best ways to meet your marketing goals is to be consistent. When you are building your brand and developing logos and other marketing materials, it’s important that you keep a consistent theme so that as you build your customer base they can recognize your brand from your competition. Give your customers something they can spot from the crowd and know that it’s you.

Another good way to reach your marketing goals is to create brand awareness by focusing on the content that you put out and making sure that you are staying true to your brand’s message. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to match the competition, when it’s more important to have your own voice that your customer can relate to.

4. User and Customer Growth Goals

When you are trying to grow your customer and user base, you can’t be focused only on growing numbers. If you focus on quality, an increase in customers will follow. If you end up sounding too pushy and putting out messages that are so direct they seem more like a scam, you can turn people away quickly.

Set a goal for the number of new users you would like to see signed up following your pages and, at the end of each month, if you don’t feel like you’re reaching the right number of people, go back over some of the marketing goals you have set and identify areas that could use improvement to help you reach more potential customers. 

There is more than one way to get to the top of the mountain; you just have to be willing to be flexible in your climb.

5. Productivity Goals

In a society where it is easy to get off task, it is vital to set productivity goals for yourself and your staff.

Many people find it helpful to set a daily routine and stick with it. Whether you are working from home or going into an office space, having a set schedule can increase your productivity.

Be sure to factor in some time to get up and walk around to keep your body from getting overstimulated or distracted.

Running a business can be overwhelming and, when you get overwhelmed, it’s very easy to resort to not doing anything because each task seems like too much. Find areas where you can delegate some of these tasks to other people in the business and watch your productivity rise all across the board.

Conclusion

Overall, there are many different areas in your business where it is important to set goals. Setting up a system where you set and track your goals can be beneficial in gauging what things work and what things don’t.

Remember, set those goals high, then break them down into short- and long-term phases.  There are many reasons why business owners do not reach their goals. Be willing to adjust when you see improvements that can be made, and you should be on your way to running a successful business.

Katie Budd

Team Writer: Katie Budd is a full-time 8-5er in the commercial insurance industry and works on building her freelance writing business. She enjoys creating engaging content for people to read. She also enjoys working out at home doing Street Parking programming, encouraging her kids to chase what they are passionate about, and spending as much time on the farm with her extended family as possible. Follow along with her on her blog and Instagram as she continues to put thoughts into words.