Any marketer worth their salt will tell you that, as a small business owner, a solid business plan is more or less essential. There are people out there who manage to wing it and still make a success of their venture, but they’re few and far between, and having a structured idea of what you want from your business makes much better sense. However, having a business plan and sticking to it are two different things! With that in mind, we’ve put together a few tips to help you to stay accountable for your business goals:
Find a Group
There’s a lot to be said for ‘strength in numbers’ and people who join a group of like-minded individuals are a lot more likely to stick to a common goal…it’s basically the entire basis of Weight Watchers business model! Blue Cactus Digital is running a whole series of accountability sessions this summer to help you to stick to, and achieve, your goals. During the sessions, we’ll be on hand to help you with goal-setting and accountability, as well as introducing you to other local small business owners who are in the same position as you. Follow the link below to secure your place.
Be Realistic
If you’re setting yourself goals like “achieve £1 million in sales in 6 months”, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll reach this goal (unless you’re absolutely killing it in your field!). Take an honest look at your accounts and find a goal which is high, but ultimately achievable. Setting yourself an unrealistic goal and failing can be demoralising and is, essentially, setting yourself up for failure.
Create Smaller Targets Within Your Goal
If you’re ultimate end goal is something big, see if there’s a way to break it down into a series of smaller mini-goals. This means that you’ll be achieving your goals incrementally and the whole plan won’t seem so daunting – humans are VERY prone to giving up when the mountain seems too big to climb.
Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy
Many of us are guilty of self-sabotage, and this is especially true when trying to achieve a self-imposed target. Take a look at things that you do which are actually setting you back rather than spurring you on and try to work to reverse these behaviours. What are your triggers? How do you allow your fears to hold you back? Be on the lookout for ways in which you may be undermining yourself.
Take Stock Regularly
When you’re working towards a goal, there tends to be an inclination to either underestimate or overestimate how you’re doing. Make sure you set regular times to sit and take stock of how you’re doing, how much work you need to put in to meet your business goals in the allotted time-frame and make adjustments accordingly. There’s nothing worse than blindly toiling on, only to realise something has gone wrong somewhere and you’re not as close to your goal as you thought.
Our accountability private Facebook Group will help you stay on top of your goals, setting targets and inviting you to share progress to achieve your dreams.
