Raise your hand if you want your business to be successful for the next 12 months. What entrepreneur doesn’t want that?
But what exactly does a successful business look like? Setting “SMART goals” can help you set better goals for yourself and your business.
What is a SMART Goal?
Setting a “SMART goal” is a way for you to take one or more big goals and make those goals clearer and easier to do. Each letter stands for a certain idea or strategy.
Here’s a breakdown of each letter in “SMART” and why SMART goals are important.
- Specific – Big, general goals are okay. Clear and specific goals are better. For example, having a successful business is a nice goal. Having a goal to get more customers or a goal to bring in more sales are better goals because they are more specific ways to achieve your larger goal of being successful.
- Measurable – Being able to measure your goal(s) helps you see how much progress you’re making. A measurable goal will also help you know when to think about making changes if you’re not meeting a goal.
- Achievable – You don’t want your goals to be too easy to meet, but you also want to make sure you’re setting goals that are at least possible to meet. For example, getting 1 million subscribers in one month for your YouTube channel is not a reasonably achievable goal, even if you have a viral video. Getting 50 new subscribers, or even 100, are much more achievable goals, especially for new YouTube creators.
- Realistic – A goal can be achievable and realistic. But just because a goal is possible doesn’t make it a realistic goal for you. Let’s use our YouTube creator as an example again. Creating three videos every day is an achievable goal. But if it takes you two hours to film and edit one video, creating three daily videos while being a student may not be a realistic goal.
- Time-bound – Timelines aren’t just for certain social media. Your goal(s) should also have a timeline that includes an end date or deadline. Deadlines can help you move toward and meet a goal. So, think about setting a goal that can be met in a week, a month, or a year.
Final Thoughts on Why SMART Goals are Important
Keep in mind that your goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Having SMART goals can turn wishful thinking into clear steps that can help you and your business succeed.
