When you set the right goals for your business, it can really boost your success. However, did you know there are a lot of mistakes you can make when setting business goals?
If you set the wrong ones, it can actually damage the business, rather than help it. So, if you want to ensure your business goals are a success, below you’ll discover 5 mistakes to avoid when setting them.
1. Not making them specific
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when setting business goals is making them too vague. It’s crucial you make the goals as specific as possible if you want to make sure they are achievable.
A good example of a vague business goal is where you state you want to increase your profits. While this is certainly a great goal to have, it doesn’t exactly give you much to work with, does it? How are you going to increase your profits, how much do you want to increase them by and what steps can you take to do it? These are just some of the things you need to consider to break your goals down.
The more specific your goals are, the more likely you’ll be to achieve them.
2. Setting unrealistic goals
Just as detrimental to your progress, is setting business goals that are unrealistic. You may have lots of great visions of where you want the business to go. However, you need to make sure they are realistic and easy to achieve.
You can make the mistake of both setting an unrealistic type of goal, as well as an unrealistic time frame for completion. The trouble with unrealistic goals is that they can really damage productivity and motivation. If you don’t achieve them, you’ll become frustrated and it could put you off setting more.
3. Prioritizing the wrong things
It’s a common mistake for businesses to set any old goal, without really thinking about whether they need it. The key to effective goal setting is to prioritize your goals.
Think about the areas of the business which need the most work or improvement. While you may want to expand overseas, for example, is the business ready?
You’ll need to make sure your company at home is performing well before you even consider expanding overseas. So, before planning to expand, set goals to improve your existing business so that when it does come time to expand, you can focus your efforts on that, rather than having to deal with issues at home too.
4. Failing to review them
Setting goals is just one part of the process. However, you also need to make sure you review them frequently. Without reviewing your goals, you’ll have no idea whether or not your efforts are paying off.
It’s important to regularly review and track the progress of your goals to determine whether any changes need to be made.
5. Not being prepared for failure
Finally, you need to understand that just because you’ve set yourself business goals, it doesn’t mean you’ll achieve them. In fact, failure is pretty much guaranteed at some point.
It’s through your failures that you learn how to succeed. So, set your goals and be as realistic and specific as you can, but don’t assume everything will run like clockwork. Be prepared for failure and then be ready to come up with an alternative goal if something does go wrong.
These are just 5 mistakes you can make when setting business goals. By learning from these mistakes, you’ll have a much higher chance of succeeding and ensuring you actually fulfil the goals that you set.