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Ken!
Small Business Owners Need Different Goals Than The Rest of The World
by John Jantsch
The line
between business and life is so blurry and close for the typical
small business owner that I think you need to approach goal setting
in an untypical fashion. Forget about the silly notion of separating
business and life goals. It's not going to happen. No, what you need
to do is find a way to marry the two and be at peace with that.
First off, you've got to decide that you love your life! Without
that, goal setting is just a chore. So decide it and tell yourself
that you love your life, your work and your reason for being. I'm
serious - don't pass go without saying that - and then write down
your goals for your vision for your business and the tactical,
measurable steps or goals to deliver that vision.
Vision goals encompass your greater vision for the business and for
your life. Questions like, "Where do see your business in five
years?" are the genesis of vision-oriented goals.
Tactical goals are much more tangible. Factors such as number of new
clients, revenue increase, or profit increase all fall into this
category of goal setting. Once you come up with your short-term
vision and tactical goals, you should find a way to communicate
these goals to everyone in your organization.
Goals for your vision
I want to warn you that this next section may be some of the most
difficult material you ever encounter from a marketing guy, but take
it to heart and it may be the most fruitful. I know, I know, this is
a marketing newsletter, and here I am getting ready to ask you what
you want to be when you grow up. I just happen to think
you'll never be a very good marketer without the passion that
working on purpose brings.
If you've ever looked at your business and wondered why you are
stuck in a rut, your answers to the questions I'm about to ask may
actually be the key to getting you unstuck. So, turn off the phone,
unhook from e-mail, and write the answers to the statements below on
a sheet of paper.
Describe the ideal experience/relationship you want your client to have with your business.
Describe a perfect day at work for you.
Ok, now what needs to change for you to realize any of the pictures
above? Your vision marketing goals should flow fairly easily from
the answers to that question.
Tactical Goals
Unless you are an accountant, the thought of math may not be that
appealing to you. This article does not attempt any foray into the
inner workings of accounting, but I have found that, like it or not,
your marketing success at many levels is tied to basic accounting
principles. At the very least your tactical marketing goals should
include projections for:
Revenue. For the most part, revenue is sales. Sales
are good, and they keep the machine running, but they are not the
entire picture of course. Your revenue plans must address your
capacity to actually service the amount of business your marketing
plan generates. Some people simply pick a number that is X percent
above last year. If you have not done any type of goal-setting or
marketing to support that goal in the past that may be your best
approach. The primary point is to have a number that you are
shooting for.
Profit. A sale without profits is a recipe for
disaster. Many businesses fail to understand how to account for the
expenses involved in their business and either price their products
and services incorrectly or simply fail to make any profit. This is
one of those places where employing the services of an accounting
professional can be a very helpful thing! Work with your accountant
to help you integrate the money aspects of your business into your
marketing.
If your accountant doesn't have an understanding of how to help you
do this with reports that can give you snapshots of your marketing
goals that relate to the accounting aspects of your business, then
it's time to find a new accountant.
Income. If you are the owner of the business or
this business is the source of your income, then it stands to reason
that you should set marketing goals tied to your income.
A surprising number of business owners never set any goals for the
amount of money they intend to make. Without an income target, you
are left to take whatever comes along. So how much money do you want
your business to produce in the next year? three years? five years?
Further, you should set goals that are tied to your actual marketing
tactics:
Don't wait around until the New Year to do this. Do it now.
~ ~ ~
John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006
He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/.