If you’re just starting on your business journey, or your team only consists of you, yourself, and me, there are some things you probably don’t need to worry about. Strict HR procedures and a recruitment team probably aren’t needed yet. But other things aren’t exclusive to the world’s biggest companies.
You might be a local handyman, a freelance financial advisor offering debt help, or a sole trader running a high street sweet shop.
Whatever your small business is selling or offering, you need goals. Not just any goals, SMART goals.
SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, and they’re also a great way to help you get from zero to one. Let’s use the example of three friends called Tom, Dick and Harry who have recently set up an online personal training service: TDH Training.
Specific
Specific goals need to make it absolutely clear what needs to be achieved. If there are multiple people in the business, include who is involved in the specific goal. At this point, you don’t need to worry about the when or the why, just focus on what it is exactly you’re going to achieve and who’s involved.
Example of a specific goal for TDH Training
- The company will start using social media ads. Tom will take ownership of this and start by undertaking a paid ads course for each of the major social platforms.
Measurable
Once you’ve outlined exactly what needs to be achieved, you need to think of a way to measure it. Put a number on your goal.
If you’re looking to increase sales, include by how much. If you’re looking to increase followers, say by how many. If you’re looking to launch an MVP, by when?
Example of a smart, measurable goal for TDH Training
- The company will start using social media ads to increase its number of clients by 10%. Tom will take ownership of this and start by undertaking a paid ads course for each of the major social platforms.
Achievable
If goals aren’t achievable, what’s the point? Once you’ve laid out what you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it, you need to sit down and think if you can actually achieve your goal.
In most cases, you’ll find that your goals are slightly too ambitious and you’ll need to fine-tune your goals to find the right balance between ambitious and realistic.
Example of a smart, measurable, achievable goal for TDH Training
- The company will start using Facebook ads to increase its number of clients by 5%. Tom will take ownership of this and start by undertaking a Facebook ads course.
Relevant
Relevant goals consider the why, asking why are we even setting ourselves these goals. Also, consider what are the implications of achieving your goals and how they can lead to bigger and better things.
If you can’t envision how your goals will benefit your business, they are unfortunately probably not relevant!
Example of a smart, measurable, achievable, relevant goal for TDH Training
- The company will start using Facebook ads to increase its number of clients by 5%. Tom will take ownership of this and start by undertaking a Facebook ads course. The majority of the company’s competitors are already running Facebook ads so this is a major area where the company is losing out on potential clients to competitors.
Time-bound
The final thing to add to your goals is a timeframe. Follow some of the already-taken steps when determining a time to achieve your goals.
Be specific, don’t say a few months. Make sure the timeframe you choose is achievable, don’t set yourself up to fail.
And finally, make sure your timeframe is relevant, there is no point attempting to launch an app in 12 months if competitors are launching in 6 months.
Example of a smart, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound goal for TDH Training
- The company will start using Facebook ads to increase its number of clients by 5% before December. Tom will take ownership of this and start by undertaking a Facebook ads course to be completed by the end of next month. The majority of the company’s competitors are already running Facebook ads so this is a major area where the company is losing out on potential clients to competitors.
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