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As a startup owner, you might have lofty goals for your startup. However, setting goals is much different from achieving them. That’s why, in this article, we’ll be covering practical tips that can help you set the right goals and figure out how to achieve them.
1. Set clear and specific goals
When creating the goals you want for your startup, you like to dream big. But, to make your goals more actionable, being clear and specific with them is vital.
An excellent barometer for whether your goals are clear and specific enough would be the goal-setting method called SMART goals.
SMART is an acronym, each abbreviation referring to a quality your goal should fulfill.
S stands for Specific, meaning you shouldn’t go too broad with your goals. For example, “business growth” lacks specificity. A better one would be “increase total sales growth.”
M stands for Measurable, which means that your goals should be quantifiable. Let’s build on the previous example. You can make it measurable by adding that you want to “increase total sales growth by 1,000%.”
Next, there is A, which stands for Achievable. Regarding goal-setting, you should reel yourself back and ensure your goals are realistic.
Let’s go back to our example. A 1,000% total sales growth increase isn’t realistic when startups’ average annual growth rate is around 200% to 481% in their first year.
In this case, it’s best to look at your company’s historical data around total sales and set your goals from there. For our example, change it to “increasing total sales growth by 250%” to make it more achievable.
Next, there is R, which stands for Relevant. Your startup goals should be necessary for your company’s continued survival in its industry. As a startup, a goal like having many social media followers is less required than goals that help you gain a firm foothold in the market.
Lastly, there’s T for Time-Bound, meaning your goals should have a deadline. A deadline will serve as an incentive for you to work on your goals actively. For the previous example, you can aim to “increase total sales growth by 250% annually” to add a time limit.
2. Break down your goals into actionable steps
Once you’ve got your primary goal, the next step is to break it down into pieces. After all, even though you’ve made a SMART goal, how you achieve it is different. By breaking it down into actionable steps, your goals will feel more achievable since you’ve cleared the path you must go through to get there.
You can break down your primary goal into different phases and then into distinct steps. You can parse down your primary goal as much as you want to make the goal feel more reachable. The key here is that the steps should lead to your ultimate goal.
For example, if your goal is to increase sales growth within a year, you can break it down into actionable steps, such as helping each sales team member improve their close rate by a certain percentage each month.
3. Craft a clear action plan
One of the reasons why you want to ensure that your startup has a goal is because it’s at the core of a great business action plan.
With a thorough action plan for your startup, you can have something to present to potential investors. Aside from benefiting you in the face of potential investors, it can also serve as your guideline for the different growth phases and goals that you have for your startup on a long-term basis.
A clear action plan will help you and your team determine their focus at the particular stage of your startup, how to achieve their goals, and what they should be gearing up for.
4. Move distractions out of the way
As the startup owner, you should focus on tasks impacting your startup’s success. So, when you hire your employees, you should get team members who can carry the load of day-to-day tasks that distract you from more high-impact tasks.
That doesn’t mean you should never pitch in wherever your startup needs you. Although you should avoid getting your attention pulled away from your executive tasks, if you do, remember to loop yourself back into your main work, which is pushing your startup to new heights.
Hiring capable people, training them, and then learning to trust their judgments and decisions afterward is vital in helping you focus back up on these executive tasks.
5. Track your goal progress
As mentioned earlier, you should ensure that your goals are measurable. The main reason for that is so that you have a quantifiable way of tracking your goal progress.
That’s why when you’re goal-setting, make sure that you establish which metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) you’re going to be tracking to know whether you’re progressing or not.
Tracking your goal progress and having KPIs set in place can also help you by making it easier for you to point out which aspect of your business isn’t keeping pace.
Your KPIs can let you know which parts of the business are falling behind so you can support them or tweak your plans and strategies to get back on track.
6. Build a supportive network
A supportive network behind you can go a long way in helping you feel more motivated to achieve your startup goals. Motivation aside, your network can help you more tangibly when achieving your startup’s goals.
With the right network, you can find mentors who can help guide you through the tough challenges of starting a business. Use the experiences of other startup owners before you to figure out where you can pivot to give your startup a better chance of survival.
You can even find potential investors through a well-connected network. Your network can also help you find professionals you can add to your startup’s team to have an internal support community.
7. Learn from setbacks and failures
Failures and setbacks are par for the course when you’re a startup. Not preparing for failure can lead to catastrophic ripples that can harm your business or negatively affect your motivation.
While failures and setbacks will never feel pleasant, that doesn’t mean you should feel paralyzed after experiencing one of them. If that’s the case, then your startup might crash and burn.
Instead, learn to find lessons from these setbacks and failures. Find out where you went wrong and what you could’ve done better, then keep that in mind. If you reencounter a similar situation, document it so you’ll know the right action.
Conclusion
These tips help you set goals for your startup and ensure you have enough momentum to achieve these goals. When your startup is losing track of its goal, you can always go back and follow the tips in this article so that your business can continue growing in the direction you want.