Many people think that setting a goal is a simple case of “I want a 1 million turnover by the end of a 5 year period” or “I would like to reach 600 clients in 7 years”. If this sounds like you then I would urge you to relook at your goals.

What you should be asking yourself is; “what made you first decide you wanted the 1 million?” To work out what your true goal is you need to be asking yourself a few questions first; “why do you need it?” “What do I want the money for?” Don’t be afraid to keep asking yourself the same questions over and over until your true goal reveals itself.

So what else do you need to ask yourself when sorting out what your goal is? Well as the title may suggest; do you know the difference between target and goals? It is a common misconception that they are the same thing, this may be because they are closely linked and work in tandem if you like.

So let’s explore what defines a target and goal: the goal is what you want to end up with in your business or personal life, a target is a number i.e. the level of income, which the business will have to generate so you can reach the goal.

My book, Getting Down to Business describes this as: ‘not to earn a million pounds but to send your children to university and have the option of retirement at fifty-five.’

Some more examples of goals would be:

“To become an established and profitable recruitment agency operating with three employees and turning over £1 million.”

“To develop the business to operate with a standardised process and procedures, which do not require M to be there all the time, while generating £80,000 profit per year.”

Over the years it has become clear that a great number of business owners do not have a strong idea as to what their goal should be, therefore they are unsure of the direction in which to take the business. Setting goals can make a vast difference, setting them properly is the only way to ensure your targets are set appropriately. Without clear set goals your targets will ultimately struggle to work for you.

Once you have set your goals it may help you to get focus on your business in a way you have never done so before. For example when people set up their own business they envisage their lives going very differently. They see the business as taking off and thriving so much so, that they won’t need to be around much at all and can buy that second home abroad they always dreamt of. This is because business owners are more often than not, optimists, and sometimes this can cloud factual judgement. However if the business owner has not thought through what his goal is and has gone ahead and set up the business in such a way that it is impossible for him to be absent for any length of time then this will be the obstacle to tackle before your goal can be accomplished. Therefore setting a goal and having to refocus is a very sobering process.

Only once your clear goal is in place can you start to implement it and act on achieving it. This can only be attained by planning effectively and setting suitable targets to help aid the process. Consequently bringing you closer to your end goal and finally, your ‘perfect’ life.

If you feel you need more advice on how to set goals for your business or how to go about achieving them, contact Doug D’Aubrey on 07946 730475 or doug@exec-tc.com.