Goal setting is an essential part of starting and growing your business. Without goals you have no destination; You don’t know where you’re going so there’s no way to know how to get there.
Not only do goals give you a destination, they can actually make you more likely to succeed!
Here are a few goal setting tips to get you started.
Why Write Your Goals Down
You might be thinking to yourself that just because your goals aren’t written down doesn’t mean that you don’t have goals. You might think that having your goals in your head is enough but actually writing down your goals is very important.
In her Ted Talk Leena Munot reveals that only 3% of people write down their goals but these 3% are 10 times more productive than the rest of us that don’t. Leena then goes on to describe four types of people.
People who don’t have written goals because…
- Life is good and they just go with the flow
- They don’t need written goals because they’re in their mind
- Life is unpredictable, they don’t think goals don’t work
- They don’t know what to write down
But what makes writing down your goals so powerful? While it would seem that typing out your goals would have the same effect as writing them down by hand, you’d be wrong. Physically writing down your goals by hand on paper activates you mind-body connection.
Writing down your goals this way helps you to internalize your goals and make them real. It makes your goals tangible and real and literally changes how your brain thinks about your goals.
Writing down your goals helps you to commit to them but also re-orients you’re thinking. You might be nervous to put pen to paper out of fear of failure but Olympic Coach Kenny Armstrong puts it best, “Setting challenging goals creates a fear of failure, setting no goals guarantees it.”
Believe in yourself enough to write down your goals. That’s the first step in achieving success! Think of it this way, if you haven’t defined what success means to you how do you know you’ve achieved it?
Planning Out Your Goals
Once you’ve written down your goals it’s time to start planning how you’re going to achieve your goals. This is how you’re going to turn your dreams and vague goals into something you can actually you achieve.
One common tool that people use to do this is to set SMART goals. SMART goals are
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
After you’ve made sure that your goals are SMART it’s time to prioritize them. When trying to decide which goal to work on first figure out which goal will make the biggest difference, then write down every step you can think of that will help you achieve this goal.
These small steps will help you to work towards your bigger goals. Aim to work on one of these small steps every day. As you complete each step you’ll be moving forward and getting the most important things done that will ultimately contribute to you achieving your goal.
Finding Your Why
One of the most important parts of goal setting that often goes overlooked is your “why.” Your “why” is the fuel to keep yourself motivated. Your “why” is what reminds you why you’re doing what you’re doing.
I would argue that there are actually 2 whys when it comes to starting your own supplement company.
There is your personal why, it could be
- I want to be financially independent so that I can spend more time with my wife and kids
- I want to build an amazing business so that I can give back to my community
- I’m passionate about health and fitness and want others to discover that same joy
And then there is your business why (why did you want to start a supplement business instead of doing something else).
This why is what will guide and shape your business. If there’s no other why than making money, customers will be able to sense that. Having a why in mind will shape and define your brand. Everything you do should link back to that why.
For example I once worked at a weight loss company whose why statement was “Our passion is to transform and improve lives.” We lived that why everyday. Every employee knew that why and it guided the culture. The big overarching goal on the other hand was to sell to 1,000,000 people.
You can see how the “why” and the goal are two different things but they’re complementary.
When you’re thinking about your why I want you to dig deep because ultimately this is what will help you keep going when you’re ready to give up. This will be your guiding light. I have seen time and time again where people are ready to give up on their goals only to re-read their why and feel the renewed passion and energy they need to keep going and succeed.
Your business why might take a little longer to develop as you figure it out yourself but there’s a reason that you decided to start your own supplement business and you should write that down along with your other goals.
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