Learn strategies for goal setting to make changes happen in your life and business.
Growth.
Growth only happens when things get uncomfortable. Did you know that lobsters have to shed their entire shell in order to grow bigger? They crawl under a rock and cast off their old shell, then wait for the new one to crust up, and emerge, bigger and better.
They don’t know to do this until they start to feel cramped and uncomfortable. The discomfort is the indicator that they need to change and grow. Your growth will cause some discomfort for you; it’s a good thing. It means you are ready for more. This is true for both life and business. If you have or want to have a handmade business, then this post will outline how to set goals for that.
If you are feeling like starting up your handmade business is a struggle, I’m here to validate that for you: YOU ARE CORRECT. It’s a big challenge to get a business up and running, and once it is, to keep it running and bringing in some dollars. How many dollars are enough, though? And how much do you want your business to grow each year? How will you get started with this growth? How will you know it’s growing?
It’s time to let you know that the process is simple for this growth: goal setting.
I can hear you already: “It’s not that simple, Amy! None of this is that simple! You can’t just set a goal and the growth happens! Also, I’m freaking out a bit and getting shouty!” Well, that’s true, you do have to work at it. But the process for goal setting is simple, once you know how. No need to shout—I’ve got a system to help you. I will teach you how to set goals.
I set goals every January for my business. I sit down and I’m intentional with what I want and how I want to get it. The secret for me is this:
I set action goals.
Goals for your business are important, because they give a focus to the daily work. They help with the "why" of our business actions. They help us to make the right decisions. But why action goals? What's wrong with, "Increase my income by 25%?"
The reason for action goals is simple: they are completely under my control. Having an income goal is a good thing, and can help keep our daily focus, but there are many, many factors working on the income goal, over which we have no control. The economy (hello, COVID), personal or family illness, automobile problems, a global pandemic or even just personal illness--these are just a few of the Things That Can Throw a Wrench Into The Works.
Action goals are COMPLETELY under my control. Here are a few examples:
1. Write and schedule/send a soap newsletter, every week, on Thursdays.
2. Contact 4 small shop owners every week to discuss wholesale opportunities.
3. Sew one new item every week.
4. List one new item on Etsy every week, on Wednesdays.
5. Post 10 new Pinterest pins every day.
All of these goals are under my complete control. I must schedule the time to do them, I must create a plan to execute them, I must make sure my craft area is clean in order to do them. The kicker is this: if I do these things, then my income will increase. It will. The more attention I pay to the actions of my business, the more my income increases.
You may have heard of SMART goals. Keep your goals specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive. Action goals are SMART goals, if you write them that way. As far as time-sensitivity, for business I recommend a 3-month timeline for re-assessing goals and changing course as necessary. I think you could go as short as 1 month for personal life goals.
Here is my process for setting business goals:
Get a notebook.
Write down everything I want from my business. Money totals, client totals, email subscribers—everything.
Then, I get out my laptop and use my goal-setting worksheet. I write down my full-year financial goal (you can do this at any time of the year, it doesn’t matter when you start; I do mine in January, but I am a big proponent of start now), and a sales breakdown of how I think that financial goal will happen (retail, wholesale, and other income).
After I have decided on these things, I will then set my action goals for each quarter of the year. Since there are 3 months in each quarter, I set 3 action goals for each quarter, so I can focus on one per month.
Referring to these quarterly action goals, I then set weekly goals for the quarter. I don’t recommend setting weekly goals for the entire year at once; we will inevitably change them, as things happen in our lives. I set 12 weekly goals (one for each week) for the quarter I am in, and then…
At the end of each quarter, I will reflect on my goals, which ones I achieved, and what adjustments I had to make. I write these down, as well. The adjustments are valuable to save for later; reviewing them can help keep you from making the same mistakes twice, saving you time and money. At that time, set weekly goals for the next quarter.
At the end of the year, I reflect on the year: the adjustments I had to make, things that were easier than I thought, things that were more difficult, etc. I also write down what I have learned about myself. (Owning and running a handmade business can change a person, or can reveal the person you really are, as most challenges do). Finally, I write down what I want to accomplish for the next year.
This process doesn’t take up much of my time, and even so, it’s time well-spent. My business growth is due to the fact that I sit down every three months and look over my goals to make adjustments. You’d better believe there were some big adjustments to be made when a global pandemic was declared in the middle of March, 2020, and we were all sent home. Craft fairs? Canceled. Farmers markets? On hold. (Luckily, they were declared essential business and allowed to continue. Whew!) Websites? Well, those were up and running, so that’s where I put my attention. We adjust. It’s what we have to do.
Want to learn how to set goals with some LIVE instruction by me? Enter your information below and you will be signed up for my free goal setting webinar! I will show you how to use the worksheets, provide a platform for sharing our goals with others, and give you the foundation you need to move forward with this system. It’s happening on December 5th, 2020!
Ready to join this webinar? Enter your info here: