I’ve been harping about year-end approaching for a while around here, mostly for tax purposes. But with the beginning of a new year around the corner, that also means it’s time for something else – setting goals for your business.
“Goal setting” seems to be a trendy buzzword these days. We’re excited to start the new year with a clean slate. Let’s set some lofty goals and get excited about getting clarity on the path forward! Let’s set a fun word of intention for the new year. This is going to be your year! Right? Right!
Look – I’m all about setting goals and making plans. I’ve got my own “word of the year” and inspiration board in my office. Spending time thinking about your business every now and then (and taking a break from the grind of working IN your business) is super important. (So important, in fact, that I made an entire course about it.)
But it seems like goal-setting is becoming more and more about fluff, and less about doing something meaningful that really actually changes the way you are running your business. Why take time out of your work to set goals if you’re just going to forget about that goal by mid-February? You know what I mean?
So, goal-setters – our processes need to improve. The way we go about setting goals so that are actually actionable and effective needs to change. We need to set goals and also create measuring sticks or rulers to compare our goals against. How do you know if you’re on track to meet your goals? More importantly, how do you know what steps or changes to make within your business to achieve these goals? Let’s build THAT part into the process too.
Why financial goals, specifically? Because that’s what we need help with the most. Too many artists and talented creatives are struggling or closing up shop because we aren’t making enough money to keep going. We’re pouring our time, energy, and personal funds into our businesses, and we’re not getting enough money out of it to support ourselves or our goals.
This is why I have developed my Goal-Getting Guidebook for Makers, which is built around the #1 goal of paying yourself from your business profits. We work backwards from there to figure out everything we need to achieve or work on during the year to be able to pay ourselves that amount. We will use this unique goal-setting process to figure out your sales goal, expense budget, and product mix for the year, along with where you should be focusing your time & energy to achieve the greatest financial impact to meet those goals.
This Guidebook encourages you to set concrete, specific financial goals for your shop. Want to be able to pay yourself X this year? Let’s figure out what it takes to get there. How much in net income do you need to get there? How many orders do you need each month? How much traffic do you need to get that many orders? We’re going to crunch the numbers and figure it out.
I’m talking about developing laser focus for achieving your financial goals with your business. By the end of this goal-setting process, you will know what actions need to be prioritized and what needs to go to the bottom of your list. One of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship is juggling #allthethings. This Guidebook forces you to determine what’s going to get you there the fastest. I’m all about working smarter, not harder, and you can use your financial goals to do just that.
I’m thrilled to announce there will be a physical + printed, soft-bound version of the Guidebook available on Amazon. I also have a printable PDF version of the Guidebook available in the shop. Both versions of the Guidebook include access to a spreadsheet file if you want some formulas to crunch the numbers for you.
