5 Tips for Goal Setting in the New Year

New Years resolutions – love them or hate them, goal setting in general can be an extremely beneficial practice for the entrepreneur. The end of one year and the beginning of another is a great opportunity to take inventory of wins and losses – and establishing your goals for the next twelve months. However, you want to make sure that you aren’t wasting your time through the process.

Here are a few tips to keep you on track in your goal setting for the new year.

#1: Review Where You’ve Been

The first step in effective goal setting is to objectively evaluate your performance in the previous year. This may include the number of projects completed, client satisfaction, revenue, profit, and employee engagement. Once you can clearly analyze why you did or didn’t reach your goals from last year, and provides a benchmark moving forward.

#2: Reach for the Stars

When goal setting, you want your goals to be attainable. At the same time, you want to push yourself and your team to accomplish great things. Don’t be afraid to think big when considering your goals. A great way to balance this is to have goals that you know for sure that you can reach, and a few that stretch your limits. That way, you still inch closer that big goal – but even if you don’t reach it, you won’t be discouraged to push just a little bit farther than you expected.

#3: Make a Plan

Goals are great, unless you don’t have a plan. If you say, “I want to increase my annual revenue by 30% next year” – but don’t detail what you will do differently to accomplish that goal, chances are good that you’ll end up spinning your wheels. Brainstorm on your own, with your team, or in your mastermind group to come up with a strategy to meet your goals.

#4: Set Benchmarks

When writing those lofty goals, remember that it may take time to reach them. As a result, you may loose focus or drive toward achieving that goal. Set smaller benchmarks for yourself and your team along the way. Using this method, you are able to acknowledge how far you’ve come, which can help to push you to keep going.

#5: Set Rewards

You’re likely going to have to put in a lot of hard work to reach your goals. So, plan for a reward when you reach that benchmark! If you are involving your team, plan an employee dinner or gift. If you are on your own, plan a vacation or something similar that fits your situation. Having that added personal reward will help to keep you focused.