By - Sandi Webster

Goals: Business and Personal

What exactly is a goal, and who sets them? Why do we have them? Can personal goals complement business goals? January is a big goal-setting month for companies because it’s the start of the year. I like to do goal-setting in December, so my goals are already finalized when the New Year starts! Let’s investigate what goals mean to us:

 

For this purpose, let’s use the second meaning of a goal. For me, it’s more than a plan. A goal is an aim or objective you work toward with effort and determination.

Not everyone has goals. Many people never take the time to set goals for themselves. I say that people who set goals want to get somewhere other than where they are, whether in business or in their personal lives. People who do not set goals have no ambition. When you set a goal, you aim to get something you don’t have or of which you want more!

Every year, I set goals for myself. I start with a vision board in December of the previous year and then elaborate on those goals by expanding them and dividing them into business vs. personal goals. I use the SMART method:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based.  Here are examples of SMART goals:

Business:

  1. Scale my business to six figures by 12/31/23
  2. Get five (5) paid speaking contracts by 6/30/23
  3. Add five (5) coaching clients by 5/15/23

Personal:

  1. Update my will by 3/31/23
  2. Take commercial real estate classes by 4/30/23
  3. Make two (2) new friends in the Virginia area by 5/30/23

Goals can cross over from individual to business and vice versa.   They can complement each other. For example, if I take real estate classes and purchase commercial property, clearly, that is crossing over into the business world. Mixing goals makes my life easier because I can kill two birds with one stone!

I hope this helps to explain how meaningful goals can be to your life. Feel free to share your critical goals for 2023 with me in the comments section.