Start Setting Your Business Goals for 2008

We are nearly at the end of 2007 – less than 3 weeks to go! The end of the year is a great time to reflect on the past years successes and compare our pet business results to what we had planned to achieve. The end of a year is also the best time to start planning for the year to come. Getting your vision and goals for 2008 written down in the next couple of weeks will help you to jump right in to the New Year with enthusiasm and energy.  

Last December I wrote an article for submission in a contest at Search Warp(an online article directory) about New Years Resolutions.  Many people use these resolutions as their goals, but sadly most people don’t succeed in reaching them. I had been searching for a better way to set personal and business goals and just finished a book by Brian Tracy called Create Your Own Future: How to Master the 12 Critical Factors of Unlimited Success. I used the suggestions from this book and wrote down my own goals and vision for 2007.  

Here is my article: 

Most people who set New Years Resolutions are looking to improve their life by having more energy, a better figure, a bigger bank balance, more friends, or a new partner. But do we ever sit back and make a plan for achieving these goals by breaking the goal into a manageable series of steps? Do you envision what you life will be like once the goal is reached? Do you write your goals on paper? Are the goals you set in step with your values and overall life plan? Taking these extra steps when planning goals or resolutions makes all the difference in whether we have the perseverance and passion to stick to them when the going gets tough.

Rather than just setting New Years Resolutions this year I decided to set out my goals for 2007 following a rigid set of steps that would help me ensure that these goals would take me to place where I want to be to start 2008. These steps are recommended by all the experts on goal setting including Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracy and I challenge you to use them to help you be more successful in keeping your resolutions for 2007.

1) Create a strong vision or “Why” What would your life look like if you had no limitations on time and money? What would you do? Who would you work and live with? Write a list of the things you would have in your life. Spend some time imagining your perfect day in your new life. Write a letter to someone close to you at a future date in time (recommend 3 to 5 years from now) in the present tense – as if you are living it right now, telling them about your typical day.What you would write in your letter is a vision statement. This type of statement is a fantastic motivational tool for times when you are struggling with your goals and need a lift. Many goal experts recommend that you put this vision into a visual format by creating a dream board using pictures and words cut from magazines or books. In this format you can quickly look at your vision several times a day to keep it firmly implanted in your consciousness.

2) Create a personal mission statement A mission statement looks a little different from you vision. It should be a description of the type of person that you want to become, and how you will affect the lives of others. Think of the way you would like to be remembered once you are gone. Do want to be thought of as courageous, generous, a family man/woman, or supporter of a certain charity or community group? Write this statement down in one paragraph summary.

3) Write down a list of your top 10 goals for 2007 Now we come to thinking about specific goals. With your vision and mission statement in place it should now be easier to write goals that are congruent with who you want to be and where you want to go. Make these goals big enough so that reaching them will be a stretch and a challenge – but ensure you are able to believe that it is possible for you to reach them. To be most effective make goals specific and have a deadline or timeline to complete each goal.

4) Select you Definite Purpose for 2007 Take a look through the list of goals you now have on paper. Think about which one if achieved will make the most difference in your life or bring you closest to your vision and mission. Write this down as your definite purpose for 2007.

5) Write an action plan Take the goal that you just selected and break the task down into a series of small bite sized action steps. Each step should be small enough that it is not intimidating and won’t cause procrastination. Ideally each step will be a simple task that you can do easily in a day or a week. If there are regular actions that you can take daily and weekly, write down a weekly action plan that you can hold yourself accountable to. Put important milestones towards reaching your goals in a yearly planner. Be sure to celebrate as you reach these milestones!  I plan to use these 5 steps again this year to design a plan of action for 2008. However, I want to make sure that I also put into practice the lessons I learnt about goal planning this year.