Goals Every Business Owner Should Set

[00:00:00] I don't think it's a surprise to anyone here that goal-setting is a very important part of personal and professional development. However, in my work I have found that goal-setting can be extremely overwhelming, sometimes disheartening, and not really as effective as it should be. So today I'm super excited to be sharing with you what I call "four goal-setting business questions" to assist you in setting some foundational goals that you can either do just as those four goals, that's it, or as a foundation for setting any and all goals that you wish to achieve.

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[00:00:41] Welcome back 10 Minutes to Being Boss, a bite-sized show offering up tips, tricks, and tactics for helping you do business. I'm Emily Thompson and for the past decade I have helped creatives do business. And in working with them such people I have really been able to see how difficult goal-setting in its modern iteration can be for creatives, especially, but also just for business owners in general. The modern tactics of goal-setting leave behind people whose brains don't work in, it's funny, they're called SMART goals, so don't work in smart ways? That's not what I mean. What I mean is that not everyone sets goals the same. So today I'm super excited to share with you an alternative, and not necessarily an alternative, but really getting it down to some very basic goals that I believe every business owner should be setting for themselves so that anything else that you want to achieve can be achieved, or if you do struggle with goal setting in general, these four small foundational goals can be all that you set for yourself. And then you can go let your creative energies create in whatever way they so choose without having to worry about creating more goals for yourself.

[00:02:07] But before I dive in, I do want to mention today's sponsor. We have had the pleasure of working with a Podia for a very long time. And in that time I have found that creatives, especially, really desire to share what it is that they know with the world. Podia is an all-in-one platform that allows you to sell memberships, courses, and digital downloads. And in the time that we have been partnering with Podia, which is about 18 to 24 months, listen to this: bosses have sold more than $2.26 million worth of their expertise. That number it makes me so happy every time I think of it. So if you are interested in teaching what it is that you know, head over to Podia to learn more about how you can use their platform to do just that. You can sign up for a 14 day free trial, no credit card required, and by going to podia.com/boss you also can get 15% off for life. That's podia.com/boss.

[00:03:18] Now let's dive into these four goal-setting business questions. And I will say, because I tend to be a little bit extra, this is also a worksheet. And this is actually a worksheet that has been a part of the Being Boss library of worksheets, which has really become quite a beast of a thing for a really long time.

[00:03:38] So, if you do want to snag this worksheet, you can go into the description or the show notes, and there will be a link to it there. I'm going to be going over these four questions with you here, so you can just write them down. You don't need the worksheet, but there is some really nice little fill in the blank sections of this worksheet that you can also get to by doing that.

[00:03:58] But, let's dive in. These four questions encompass multiple facets of your work and life, including your mindset, your money, your work life, and your growth. So we're going to be talking about all four of those sections of you and who you are and who you want to be today. So goal setting question, number one is around your mindset, and that question is, very simply, I say it all the time: how do you want to feel?

[00:04:30] At Being Boss we have talked about intention-setting, getting in touch with how it is that you want to feel for years because it is the foundation, I find, of both personal and professional development that allows you to enjoy the process, not just the end goal.

[00:04:46] So goal-setting question number one, the first little goal, foundational goal I want you to set for yourself is how it is that you want to feel. And as I mentioned, it's not just at the end of the goal, but it's every step along the way. So do you want to feel happy? Do you want to feel in control? Do you want to feel aligned? Do you want to feel enthusiastic?

[00:05:08] Take a moment, take a deep breath, and get in touch with how it is that you want to feel.

[00:05:15] As I mentioned, we've talked about intention, setting a ton here at Being Boss, so I will make sure in the show notes and in the description that I include a couple of links to some of that foundational content where we have talked about intention-setting, because it really is everything to how it is that I set goals and how it is able to do everything that I'm able to do.

[00:05:35] So, number one is around your mindset: how do you want to feel?

[00:05:39] Number two is around your money because we are talking business here. I will talk about feelings for a third of the day, but the rest of the day, I always want to talk about money, just so you know.

[00:05:52] So your money number two is how much money do you want to make? Now, I know for creatives, again, in particular, money goals can be very difficult for you to get in touch with, but if you want to bridge the gap between creative and business owner or creative and entrepreneur, you need to get comfortable with wanting money and with defining how much money it is that you want to make.

[00:06:18] So how it is that you do this is completely up to you. You can think about how much money you want to make every day, every week, every month or every year, I do find that the week and month tends to be the easiest ones to actually work towards, but sometimes people think very easily about year or day. You do however it is your brain needs you to do it. Just define it for yourself.

[00:06:42] And whenever you are defining it, make sure that it is well-informed as well. So your money goal needs to encompass your expenses, your taxes, how much it is that you want to get paid personally, how much it is that you want to save and saving up for retirement and paying for all of your insurances, all of these things, making sure that your money goal is very well informed.

[00:07:05] Which then leads us to goal-setting question number three. Number three is around your work-life. How many hours do you want to work? Plain and simple. And again, this can, this should be catered to you and how it is that you work. If you have a day job with a side hustle, define it in those terms. If you are running two businesses, define it in those terms.

[00:07:28] If you just want to run your one business, but you want to work a six hour workweek, more power to you, define that for yourself. I also, similar to number two, want you to think about this in terms of timeframes. Are you wanting to define this for every day, every week, every month, every year, however it is that you best work, do this for yourself. How many hours do you want to work?

[00:07:55] Now, this is one that I want you to share with me, head down into the comments and let me know how many hours it is that you want to work, defined however it is that you want to define it. Share it with others, and you will find that the path for you to achieve it becomes that much more clear.

[00:08:12] Now let's head into the final question: goal-setting question number four, and that is around your growth.

[00:08:20] Oh, this one is always so hard. Not necessarily, you need to get used to it. This one is around your growth. Where will you seek help first? Isn't that so crazy to think about? I know, in particular, creatives have a hard time with this, though I also know that probably 80% of the business owners that I know also just sincerely struggle with this.

[00:08:45] Also women struggle with this a lot. Also men do. Literally everyone struggles with coming to terms with the fact that they need help and then identifying just the help that they need. And then, the hardest part yet, actually asking for the help that you want.

[00:09:02] So think about these things: where do you need help in your business? Where could you use additional support? Who will you choose to help you reach your goals?

[00:09:13] Either the ones that you've just set for yourself or any larger other goals that you are setting for yourself, as well. Get very clear with what help you need to make it all happen. For me, I'll be sitting down with my CEO Day later this week and getting very clear on the health that I need in both of my businesses here at Almanac Supply Co and also at Being Boss.

[00:09:37] And this is one of those muscles that you just have to flex. You just have to keep on using it until it is strong and you don't even think about using it anymore. So there you have it, four goal-setting business questions that you can use in your business to set base line goals and expectations for how you want to operate moving forward.

[00:10:00] I like to keep these updated very consistently in my business so that I always know how many hours I'm wanting to work, because it changes from season to season. I always need to get really clear with who it is that I'm going to hire next, or what help it is that I need to seek out.

[00:10:16] Be very clear about these and either these can be the only goals that you have set and keep going for your business, or they serve as a very firm foundation on which you can set any other goals that you want to achieve for yourself. And with these defined, those goals will be easier and more aligned as you achieve them.

[00:10:38] And with that, that's it. You have them. Thank you so much for coming to hang out with me, and thank you so much for all of the really great, amazing feedback that you've given me as I have embarked on this new version of 10 Minutes to Being Boss.

[00:10:51] I very much so appreciate you being here and you telling me that you think I'm funny and that you like seeing my face. That's kind of weird to me; I also really love it, so thank you. I will see you next time. And until then, do the work be boss.

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