The beginning of a new year marks a fresh start. In addition to setting goals for myself for the year ahead, which I prefer over the term “resolutions” that seem to fail after a month or two, I always get the urge to clean and re-organize, purging my house of unnecessary items and bringing back a sense of order after the chaos of the holidays. The same mentality can be applied to your business!
Setting goals that are smart and attainable for your business and decluttering your mind and work space are key to being productive. Here are some guidelines we recommend that will help you set goals and get organized in the new year:
Declutter
Tidy up your work space by filing papers and archiving digital documents. Throw away unnecessary clutter (mail, magazines, catalogs, etc) and invest in some organizing bins so you always have a place to put things. “A place for everything and everything in its place” is a motto I live by! Starting the year off in a clean, organized space will give you that “fresh start feel” we’re talking about.
Set the bar high (but not too high)
Goals should move your business forward but setting realistic goals is critical for success. If your goals are too difficult, you’ll be frustrated when they aren’t met. If they are too easy, your business could go stagnant. To achieve the most, you want to set goals that are high but reachable.
Be specific
Setting goals that are specific and in line with the big picture of your business will be more effective than if you keep them general. Smaller milestones leading up to larger goals is also helpful. For example, a goal of “getting more customers” is less effective than a goal to “get 3 new customers per month by calling 10 leads per week.”
Create and follow a timeline
Set measurable goals and track their process. Think about how long a task will realistically take when making your timeline and check off each milestone as you finish it. There are many tools available for measuring the progression of your goals. Consider utilizing the pipeline feature in PEP for the repeatable process of estimating and selling work, and for managing milestones on the production side of things. Learn more about pipeline organization.
Get everyone involved
You and your employees need to be fully committed to your business goals and process in order for them to be attainable. It’s helpful to work with your team when creating the timeline so that everyone is on the same page and working together.
Review and Evaluate
Review progression of your goals regularly with your staff and decide what works and what doesn’t. Be flexible and remember that your goals can change throughout the year! Correcting what isn’t working is more important than completely throwing the goal away.
Setting goals and staying organized is important in moving your business forward and what better time to do it than the beginning of a new year? Make this your best year yet by setting big (but attainable) goals, getting everyone involved, measuring and tracking their progression, and making adjustments as needed.
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