Setting Business Goals

Most business people, are not good at setting goals. They tend to be reactive as opposed to proactive.  If you did $2 million in revenue last year, you’re most likely going to aim for $2.1M this year (or $2.2M if you’re feeling particularly bullish.) Such modest growth is reasonably easily achieved by simply increasing prices and make sure your expenses do not increase.

How to be a high performing business?

The best and most high performing businesses take a different approach to their business.   They understand that the path to true and sustainable growth lies in developing deep and enduring relationships with their accountant, lawyer and financial adviser and here is the key – they truly understanding what customers/customer need, rather than simply delivering what they say they want.

So when we talk about setting goals, we are talking about much more than last year plus a bit. We are focused on a different way of thinking and conducting business. We suggest you need to develop a thorough understanding of and clear answers to the following questions:

1. Who are your ideal customers?
2. Where are those customers located?
3. What are the core services/product you want to offer these customers?
4. What needs do those services/product meet?
5. Specifically how does the customer benefit?
6. On what basis are those services/products priced?
7. What is the ideal customer service model for those customers?
8. How are we going to market and sell the services/products?
9. Is the service offering scalable (or is it dependent on a few key people?)
10. What changes are on the horizon that might impact the business’s customers and how can the business innovate to stay one step ahead of the game?

To gain clarity around these questions, the key business process of PLANNING should not be overlooked.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed and to achieve your goals

1. Determine the relative importance of your business goals. For example, if you had to allocate 100 chips to the following six goals, how would you make that allocation?  The goals we most commonly see are:
   1. Revenue
   2. Profit
   3. Capacity
   4. Community
   5. Lifestyle
   6. Succession
2. Assess your business’s strengths and weaknesses across the following five key business areas:
   1. Attracting new customers
   2. Managing existing customers
   3. Developing team
   4. Optimising processes
   5. Developing products
3. Create a PROJECT PLAN consisting of a small number of projects that have a high correlation with the relative importance of the goals at step one and the low hanging fruit identified at step 2.
4. Implement the plan with a high degree of focus and accountability.

If you want your business to succeed and continually grow, you need to plan.  You need to form strong relationships with your accounting firm.  We can help you achieve you goals and complete your planning.  All it takes is a bit of courage and thought and you will soon be on your way to taking your business to the next level.

The information provided  in this BLOG is of a general nature only and has been provided without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this you should consider whether the information is appropriate considering your objectives, financial situation and needs.