Successful entrepreneurs know that goal setting is the fastest way to see your business strategically move in the smartest direction. Time will be lost being guided by circumstantial events; often by crisis. But if you sit down and write out your business goals, according to psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews, you are 42%% more likely to achieve them. And you can rest assured that you are pointing your business towards its most successful growth pattern.

New Years is notorious for resolutions being set but not kept. That is in large put to people creating unrealistic or unclear resolutions/goals. But New Years isn’t the only time worth considering your goals. NOW is as good of a time as any. As you sit down to write out your business goals for the upcoming year, consider these 6 important tips.

1. Spend some time brainstorming answers to these two questions:

1. If this year was a huge success, what had happened?
2. If the next 5 years were a huge success, what would that look like? 

Now use this vision to help determine your goals.

2. Establish a deadline with an exact date for each goal, especially if this goal is not a routine, so that you can keep in mind how much time you have for completion.

If your goal is to clean out your inventory, instead of:
“I will clean out my inventory in the beginning of the year”

You should write:
“My inventory will be cleaned out by January 30.”

3. Make sure your goals are clear by explaining how you will be able to measure the results.

If your goal is to gain a certain amount of followers and be more engaged with your social media pages, instead of:

“I will have more Facebook followers and set aside more time to update my business page.”

You should write:
“I will have 300 more Facebook followers by December 31, 2014 and each Sunday I schedule daily updates for my business page.”

4. Break your goals into small steps that have their own deadlines. Even short-term ones can be broken down.

Here is an example for training your staff how to use your new kennel software:

Goal:
Between January 1- January 5, schedule 30 minute staff training sessions at the beginning of the work day.

Set-Up:
In order to accommodate these sessions, appointments will start at 7:30AM instead of 7:00AM from January 1-January 5.

Mini-Steps:

January 1: Cover the check-in/out process and Pet Health Record for the first 15 minutes and leave room for questions.
January 2: Cover booking appointments and automated emails/reminders.
January 3: Cover importing revenue into Quickbooks and checking spending history.
January 4: Cover marketing through social media integration and sending out newsletters.

January 5: Have each staff member demonstrate they understand the functions of the kennel software.

5. Post your goals where you can see them on a daily basis.

Stick a post-it on your computer screen or bathroom mirror, or write your goals on the whiteboard on the fridge. When your goals are right in front of you, they will be hard to continuously set aside for later.

Sometimes we think we have a clear vision of our goals until we fully flesh them out by writing them down with all the details. Goal-setting keeps you organized and motivated to make each work day productive. By the end the next New Year, you will be able to quantify all the checkmarks on your goal list and feel a stronger sense of accomplishment.

6. Write your goals as “I” affirmative statements.

If your goal is to get consistent with marketing, instead of:
“I will spend two hours a week on marketing.”

You should write:
“I spend 2 hours a week on marketing, every Thursday morning form 9am-11am.”

Kristin Morrison explains in her book Six-Figure Pet Business, that the theory behind this is that this simple adjustment to goal-setting allows your subconscious mind to focus on what is happening now. Your subconscious mind has to be behind you when you set your goals and this is rarely the case when your goals are scheduled for the future.

Sample Goals to Get You Started:

1. Honor our loyal customers! 

New customers are always great, but loyal customers deserve our attention as well and serve as a long-term investment. Decide on one thing you can do to show appreciation to your loyal customers: Send thank you cards or gift cards? Provide discounts? Give away small merchandise?

2. Upgrade your equipment. 

Whether it’s a technology tool like new kennel software or a makeover for your facility’s grooming area, make an investment that will increase your productivity and efficiency. Write out two things you want to change as specifically as possible.

3. Take up a new social media site, or enhance the marketing strategy you already have.

Lay out a step-by-step marketing plan for yourself. Marketing is should not but limited to the start of your business, but instead be seen as an on-going process. Market to new prospects as well as your current customers.

4. Initiate a plan to rent out your facility. 

Open up a space, indoor or outdoor, for pet owners and other pet care professionals to rent out. Host a dog party at your facility. Birthdays and Costume parties are a hit with dog owners. Also, allow trainers to teach a class or photographers use a space for pet portraits. If this is a goal, make sure to include all the mini-steps.

5. Commit to preparing a To Do List at the end of every month with 5-7 items on it that you can realistically get done with your schedule. 

Number them by priority, but do not overload your list. Having items will cause more stress, which will make it harder to get even a few things done. Set a separate deadline for each item so you don’t end up having to complete all of them at the end of the month.

6. Clean your office! 

There is a famous saying “clean house, clear mind”. This applies to work as well. If you’re facility’s already in order, then add something to keep it cleaner throughout the year. Add a magazine rack to your waiting room. Get an organizer for your desk. Have a recycling box out for outdated papers. What creates clutter is when things don’t have an easily accessible place to be stored.

7. Clean out your inventory. 

Do you have a few items that didn’t sell as well and therefore were put back into storage? Have a clearance sale or donate a few items to the local animal shelter.

8. Plan a fundraiser. 

Put on the calendar what day you are going to commit to doing this. Contact an animal shelter and offer for them to use your space to allow potential owners to play with the dogs or have dog treat bake sale to raise funds for an animal charity. When considering hosting an event, make sure to organize the pet care professionals that need to be involved, the amount of staff members needed to run the event smoothly, the promotion of the event, and all other event needs. Organizing projects usually takes longer than we expect. Knowing how much time you have to commit to the project up front will help make it a bigger success. 

9. Make a new business partner. 

Team up with your local vet and other noncompeting pet businesses in the area. Refer customers to each other and maintain a solid relationship that will garner you some business in the long run. See our blog on 6 Ways for Pet Businesses to Increase Their Referral Network.

10. Show your appreciation to your staff. 

A happy staff equals excellent customer service, so if you haven’t in the past, have a staff appreciation day with a celebratory lunch at work or schedule a fun outing as a team!

Set a reminder on your personal calendar to do an act of appreciation for someone on your staff every month or even every week—then do it! No act, kind words, or coffee is too small!

What are you waiting for? Grab a pen, paper, and set your goals so that you can start putting them into action!

Throw Us a Bone!

What goal are you really proud of yourself for achieving? Any secret that helped you get there? Please share with us your thoughts in the comments!