Setting goals and aligning growth with those goals will help focus your business’s resources effectively. It’s a key to long-term success and will provide ongoing direction for your business’s growth.
Create a business plan
A business plan is a key strategy document that will also help your business secure funding from banks or investors. It will provide you with direction and help you share your vision and strategy with employees, customers, suppliers and any other stakeholders. Ultimately, it can help you grow with intention and focus and manage your business’s priorities. Refresh your skills in writing business plans.
Manage your growth
Don’t just grow. Manage your growth by setting strategic business goals that will help you grow with purpose, channeling resources where they are most needed and most effective. This could mean focusing on markets with greater growth potential or playing to the strengths and expertise of your staff. It could involve allocating sufficient budget for marketing, research and development, or employee development.
Set and achieve S-M-A-R-T objectives
SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. They’re more than a catchy acronym. They can make a difference by helping to keep your goals practical, focused and achievable. For example, instead of “grow the business,” state how you’ll do that and provide a measurable or trackable quantity of units. Make sure you can achieve these goals. They should get you and your employees to stretch, but not be so hard to reach that they set you up for failure. And peg your goals to a time frame in order to keep them grounded and to provide you with a clear window. You’ll know what to aim for and have a defined period to review.
Continuously monitor your progress
Track your progress. If you fail to reach certain milestones – or find you are off track partway through the quarter or year – you can make adjustments accordingly. Monitoring your business’s growth and progress toward strategic goals is essential in keeping your growth on track to meet those goals.
