• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

PlanningShop

Plan. Start. Grow.

  • Our Products
  • Instructors
  • Entrepreneurs
  • BizGear
  • Rhonda’s Blog
  • Book Rhonda
  • About PlanningShop
  • Search
  • Our Products
  • Instructors
  • Entrepreneurs
  • BizGear
  • Rhonda’s Blog
  • Book Rhonda
  • About PlanningShop
  • Search
2017 Success
48034176 - new year concept - cheering crowd and fireworks at new year

7 Steps to Small Biz Success in 2017

January 11, 2017 //  by Rhonda Abrams

It’s closing in on mid-January, and what happened to all those new year’s resolutions you set with such enthusiasm 10 days ago? Resolutions often quickly get forgotten. How can you turn your good intentions for your small business into real action? Turn those resolutions into “small business success goals” for 2017.

How do goals differ from resolutions? Resolutions are intentions. Goals are specific, realistic, measurable objectives. They give you clear, practical targets. They help you achieve success. After all, one of “Rhonda’s Rules” is “you can’t reach a goal you haven’t set.”

Most small business owners, however, often feel they’re too busy running their companies to take time to develop a specific list of goals. Besides, if you’re like me, you have a sense of your goals in your head, so why write them down? But “mental goals” tend to be either too big (“Be a millionaire by the time I’m 30”) or more likely, out of our control (“Land five new clients this week”).

Yes, developing a list of achievable goals requires a bit of work. You don’t want to sit down and just write out a whole laundry list of desires. That’s going to result in a frustrating number of unachievable targets.

You’ll likely start by writing down your big, long-term goals. That’s OK. But while these are important to keep in mind, they’re also goals most likely to be only minimally under your control, to change over time, and often, conflict with one another (“double the size of my business and spend more time at home with the kids”).

So while it’s important to understand your long-term goals, focus on short-term, specific goals that will help you achieve success this year.

How? Here are 7 steps towards achieving your success goals in 2017:
  1. Get specific and include numbers and deadlines: Example – “For the next three months, I’ll call 20 new prospects each week and go to all my daughter’s soccer games.” This gives you a yardstick by which to measure progress and helps you set priorities for how you spend your time.
  2. Be realistic given the many demands on your energies and your resources, and revise your goals if necessary: “For the next three months, I’ll call 10 new prospects a week and go to my daughter’s soccer games.”
  3. Translate those goals into short-term objectives, ideally with action attached: “This week, I’ll call 2 new prospects each day, first thing in the morning, and go to my daughter’s soccer game Tuesday.”
  4. Put the most emphasis on goals within your control rather than those determined by the actions of others: “I’ll make 8 cold calls this week” instead of “I’ll get 3 new customers.”
  5. List when you will re-evaluate your goals, measure progress, and set new ones: “I will examine these goals on April 30 and set goals for May.”
  6. Put limits on selected goals: Some goals will be outside your complete control (“I’ll increase sales by 25%”), so it’s important to set limits on how long you will focus on such targets. “If I can’t sell this new product after calling 10 of my current customers, I’ll switch to putting my efforts into an existing product.” For example, when I started my small business, I set a limit. I told myself if I ever reached the point of needing to mortgage my home, I’d throw in the towel and look for a job. Fortunately, it never came to that, but I knew I had an absolute boundary.
  7. Reward yourself when you accomplish goals: Rewards keep you motivated to set and reach future goals. As an entrepreneur, there’s usually no one else to acknowledge your achievements but yourself. So if you land a big sale, make all your calls for the month, or finally get approval to start building that second location, give yourself a prize. But don’t make every personal pleasure dependent on reaching business goals (“I’ll take a vacation when sales reach $250,000”) especially those outside your control. If you do, you’ll quickly find yourself resenting your business and feel trapped.

You need goals as business guideposts, or else as Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you will wind up somewhere else.”


Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2017

This article originally ran in USA Today on January 11, 2017

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Category: Solution Center, USA TodayTag: customers, goals, objectives, rhonda abrams, small business, small business tips, success, targets

Previous Post: «16 Resolutions 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Entrepreneurship Educators
Next Post: Survey Says! It’s a Great Time to Own a Small Business »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Rhonda's Blog via Email

Instagram @rhondaabrams

Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #newsletter #smallbizguru
What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of your smallbiz customers, in my latest @usatoday column. Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #customer #digitalmarketing #smallbizguru
National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to sta National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to start the weekend!! Enjoy, and go find yourself some doughnuts 😋 🍩 
.
.
#smallbusiness #fridayfeeling #nationaldoughnutday
#smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #ins #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #inspirationalquotes
“And I’m proud to be an American, where at lea “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” - Lee Greenwood -
.
.
#memorialday #neverforget
We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some R&R, productivity . . . whatever your small business needs~
.
.
#smallbusiness #weekend #entrepreneur #fridayfeeling
Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #tips #entrepreneur #newsletter #smallbizguru
#smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #inspirationalquot #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #inspirationalquotes
Here's to a great week, small business owners! . . Here's to a great week, small business owners!
.
.
#smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #mondaymotivation
My Tweets
  • Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #newsletter #smallbizguru
    What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of your smallbiz customers, in my latest @usatoday column. Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #customer #digitalmarketing #smallbizguru
    National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to sta National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to start the weekend!! Enjoy, and go find yourself some doughnuts 😋 🍩 
.
.
#smallbusiness #fridayfeeling #nationaldoughnutday
    #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #ins #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #inspirationalquotes
    “And I’m proud to be an American, where at lea “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” - Lee Greenwood -
.
.
#memorialday #neverforget
    We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some R&R, productivity . . . whatever your small business needs~
.
.
#smallbusiness #weekend #entrepreneur #fridayfeeling
    Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #tips #entrepreneur #newsletter #smallbizguru
  • Footer

    Our Products
    Instructor Central

    Privacy Policy
    Contact Us

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    Copyright © 2023 PlanningShop · All Rights Reserved · Site design by paulinaart

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT