All those goals you have, let’s make them happen! To be successful in your wedding business goals are a must.
I used to think goal setting was something you did because it was a grown-up thing to do when you needed to get stuff done, but really it didn’t help you to achieve much. Boy was I wrong!
You see the issue you have if you don’t set goals is that it’s like going on a journey without a route. All you’d end up doing is driving around aimlessly and never really getting anywhere.
Well that’s what happens when you run a business without setting any goals. You have this myriad of ideas but no concrete plans for making them happen. No strategy.
However, like most things nobody wants to be told they have to do something without being told why.
When I was a kid I hated it if my Mum gave me the classic line of ‘because I said so’. With that in mind I’m not going to tell you to set goals without telling you why. So here goes:
No 1 – Accountability
If your goals just stay as ideas floating around in your head, you haven’t actually committed to doing them. Write them down, make them part of your overall game plan and suddenly you’re holding yourself accountable to achieving them. You’re so much more likely to achieve your goals when you hold yourself accountable. That little voice in your head will be saying ‘Kylie you said you were going to XYZ today’.
No 2 – Satisfaction
There is nothing so satisfying as achieving a goal and ticking it off the old ‘to do list’. It doesn’t matter how large or small your goal is it is still an accomplishment. Goals are set to challenge you to get something done. When you do that something it feels fantastic. You feel like you’ve achieved something, and it does wonders for your self-esteem.
No 3 – Motivation
Trust me when I say setting great goals for yourself gives you the motivation you need to take ideas from a thought in your head to something real. It’s the motivator you need to stop you wasting time scrolling through Instagram and being productive working on your business.
No 4 – Growth
Setting achievable goals helps your wedding business to grow. Rather than thinking about how you want to get 20 new clients next year it helps you actually do it. They’re a measure of progress helping you work towards something. Plus, they can act as a warning sign if things aren’t happening. This then allows you to do some tweaking to get you back on track.
No 5 – Focus
Goals keep you on track and focused. It’s that simple. So many of us suffer from shiny idea syndrome and having goals helps you to stay focus instead of flitting around. It’s so tempting when something shiny and new floats into our Inbox. Having goals helps stops those distraction because you have a clear path to follow.
Before you start
You need to be in the right frame of mind for goal setting. For any of you who know me you might have heard me tell the story of my wine and whiteboard day. Every 6 months or so I set myself a full day aside to do goal setting. I love it. Why? Because it’s my chance to pull all those ideas that I wouldn’t let myself be distracted by, out of the mental cupboard. I allow myself the time to think about them and see if they have legs.
However, the only way this works is if I make sure I’m in a place that makes me relax. All my usual distractions such as devices, notifications, emails etc. are removed. Everything is switched off, apart from my music. The wine is opened, there’s always wine, and my three whiteboards are up and ready for action.
Really, it’s about whatever gets you in the right mindset to actually do this.
Identify 2-3 main goals
Once you’ve had time to sit down and work out your main goals its time to think about how you’re going to achieve them.
I’ve always liked to break my goals down into small steps. Think of them as stepping stones that lead you to the end of the path. It stops the goal from feeling so overwhelming and usually there are several things that need to be done to achieve any particular goal.
Let’s say your goal was to get 10 full plan wedding clients in your diary for the following year. How are you going to achieve that?
Let’s start with some questions to help you unravel it:
- What are the steps you need to put in place to reach the goal?
- Are there any obstacles you need to overcome?
- Will you need to create anything new in order to attract these clients?
- Do you need to set aside a budget for Facebook or Instagram adverts?
- Would it help to reach out to existing clients to get a true view of what they think of your services? (this is particularly helpful in identifying the language your clients use to describe your services, finding out their pain points and struggles and understanding their deepest desires.)
- Do you need to put a marketing strategy in place that places you as an expert?
Of course, there are more questions you can ask but this would give you a good place to start if your goal was to fill your diary with more clients.
Your goals have to be SMART.
This is the age old acronym that’s been used over and over again because it works.
Specific. This is the time to get super specific and look at the what, why, where, when and how.
Instead of: I want my wedding business to be more successful.
Use: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking more clients than last year
Measurable. You have to be able to track the progress of your goal otherwise it will just float along.
Instead of: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking more clients than last year.
Use: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 50 more clients than last year
Attainable. Goals have to be realistic. If they’re not you’ll give up. It will seem pointless because you know you’re never going to get there. In the same breath you also have to make sure your goals aren’t ridiculously easy either.
Instead of: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 50 more clients than last year
Use: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 10 more clients than last year
Relevant. Your goal has to be relevant to what you do. There’s no point in doing something that is completely unrelated to your business. All that will achieve is to divide your focus and encourage shiny idea syndrome.
Instead of: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 10 more clients than last year. I’m going to do this by starting an Etsy Store
Use: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 10 more clients than last year. I’m going to do this by running adverts on Facebook
Timely. A goal has to have a deadline. When do you want to achieve your goal by? Within 30 days, six months, a year? Getting specific about your timescale helps you focus and does wonders for time management.
Instead of: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 10 more clients than last year and running adverts on Facebook
Use: I want my wedding business to be more successful by booking 10 more clients than last year and running adverts on Facebook over the next 6 months.
I’m going to leave you with this great quote from Tony Robbins – “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
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