Setting Smart Goals
As 2020 comes to a close, my mind has turned to where I want to take my business in 2021. It’s important to set goals for your business or side hustle if you want it to grow. When I set goals I use the SMART method to make sure that my goals are not just wishes thrown into the abyss. Let’s go over how to make SMART goals together.
Making SMART Goals
SMART is an acronym used for goal setting. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. If you keep all of these ideas in mind when setting your goals you’ll have a much better chance of seeing the success you’re trying for!
Specific
The more well-defined your goals are, the easier they will be to work towards. To help make your goals specific, it helps to think of 5 questions:
What do I want to accomplish?
Who is involved in this goal?
Where will the work be done?
When do I want to achieve this goal?
Why do I want to achieve this goal?
I listed it last, but sometime the “why” is the easiest question to answer and it helps guide your answers for the other questions. Answer the questions in whatever order makes sense to you.
Example of a general goal: I want to earn more money with my Etsy shop.
Example of a specific goal: I want to earn an additional $50 per month this year with my Etsy shop by making 4 new listings each month, and using sponsored listings. $50 extra dollars a month will make a nice Christmas savings account so I can start shopping in November.
Measurable
A measurable goal is something you can track so that you know if you are succeeding or if you need to take additional action steps to make your goal a reality. Some of this may have been answered in the specific section but it’s important to review. To make a measurable goal ask yourself:
How many? How much?
How do I know if I’m making progress?
How will I know if I reached my goal?
Using the previous goal example:
How many sales will you need to make to earn $50 extra dollars per month?
You can divide the $50 per month goal into a weekly number to help track your progress.
Some months may see less than $50 but if other months have more you could still reach your ultimate goal. How will you measure that?
Achievable
You want to think big when setting a goal but not so big that you can’t succeed. This can be a hard balance to strike especially when your business is new and you can’t look back on past years. To help make your goals achievable, answer these questions:
Have similar businesses done it before?
Do I have the resources, time, and support to work towards my goal? If not, how can I get them?
Realistic
This is really similar to achievable but it’s important to consider if your goals are realistic. Are you setting yourself up to fail or are you putting yourself on a path to success? Ask yourself:
Are my goals within reach in the given time frame?
Am I committed to reaching these goals?
Timely
Your SMART goals have to have a start and end date so that you have the motivation to complete them. Goals without deadlines are just wishes in space. Make sure you set a deadline for achieving your goals!
Using our previous example again: Starting the week of January 1 you will commit to making 4 new Etsy listings per month (about 1 per week) in order to earn $50 by January 31. Rinse and repeat each month for a total goal of $500 by November 1.
Make your goals SMART!
I hope this has helped you make your Etsy/small business goals for the new year. Goal setting is so important for creating success! Remember to keep your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely and you’ll be sure to go far!
