Why Goal Setting is Essential for Creatives
Setting goals is the best way to take your business to the next level. As the new year is within arm’s reach, it’s time to start thinking about what to do with it!
We all start out in January full of hope, ideas, and a few extra holiday pounds to manage. Then suddenly, it’s December again and we haven’t done anything we set out to do. That’s never a good feeling, so let’s make a pact. Ready?
That will not be us this year.
This December, I’ll walk you through setting yourself up for success in the new year. Over the next 4 weeks, we’ll talk about goal setting strategies that will help you actually achieve them, so you won’t look up 12 months from now and realize you’re facing down the exact same new year’s resolutions…yet again. We’ll start at the very beginning, by evaluating your current situation, just as it is.
But first, make sure to download the worksheet I created to walk you through this 3 part series: from reflecting on last year to figuring out your goals and finally taking action!
Goal Setting: Figuring Out Where You Are
Before you can make plans for the upcoming year, you need to figure out where you are right now. You’ll make more progress in the future if you look closely at what has led you to the present. So take some time and explore how you really feel about the level and amount of work you’re doing. Are you satisfied with it? If not, what do you think would change that feeling for you?
At the end of the year, I like to block off a day or a half-day to work on my business goals. I start by taking a good look back on the year that is ending to figure out where to go from here.
If you can, dedicate a few hours to these thoughts. This is not something you can tackle in ½ hour between 2 client projects. It should be treated with the utmost importance because it establishes the direction you will take going forward.
Reflect on the Past Year
All the questions we will go over in this 3 posts series are included in a workbook that you can download for free here, alongside a Trello board that’ll help you keep track of your goals and turn them into monthly and weekly bite-size actions.
This is also a good opportunity to evaluate your progress in the recent past. Look at what worked {and didn’t work} this year. Ask yourself some tough questions:
- What was your biggest accomplishment last year?
- How about your biggest failure?
- What was your favorite project or client?
- What is the ONE thing you do NOT want to do again next year?
Basically, this is where you determine what you should continue doing {or not doing} to give yourself the best chance at success. Be gentle with yourself, but be honest. It’s a hard balance to find — you’re talking about a business, after all — but it’s an important one. You want to do the right things to develop your business, but you also want to make sure you create a business you love. What’s the point of working for yourself if it’s a chore…am I right?
Find What Propels Your Business Forward
You didn’t think you were done with your goal setting assessment yet, did you? Once you’ve figured out what you liked and didn’t like about last year’s endeavors, it’s time to look at what actually advanced your business (or stood in the way of it). And you guessed it, that means more questions.
You know how passionate I am about systems and automation. I usually keep the last 2 weeks of the year free of client work so I can focus on my systems and workflows. I evaluate them and update them if necessary.
- What steps did you take to scale your business? Think about automating and outsourcing.
- Go over your marketing strategy. Do you know why you post on social media? What is your goal on each platform (for example: brand awareness, finding clients, or driving traffic to your website)?
- Did you start or work on an email list? If, like me, you are a huge Amy Porterfield fan, you know the importance of an email list.
- What has kept you from taking your business to the next level up to now?
List anything that comes to mind at this stage. You can narrow it down later to decide which things you can reasonably address and which ones will have to wait.
Have a Look at Your Sales Funnel
It’s time to get down to brass tacks. This last set of questions should look at the more practical side of your business. This part of the goal setting process will allow you to put together an actionable plan later on in the goal action plan.
- Where and how do you find your clients?
- Which lead acquisition methods and/or platforms have been the most efficient so far? If you can, look at the percentage of leads that converted for each method and/or platform.
- Which product or service brought in the most money?
- Which one brought in the least?
Don’t forget the financial questions. Even though you are running a creative business first and foremost, that business is fueled by money, so you need to know how to keep making it.
At the end of the year, I like to sit down and look at my P&L report to figure out what brought the most money, where I lost money, and how I can save some money the following year.
- How much did you bring in this year?
- What did you spend?
- How much did you pay yourself? (You’ll probably need to do some math involving how many hours you worked…this one is always fun.)
- Where did you lose money?
- Where is there potential for saving money?
- How can you be more mindful of your finances? (If you aren’t already using a CRM, this will make a big difference in keeping track of projects and therefore, the money they bring in.)
Whew! Did that make you tired? Go take a well-deserved break, and come back next week ready for more goal setting with the next post in this series, where we will discuss How to Set Professional Goals. Want to see what I meant when I talked about email lists earlier? Make sure to sign up for mine. I’ll be digging deeper into all goal settings things in my December newsletter!
