2020 is off and running, and for those not yet thinking about how your business will be different in 2020 you still have time to set your goals and priorities. Setting goals for your business doesn’t have to be a long and lengthy process. Here’s some simple and relatively quick things you can do to set goals.

Gaining clarity about what you want for your business before you set out for the year is important. Goals ground your thoughts, help you see the future, and provide direction. Use the following questions to help gain clarity for what you need to accomplish for your business this year.

Take a moment to look back on your goals and determine how well you achieved them.

1. What was my goal last year?
2. How well did I achieve success last year?
3. How many trips did I book last year?
4. How much revenue and profit did I make last year?
5. If I improve my business can I be more profitable? A simple way to get started, if you sell trips or specialized services like hunts or fishing trips, is to simply take your overall revenue goal and divide it by the number of trips you need to book. It’s a very simple form of goal setting that outfitters and guides can use to begin thinking through their plans. There are of course many other elements to consider, but start with the big picture first and try not to let yourself get overwhelmed by the details as you make your way through this initial process.

Establish a new set of goals for 2020. Start with these questions:

6. How do you want to grow your business this year?

7. What new services do I want to offer?

8. What improvements do I want to make to grow my business?

Define goals for different aspects of your business. For example, you may want to create goals for your marketing, such as; increasing the number of relevant visitors to your website. Other goals could be to create new content to share on Instagram, Facebook, your website, and at trade shows. And still others could be to adopt new tools for creating stronger relationships with your customers. Outfitters and Guides have great expertise that can be artfully translated into new forms of content and information people looking for your services can benefit from.

Check yourself.

9. How well equipped am to meet my goals?

10. Do I have all the knowledge, expertise, or capabilities I need to achieve these goals OR do I need assistance from other experts to help achieve them? If you need other help, define the type of help you need.

A few final thoughts. Once you have your goals roughed out spend a little bit of time thinking about how you will measure the success of each goals. An easy way to measure success it to make your goals using the SMART goal method. SMART is an acronym representing Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Here’s how it works. Let’s say last year you booked 20 trips and you’ve decided to use the SMART goal methodology for the 2020 season.

SMART is an acronym for:

Specific. An example of a specific goal would be: My business will book trips this year.

Measurable. An example of a measurable goal would be: My business will book 70 trips before September 1st. The 70 gives you a point of reference to measure against.

Attainable. An attainable goal is a goal that is within your capabilities. If you booked 20 trips last year, a goal of 70 may be a reach for you. This means you would more than double the size of your business. Give yourself a challenge and think carefully about your goals.

Realistic or Relevant. A relevant goal is a goal that aligns well with your business. Booking more trips may not be the best goal for you if you don’t have the means to deliver the business.

Timely. A timely goal is one giving you a good challenge while also keeping you focused. A simple way to make a goal timely is put a deadline on it.

So when you wrap it all up one possible goal that fits the SMART methodology could look like this:

In 2020, my business will book 35 trips by September 1st.

If you are not sure what help you need, please call me at 206-487-4530. I’ll help you determine a set of goals that can work for your business. We’ll discuss many of these questions and together we can determine the right resources to keep you on track. The call is free.

So what are you waiting for? What deadline will you give yourself to establish a new set of goals for your business?