The end of the financial year is fast approaching. And an ending is always a chance for a new beginning. Regardless of what your finances looked like this year, there is an opportunity to build, or turn things around for next year. The best way to make a positive change is to set some concrete goals to work towards. So, let’s look at how you can set some great financial goals for this financial year.
Setting Financial Goals For Your Business
Be Realistic
The goals that you set should be a little bit scary so that you aren’t tempted to take your foot off the accelerator during the year. But they still need to be achievable. If you made $50k this year, then it is a bit of a stretch to say you are going to make $1 million this coming year.
Have a real think about what is practical. When you have a realistic goal in mind, don’t stop there. Now you need to give yourself the best chance of success. You need to break it down into smaller chunks and assign milestones.
If you have set an annual revenue goal then you should work out how much you will need to invoice each month to achieve that goal. Then, go one step further and list out how many of each product or service you will need to sell to reach that figure.
For example:
Annual Target: $60,000
Monthly Target: $5,000
Products/Services Needed: 1x $1000 package, 4x $500 package, 5x $200 package, 10x $100 product
Now you know exactly what you need to do to achieve your annual income goal and can plan your marketing accordingly.
It’s Not Only About Making Money
Even though they are called financial goals, they are not only about making money. There is so much more that goes into your financial success than the dollars that you invoice. You need to think about your business as a whole. Consider these things…
- How are you going to serve your existing clients to the best of your ability and honour your current commitments
- Do you need to attract new clients to your business at this point?
- Which of your products/services are working the best and how can you build on that?
- Are your systems and resources performing as they should?
- Are your team members performing well – do they need further training or upskilling?
- Do you need to work on the awareness of your brand?
- How is your email database looking?
- Do you have a tribe of raving fans referring your business?
All of these aspects make your business a success, so think about them all when you are setting your financial goals.
Think Beyond This Year
Where do you want to be in 5 years time? Have that question in the back of your mind as you set your goals for this year. Anything you work towards this year should be a stepping stone for working towards your bigger long term goals.
What steps do you need to take to get to that big juicy goal? Do you need…
- More resources
- Better systems
- Additional team members
- More storage
- Greater buying power
- A leverage plan
Consider all of these things so that you are always working towards your big end goal.
Set The Right Goals For Your Business
The most important thing about setting goals is to make sure they are right for your business. You can’t copy someone else’s financial goals and expect them to work for you. Instead, you must really think about what you want to achieve this year.
As I mentioned above, it isn’t only about the number of dollars that flow in the door. It is about building a strong business as a whole. Take the time to really think about what will help your business grow…
- A realistic (bit slightly scary) revenue target to work towards
- Increasing the awareness of your brand and your business’ reputation to ensure repeat business
- Providing amazing content to build trust and encourage prospective clients to convert to paying ones
- Excellent customer service to open the door for word of mouth referrals
- Upgrading your systems, resources and the skills of your team (if you have one) to ensure you are always progressing, growing and staying topical
Only you can decide what these goals will be and what you want this financial year to look like. So really take the time to brainstorm, explore and plan.
Let’s regroup in a year to celebrate how well your business is going!
If you need help with writing the recipe for your best year yet, get my advice on the ingredients. They don’t call me The Marketing Baker for nothing! I can help you plan for the best year yet, so feel free to get in touch today.