START 2019 OFF RIGHT 14-DAY GOAL SETTING

“Any road will get you there, if you don’t know where you are going,” – Lewis Carroll

”A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

As they say,a goal with a plan is just a dream. Do you often find yourself daydreaming of having something-whether that’s brand new car, increasing your monthly income-personal and for your business, but then never working towards that goal?  That’s because you don’t have a plan of action.

This 14-Day Goal Setting exercise is for anyone who is looking to achieve a specific goal in their personal and professional life, no matter how big or small. If you’re unsure of how to go about starting on a path to achieving your goals, then this exercise is for you.

By completing this exercise, you’ll gain clarity into exactly what you want to achieve in every area of your life and determine a clear-cut plan for how to achieve those goals. We will be focusing on your BUSINESS goals. Of course, you can apply this exercise to your personal life as well.

The 14-Day Goal setting exercise outlines exactly what you need to do during each day of the challenge to be successful. We want you to set yourself up for a fantastic 2019 and take your business to the next level and beyond. Over the course of the next year we will be expanding on your business goals and provide you with some more information that you can use to achieve your 2019 business goals.

Day 1 -THINK: Think about your business as it is now and write down the things that are most important to you for your business.  I.E. What do you want your revenue to be at the end of 2019? How many new customer do you want to have every month?

Day 2 -IMAGINE: Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and make your business perfect in all areas.What would it look like? I.E. Having a team that is all on the same page,working effectively to grow your business.

Day 3 –WRITE IT DOWN:  Using your thoughts from Day 2, write down each goal you’d like to achieve in your ideal business. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense. I.E. You need to make X number of call a day to close Y number of clients that equal Z number of revenue per quarter, per month, per week, or per day.

Day 4 –DECIDE UPON YOUR MAJOR DEFINITE PURPOSE: Ask yourself: If I could achieve any business goal on this list within the next 2 weeks, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on my business? I.E. Upgrade the computer system to streamline the sales process.

Day 5 –SET A DEADLINE:  Think of a reasonable date for you to achieve your goal. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines. I.E. Will upgrade the computer system on X day and test it out on Y day, everyone will be on the new system on Z day.

Day 6 –IDENTIFY ANY OBSTACLES: Identify any potential obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal. Determine how to overcome each of them.  I.E. Getting the IT department to install and upgrade the system. Find an outside IT firm that can do the job within the next couple of days.

Day 7 –IDENTIFY THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOU’LL NEED: What one skill, if you developed and did it consistently, in an excellent fashion, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal? I.E. If you are not well versed in accounting, speak to your CPA or take a basic accounting class so you can understand your numbers to make better decisions within your business.

Day 8 –MAKE A LIST: Make a list of everything (each and every step) you will have to do to achieve your goal.  I.E. Just start a list of each step that needs to be taken to move your business from where it is now to the goal. 

Day 9 –ORGANIZE YOUR LIST INTO A PLAN: Organize your list into a series of steps from the beginning all the way through to the completion of your goal. I.E. If you need to make 10 calls a day, then your list should be made the day before on who to call with their contact information the day before, why you are calling, even have your call script ready to go.

Day 10 –WRITE YOUR PLAN DOWN IN AN AGENDA: Write down each phase of your plan in your agenda all the way through completion of your goal. Plan each day, week and month in advance.  I.E. Block time in the day to make the calls,then put the result of that call in your sales tracker.

Day 11 –DETERMINE YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM: Make a list of every person in your life that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal. I.E. Contact your CPA to have them explain your numbers. Contact an IT company to upgrade your system. ETC.

Day 12 –MAKE YOUR GOAL PUBLIC: Tell others what goal you intend to achieve and by when, especially those in your support system.  I.E. Get a Score mentor and tell them your goals along with the result you want with the date you are going to accomplish the goal. Join a master mind group.

Day 13 –PRACTICE VISUALIZATION OF YOUR GOAL:  Create clear, vivid,exciting, emotional pictures of your goals as if they were already a reality.  I.E. Visualize yourself, your business after you achieved your goals. What does your business look like? How does that make you feel?

Day 14 –DO YOUR FIRST TASK:  The hardest part is starting. On the last day of this exercise, complete the first task you’ve outlined for yourself and get started on the path of success.  I.E.JUST DO IT!! You first task may not be perfect, SO WHAT?  Just do it! Do not put this off and start taking action TODAY.

By following this 14-Day goal setting challenge it will get you to develop your 2019 business goals. Be as descriptive as possible with realistic deadlines. Get the people in place to help you achieve your goals.

Every month we will give you more information to keep you moving forward in your business,but you need to know where you want your business to go to before anything else. An archer needs to know where the bull’s-eye is on the target before they pull the string back and fire an arrow.  Start today to be successful in 2019.

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Steve Feld, MBA is a certified business coach that provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives.He has owned and operated 6 businesses and operated 3 large corporations with Fortune 500 Companies and assisted hundreds of business owners achieve their business goals. #bizcoachstevef