How to Set Goals as a Business Owner

If you are a business owner and your business has made it to the end of 2024, then I applaud you. 

At one stage, I thought it was 'just us' experiencing the challenges of running a business in 2024 but the more business owners I spoke to, the more I realised it was across the board. In fact, there isn't an industry I haven't spoken to that hasn't found 2024 challenging but as the year comes to a close, 2025 brings the perfect opportunity to reflect, recalibrate, and redefine our goals and aspirations both personally and in business. 

For me, goal-setting isn’t and has never been just about profit margins or business growth; it’s about creating businesses I am proud of and driving my businesses to facilitate a lifestyle for my family and I. 

That being said, I've seen a lot of chat on social media platforms about goal setting and how to do it. So here is how I think you can strategically set meaningful goals for 2025. 

1. Reflect on 2024: What Worked, What Didn’t

Before looking ahead, take a moment to review the past year.  Celebrate your wins: Did you hit a turnover milestone? Launch a new product? Create a community? Regardless of what you achieved, acknowledge these achievements—no matter the size.  Identify challenges: What didn’t go as planned? Were there recurring obstacles? Reflection allows you to learn from mistakes and pinpoint what to avoid or improve.  

2. Revisit Your Why

We all have a 'why'; why we set up our business in the first place but the longer we have our businesses, the more our 'why' evolves. Each business owner will also have different motivators for their business too. What looks like success for me will be different to you. My life goals will be different to yours and therefore you need to be clear on your personal 'why.' If you can firm up your reason for pushing forward with your business, this will help you in those tough times during the year. 

3. Set SMARTER Goals

No, not SMART Goals, SMARTER goals.

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound but they need to be Exciting and Rewarding. 

When you are setting your goals, they need to motivate and energize you. Make sure they align with your 'why' or you'll loose interest during the year. You also need to clearly define how you will celebrate your success when you hit these goals. It's basic psychology, we need positive reinforcement so for each goal, establish what your reward will be when you hit it. 

For example; saying 'I will make £30,000' is too vague but saying 'I will increase my Company's Net Profit by 20% by reviewing our Management Accounts each month to ensure our expenses correlate with our sales and I will celebrate our achievement with a trip to Paris.'

Remember, your goals need to be specific. It's not just good enough to say you will do something, you need to state how you will get there. 

Quick Tips.

- Don't forget personal goals as well as business goals. I firmly believe your business growth is limited by your personal growth so make sure you are setting yourself some challenges and constantly learning and developing during the year. 

- Continually review your goals - they shouldn't be something you look at at the beginning of the year. You need to be assessing your progress daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly.- Depending on the size of your goal, you may want to break it down into quarterly or monthly chunks e.g. if you want to achieve £30,000 Net Profit, you may look at this as £7,500 each quarter. - We can be our own worst enemies so consider different forms of accountability. This could be an accountability group, business coach or just putting your goals out on your socials. Something that will encourage you to keep focused. Regardless of where 2025 takes you, remember that just achieving 1% progress each day is 37x better by the end of the year (James Clear). Each step forward is a win, regardless of how small it is. If you'd like to join our Accountability Group - please send me a DM on Instagram (@jennahillofficial).

Here is to a better year for businesses. Let’s make it a year of growth, impact, and fulfillment!