How Do SMART Goals Help Business Owners Get Results?

I love helping my clients and I want to see them win.  Yet there are a few things that I have watched my clients do that get them stuck in the business hamster wheel.  They often wonder how to get results, so they just keep working harder and harder.  They believe that the more time and energy that they put in, the more results they will get; the more results, the more money; the more money the more successful they will feel.

The question is this?

Does working hard simply give results or are there other key elements to success that help business owners become successful?

I have heard it said before that you should work smarter not harder.  While, I do believe that hard work pays off, I don’t believe that it is simply hard work, alone, that provides the keys to success that so many of my clients that are business owners are looking for.

I truly believe and have seen that it so much more.  One key element of success is having a plan, but we’ll get into that at another time.  For now let’s take a look at the SMART part of success.

Yes, you have to be smart in your business, but this isn’t just about being intellectually strong, as much as it is about being strategic.

You have to be working towards your business goals.  Truthfully, your business goals should bring you to a place of business success.  Anyone can set goals.  It doesn’t mean that they will achieve them.  You have to have your mind set on the result and focus on how you will get it.  This is where the SMART goal comes in.

Like I said before, it’s not just an intellectual activity, it is a process.

So What Is A SMART Goal?

A SMART goal is a way of establishing your goal using the acronym SMART to help with the planning.  In essence the SMART goal in itself is a process.

When developing your goals, you have to go through a process of being strategic in order for it to truly become a reality and for you be able achieve it.  Once you have reached your goals, you fell like a success because you are.

When you make SMART goals, you think about and investigate the reality, possibility, and the entire process of actually achieving your goals.  This is work.  It can be done in a short time, but it requires focus.  You have to be willing to think it all through.

The acronym SMART stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

As you go through the process of thinking through your goals, you have to ask yourself questions that will get you answers to these 5 points that together define whether your goal is SMART or not.

Is your goal SMART?

If your goal is not smart, you will simply say that one day you want to do something that will make you happy.  That is not enough to get results.

“Someday, I want to make enough money to take that big vacation” is not enough to push you forward to take that big vacation.

“Someday, I want to be able to work on my own schedule, making a lot of money, so that I can be happy” just does not cut it.

These types of statement won’t get you anywhere.  You have to be willing to take the next step.  You have to be willing to think through what you want and make the goal SMART.

Ask yourself if your success is important to you.  Are you willing to take the time that is needed to go through the strategic process of making your SMART goals?  How are you going to do become successful without a plan?

You have to ask yourself questions like this to get results.

This is how I have seen my business and the businesses of my clients grow.  They have taken the time to strategically think through their desires for success and come up with SMART goals that will help them achieve it.

I have personally made things happen in my own business by making SMART goals.  I have made more money, gotten more clients, and watch my business continually progress because I am continually making SMART goals and achieving them.

You can too, if you take the time to process your goals by making them SMART.

Now, I want to hear from you, in the comments below.

How have you gone about planning your business goals?  Have you ever gone through the process of strategically planning your goals to make them SMART?   What are the obstacles that you face when you are going through the process?  Leave a comment below, so that I can understand your perspective and make sure to share this post with your friends.  You never know who needs to be SMARTer.