LESSON #14: Setting Goals for Your Business

By | July 18, 2008

In the previous lesson, we talked about getting a vision for your business.

A vision is the big picture of where you want to go. You need to have a vision, otherwise you won’t be motivated, and you won’t have a clear direction for your business.

However, a vision needs goals and plans to go along with it…

(Watch this video…)

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Main points:

  • Vision vs. Goals. A vision is the big picture of where you want to go; a goal is a specific milestone that helps you get closer to your vision.

  • Important requirements for goals:

    1) they should be specific (measurable)
    2) they should be serious, but attainable
    3) they should have a deadline

  • For example: a goal may be to earn $10,000 of net profit before December 31st.

  • VERY IMPORTANT: Write your goals down, and keep them in sight.

  • (Story about the Harvard MBA graduates…) Those with written goals made 10X the income of everyone else combined.

  • I use a whiteboard… but a piece of paper is fine too.

  • You can have short term goals, long term goals, and everything in between.

  • Re-evaluate your goals periodically.

  • When you reach a goal, be sure to celebrate for a few minutes before setting the next goal.

    Action steps:

    1) Write down one goal, and put it somewhere near your computer.

    (Also please post it in the comments below)

    It should be specific, attainable, and it should have a deadline.

    Keep in mind that you will need to keep setting new goals for yourself as you build your business. As you continue with these lessons, it will become more apparent what your goals should be, so write them down frequently as you go through the process.

    Now you will need to develop a plan for reaching your goals, and I’ll be talking about that in the next lesson.

    As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

    Have a great day!

  • 878 thoughts on “LESSON #14: Setting Goals for Your Business

    1. Paul

      Hi Eric and everyone,

      Goal setting!

      A myriad of thoughts enter my head as to what to set myself as a first attainable goal.Today is 19th July, by the way it’s my youngest son’s birthday,he’s 29! How the time has flown! For those of you that are parents I am sure you will all feel that sense of time having past so quickly especially at times like this.This ‘time’ element and it’s passing re-enforces what Eric comments about setting a deadline for me.The ‘back burner’ has an awful lot of my ambitions hopes and dreams on it!

      Time then to bring them forward and make the Vision real; I see before me a ladder,a peculiar ladder, without any rungs!I am now holding this first rung(my first goal) in my hand;

      ‘BY 31st of December 2008 my bank account will show £250 (about $500) in the BLACK.’

      It stands at present £2250 ($4,500) in the RED.Being clear of debt in my bank account means that I have one less worry to distract from my vision,the first rung on my ladder of dreams the first block of my jigsaw in place.I can’t remember the last time my bank account was in the black at the turn of the New Year, and am I 50!So I guess am saying ‘HELLO!’to the concept of that alien being.. Money management! I have written a plan out to achieve this number and await the next lesson to see if it needs adjusting or not.

      It’s not a wild goal and by placing it here it will serve as a constant reminder to me of where my future fortunes turned for the better.

      Thanks goes to all those that posted in the previous lesson,I read them all and personally replied to a couple.I felt humbled by the way you all bravely gave your own personal vision and shared it with people such as me and gave me further inspiration in doing so. And of course a BIG thankyou to Eric for this great blog of his.

      Paul(UK)

      Reply
    2. Peter

      Hi Eric
      My short goal is to re-generate my income as of $1000 by 30 August 2008 with a full time online business. Go the time cause i’m out of work.

      Reply
    3. Ala

      You promised 100 lessons – i want to run through then come back and take notes. Is eric’s tips new? why are lessons not available in abundance??

      Please let me know !!

      Reply
    4. khozema

      Can you please elaborate more on the diferrences between vision and goal
      Thanks for all the tips

      Reply
    5. Eric Post author

      Eric’s Tips has been here since 2005, but this lesson series is new. I am posting them as I make them.

      Reply
    6. Eric Post author

      A vision is basically a mental picture (which can be written in words) of the end result of what you want to achieve. A vision is generally ongoing. It acts to guide you throughout your daily activities, and steer you in the direction you want to go.

      A goal is a specific milestone along the way toward your vision. A goal has an end point. Once you reach it, it’s done.

      Reply
    7. Mark

      Hi Eric,

      This is probably more of a plan than a goal put it is the one I would like to implement first.

      Design a website for infrastructurehealing.com
      ( done by 08-02-08 )
      Layout and color scheme
      Logo for site
      Home page
      Articles 2-3
      Fees
      Privacy statement
      Contact page
      Information on me
      Have it online
      Links

      Reply
    8. Gary Pettit (Instant-Paysites.com)

      Hi Eric,
      Thanks for clearing up vision verses goal.I’m one of the guilty ones that was getting the two mixed together. It’s like a little light bulb turned on after watching this lesson. Although I have a BIGGER vision of being independently wealthy, a couple stepping stones I’ve set as longtime goals would be:

      Pay my Townhouse off($200,000) by 02/15/2014

      Work part-time at the Hospital by 02/15/2015

      PS…hopefully more goals will come to mind(as you stated) as I develop my business.

      Thanks Again 🙂
      Gary

      Reply
    9. Michaela

      My first goal is to make $10,000 until 15 December 2008. Doing so, I’ll accomplish the goal in the vision to be debt free until the end of year 2008. I think will be very hard to do it but this goal is very special for me – my debts are time sensitive. I have to do it, and the date is 15 December 2008.
      If I’ll go this, implicitly I’ll accomplish the second goal to get the stress of money out of my system which will be absolutely great.
      Now this can be view more as a part of the plan, but I’ll make it as a sub-goal of the first goal because it is my week part: I have to increase my list with 1000 name until end of Dec 2008.
      Regards
      Michaela

      Reply
    10. TweetFest08 Costa Rica Lifestyle Event

      My Goal is to bring 50 Lifestyle Minded Marketers to Costa Rica on August 29th- September 2nd, 2008.
      And to give them the experience of a Lifetime;)
      I am doing this at my special group costs and not for profit, so if anybody needs a business/ vacation event, this is it! Check iy out at the Tweetfest lunk above. And of Course Eric you are more than welcome, but I am sure it is a little to close to your Belize mission.. so next time! but check out the video at the link above! anyway that is my goal.. hey, you asked:) Pura Vida! Nico

      Reply
    11. Joy Marino

      Thanks Eric. I needed this! My first goal is to reach $1000.00 per month income by August 30th. Looking forwards to the PLANS video next!

      Blessings,
      Joy

      Reply
    12. Ron B

      Hi Eric,
      I really do encourage the goal setting techniques that you suggest. Immediate and long term are what makes your program work. Zig Ziglar once told me that if you don’t set your 3 levels of goals, you can’t see where you are going and you will never know when you are there.
      Ron B

      Reply
    13. Marion

      Hi Eric,
      At this stage my first short term goal is to watch and learn from your 100 videos. And during that time, find a niche to build my business upon. That seems to be my biggest hurdle right now, so by the time your video series finishes, I will know exactly what niche I will be involved with.
      Thankyou,
      Marion

      Reply
    14. mohd ariff

      Hi Eric,
      As we along with you, we tend to understand more of your lessons but goals is the most difficult want. Today, we are striving to work & at the same time learning to make money Online.
      Our goal to learn sucessfully ss to achieve our vision to make money Online & Offline.
      It doesn’t matter even earning small amount at the begining but this will give us confidence the reality of Online businesses.

      Ths, regards

      Reply
    15. kay stevens

      Hi Eric,
      My vision is to exceed powerseller status with ebay within 2 years after which I collect my super and retire from my present employment. As for goals, when I am designing a new product (which I love doing) I put a time limit on it e.g. a range of clocks to be completed by the end of the week etc. or I might say to myself that certain new products be added to my website, http://www.corgidogworld.com by the end of a particular month. Hope this makes sense. I enjoy reading the lessons.
      Thanks,
      Kay

      Reply
    16. Mike

      Complete Eric’s Tip’s — Video Course Lesson’s and complete each lesson’s Action Step(s) by 11-30-2008.

      Reply
    17. Bryan Hee

      Vision & Goals is a “drive force” for us to move forward. Vision & goals should be realistic, achievable & deadline.Without vision & goals, you’ll never achieve your dreams.

      Never give up to realise your vision & goals. Prioritize your goals according follow by short term, mid term and long term goals.

      Reviewing is important for us to “re-schedule” our vision & goals. Never repeat the same mistake.

      To Your Success
      Bryan Hee

      Reply
    18. Pete Moring

      My #1 GOAL;…….

      To make £40,000 (GBP) within one year through internet marketing so that I can purchase outright the house I desire.

      PS. I did goal-setting using the Joe Karbo ‘Dyna-Psych’ method 22 years ago.
      It was SO successful that it frightened the life out of me. I knocked it on the head as it was propelling me ‘faster’ than I comfortably wanted to go.

      I’m now ready for a more ‘relaxed’ form of goal-setting.

      Thanks Eric.

      pete.

      Reply
    19. Ray

      Hey Eric,

      My goal is to be consistently earning a min of $700pw online by Dec 31st 2008.

      Are you on target with your lesson dates? When will they be finished? Do you feel this is achievable following just your lessons?

      Ray
      http://www.your-traffic-booster.com

      Reply
    20. Anonymous

      Thanks for your lessons. They are insightful and you have my attention. This paticular lesson is very key and I plan to use this key to open many doors to success.

      Sincerely, Andrea

      Reply
    21. Sherif

      It’s amazing to look at the numbers from the Harvard MBA study. Clearly setting goals and deadlines is the way to go. I have set and accomplished many goals before, but the key here is that goals without a vision might not take you any further… Thanks for bringing this up here..

      Reply
    22. Data Entry Service

      Thanks Eric – we can’t forget to set REALISTIC goals. When our goals are unrealistic we get discourages. The bar can be move up as we progress.

      Reply
    23. Paul

      Goal number 1…Is to payoff all loans by October 30th. (excluding mortgage).
      Goal number 2…To make 5,000 US Dollars monthly online by December 30th 2008.

      BTW… Eric I have written down these goal setting words before but they always seem to fall apart for reasons beyond my control.

      Reply
    24. Renee P

      My first goal is to apply the “top 20 secrets” from Article Underground by the end of July. I want to “remodel” my website inorder to start generating traffic to it by the end of summer.

      My first goal, then, is to start generating unique visitors (70 a day) to my website by Aug. 31st, and hopefully start bringing in an income equal to that of my current parttime job.

      Reply
    25. Tamo

      Hi Eric
      My goal is is to be making at least $4,000 dollars a month from internet marketing while only needing to work 10 hours a week to sustain that level no or before 11/11/08
      Thank Again for these lessons
      Tamo

      Reply
    26. kathy

      My goal is to make $25,000 by September 2nd 2008 and be a winner in a Robert Alan 6 week challenge. I’l be going to Tahiti with him and his amazing staff nd close friends. My challenge begins tomrrow, July 21st, and goes until September 2nd. I have 42 days to accomplish this massive goal. I’ll be formulating shorterm goals to accomplish the big goal.

      Reply
    27. Petre Tudor

      Hi Eric,

      My first goal is to reach $500.00 per month income by August 30th.Of course, this time I must find out a profitabe niche to create my own product and to get my own opt-in list
      I’m curious what plan will be reasonable to get my above goal.

      Petre Tudor

      Reply
    28. Kathy Filia

      My goal is to have written a Sales page for my PLR business by TUESDAY 5pm and have it posted on Warrior forum and completed for the next phase of the project. My PLR is about relationship mending and needs a bit of processing and thinking about. All of that should be completed by the end of Tuesday.

      I talk about this more on my blog at:
      http://wealthyaffiliatepage.com

      Reply
    29. peggyonline

      Renee, if you want visitors fill in your website name

      Reply
    30. Franklin D Anderson

      My goal would be to get over my existing hurdle. I plan on completing my corrispondence with my Geek to move forward in processing my first online venture and to have this accomplished and online by July 31.

      Reply
    31. Nicky

      I have always written down my goals and tended to revisit them every six months or so. I now revisit and revise (if necessary) about every 3 months. What never failed to amaze me was that even when I wrote them down and put them away, when I went back to them I’d find I’d achieved most of them.

      Anyway, I have 7 key goals for 2008/9 of which this is one:

      Make an additional 7K a month from my businesses (outside my day job) by December 08. My plan for that is well underway.

      Reply
    32. Ayn Elise

      My goal is to make that first $1 by Sept. 21st.
      I am saying it that way, as the goal is to understand the process. In order to replicate it, test it, adapt it and later scale it, I must first make that dollar. OR figure out why I didn’t make it, either!

      Reply
    33. Jude

      My goal is to improve my writing skills and finish my ebook by the end of August.

      Reply
    34. Dave

      My Goal is learn how to make $1,000 profit via the in less than 2 weeks.

      Reply
    35. Dave

      Eric,
      I want to thank you for getting me back to the basics with Writing down my Vision and Setting goals. Keep up the great work!

      Reply
    36. innocent

      Thank you so much Eric, this lesson is insightful. My goal as regards my activity online is to drive enough traffic to my site and be making $100 per day on Adsense before December.

      Reply
    37. Amelia

      Hi Eric: Thank you for the lessons. They have really encourage me to take action.

      My short term goal is to earn $3000/mo more in addition to my day job income by Oct 31st 2008

      Reply
    38. Kristina Lim

      My goal is to finish a detailed outline of my ebook in the next 3 weeks (Aug 10th). I’m over half way there but got stuck. A deadline should get me moving again!

      Reply
    39. David

      My Vision is to become a successful and honest marketer, to be familiar with all the techhnical ins and outs of marketing and be able to communicate them with confidence and clarity, to build an organization of people who will build and promote websites for good quality information and/or good quality, honest products in an honest manner such that we all are successful and prosperous in this world and the next.

      My first goal is to build 3 websites with their subpages in areas of interest, IF marketing feasible, and promote such to earn $100.00 per day within 3 months.

      Blessings in truth,
      Dave

      Reply

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