The value of setting realistic goals for your business
Setting realistic goals is extremely important; it can make the difference between success and failure for small businesses. There are many benefits to setting realistic goals, from increasing motivation among employees, to ensuring efficient use of resources, to keeping the business on track. All of these together add up to improved performance, and, ultimately, success.
The key word here is “realistic”. Many business owners get carried away with their dreams of success and set wildly ambitious goals, like becoming the leader in their field within the first year. While it’s good to be optimistic, setting unrealistic goals will quickly lead to disillusion and disappointment. It can even spell the end of a business altogether.
That doesn’t mean you should set safe, small goals either. Realistic goals are all about setting your business on a growth path that you can realistically achieve.
Realistic goals are SMART Goals
Before we discuss the benefits of setting realistic goals, we first need to know what a realistic goal looks like. Realistic goals are SMART goals. That means they are:
- Specific: The goal can be clearly defined and explained. Everyone understands what they need to do to achieve it. For example, “increasing revenue” is not a specific goal, but “increasing the percentage of leads that are converted” is.
- Measurable: You can put a number on it. For example: “increasing the number of leads that convert from 20% to 30%” is a measurable goal. It can be tracked, so you can see whether you’re moving toward achieving the goal or not.
- Attainable: The goal is within reach. Rather than simply making up a target, use the data from your business to set goals that are in line with your past achievements. For example, if you’ve been making $20,000 in sales per month with two sales people, setting a target of $40,000 a month through hiring two more sales people is attainable.
- Relevant: The goal makes sense for your business. It needs to align with your long term vision for your business. For example, a cafe business which wants to expand to multiple locations might set a goal of opening one new location per year.
- Time-based: The goal needs a deadline. When the deadline arrives, use it as a marker point to see whether your goal was achieved or not, and to set new goals.
By using Payoneer, business owners can streamline their international payment processes and be a step closer to achieving their business’s growth goals.
To learn more about how Payoneer can help your business, click below or open an account today.
The Benefits of Setting Realistic Goals
Now we know what realistic business goals look like, let’s take a deeper dive into the benefits they can bring to your business.
1. Provide direction for the business
The most important reason to set realistic business goals is to create a clear vision for the company. As a result, the key question to ask when setting goals in line with the company’s vision is: ‘Why does the business exist?’ Or, to put it another way: ‘What is the company’s purpose?’
By answering those questions, goals can be set that put the company on the path to achieving its purpose and vision. Check back regularly to see whether the company is on track to meet those goals. If it is, chances are the company is fulfilling its purpose.
2. Boost motivation and productivity
People who understand what their mission is and why they are doing it, tend to be motivated workers. We’ve all felt that sense of achievement that comes from reaching a goal, and how it makes us want to tackle a new, bigger goal next.
Studies have found that people are happier when they are working towards goals, and happier employees tend to be more productive employees. Giving employees – and yourself – something to strive for will give you all the boost you need to work hard to grow the business.
3. Increase accountability
In small businesses, employees and the owner juggle a number of roles. Confusion over which task belongs to who can cause conflict and tension. Setting goals gives everyone in the organization a clear understanding of their responsibilities and what is expected of them. This can help to foster a sense of responsibility, autonomy, and ownership of projects, which, again, is highly motivating. It also allows for proper accountability, ensuring every person in the company is working hard for the company’s success.
By using Payoneer, business owners can streamline their international payment processes and be a step closer to achieving their business’s growth goals.
To learn more about how Payoneer can help your business, click below or open an account today.
4. Improve resource allocation
Some of the most difficult decisions in a small business concern resource allocation. Resources are typically tight in small businesses – every penny of your budget, and every minute of your time, needs to be spent wisely. With clear goals in place, it’s possible to weigh up the options on where to allocate resources, and choose the one which brings the business the closest to achieving its goals.
Set Realistic Goals For Long-term Growth
Given all these benefits, it’s clear that setting realistic goals is vital for long-term growth and success. Realistic, SMART goals give small businesses and the people who work within them a clear destination, and help lay out the path to get there. They make it clear what work needs to be done, and how resources should be allocated for maximum efficiency. They are also motivating, giving people the boost they need to work hard and achieve success.
Goals may be short term – when starting out you may set a target of signing up your first client by the end of week one, for example – but together, goals build into a long term vision that set you on the path to achieving your dreams – and beyond.
How Payoneer can help
As businesses become increasingly global, keeping your goals realistic and in check can become a hard thing to manage. What shouldn’t be hard to manage, though, is your international payments. Fortunately, Payoneer is here to give you a simple and cost-effective solution to help manage your international payments with ease. Some of the benefits include:
- Send and rerceive payments from international clients: With Payoneer, business owners can receive payments from clients in over 150 countries, in a variety of currencies. Then withdraw your funds easily and at low cost to your local bank account, or withdrawn using a Payoneer prepaid Mastercard.
- Pay international suppliers and contractors: Payoneer allows business owners to pay suppliers and contractors around the world using a variety of payment methods, including bank transfers, credit cards, and local e-wallets. This eliminates the need for costly wire transfers and currency conversions.
- Receive payments from international online marketplaces: Many online marketplaces, such as Amazon, Etsy, and Upwork, offer Payoneer as a payment option for their sellers. This allows you to receive payments from these marketplaces directly into your Payoneer account.
By using Payoneer, business owners can streamline their international payment processes and be a step closer to achieving their business’s growth goals.
To learn more about how Payoneer can help your business, click below or open an account today.