Ways to help set financial goals
Write financial goals to get closer to the target.
As a business owner, freelancer or entrepreneur, what are your business goals and what are your personal financial goals? You can start setting realistic business goals at the start of the year and review them throughout the year. Tracking your progress and refining your strategy and goals will be an on-going process.
Setting financial goals
Give yourself and the business something to shoot for by writing SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). When writing a list of SMART business goals, it’s important to specifically define the goals and your time frame for accomplishing them. A good rule of thumb is to define what your short, medium and long-term goals are. Short-term goals are typically within the next 12 months or so. Medium-term are about a year to five years and anything longer than five years would be considered a long-term goal. Additionally, when determining your financial goals, it's important to carefully consider the costs and benefits involved. Many business owners choose to get outside advice or counsel from a financial professional on their business finances and goal setting.
Examples of financial goals for a business
Here are a few business goal examples with specific time frames defined.
- Reduce business costs by year end. Examples might include reducing your debt, using technology differently and changing your operations model.
- Hire an employee this year. An example of this short-term goal might be hiring a part-time support person or a full-time contractor to help with clients and jobs you can't complete yourself.
- Increase traffic on the business website in 30 days. An example of this short-term goal might include optimizing content and improving the website to attract more traffic.
- Double the business revenue within two years. Examples of this medium-term goal may include increasing sales by raising prices, gaining more clients and reducing overhead costs.
- Increase your retirement fund contributions within three years. An example of a medium-term goal may include setting up a new account or evaluating your existing personal retirement funds.
- Upgrade space and equipment in five years. Examples of this long-term goal include buying or leasing office space, upgrading equipment or buying a vehicle.
Now that you have learned about some tips on setting financial goals, you may be interested in other small business financial tips or some ideas about business loss prevention. And consider contacting a State Farm® agent to learn more about small business insurance.
