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Blog posts tagged business goals
What’s your BHAG?
January 19, 2011
Recently, I discovered the meaning of a ‘BHAG’, it’s big, hairy, audacious goal. Immediately, I loved the idea of setting some out-of-reach challenges that would push my comfort zone. I came up with the following:
1 Win an award
Winning an award last year really gave me a huge confidence boost, led to the start of some interesting PR and gave my product the credibility it needed to move forward. Already I have pinpointed three awards to apply for this month alone. It is time-consuming and competitive, but the process of completing the applications enables you to refresh in your mind what your business is all about, while being shortlisted is great recognition. However, my BHAG is to win!
2 Get a celebrity quote for my business – Mama Jewels
Having been in contact with the PR people for both Sara Cox and Denise van Outen, I sent them photos of the products I’d like to send and then sent both of them a gift from Mama Jewels hoping for a little recognition. At the time they both had very young children and seemed to be the ideal people. I appreciate that this is a tricky one, particularly with jewellery, because everybody has such personal and different taste and perhaps what I thought they might like, may be completely wrong.
I had a very lovely thank you note on Twitter (two in fact) from Denise Van Outen, but nothing from Sara Cox (I guess she didn’t like my choice). I’d be interested to hear how your business was able to get a celebrity quote…
3 Become a supplier to a large recognised store
Possibly Mothercare, NCT online or JoJo Maman Bebe. I’ve been taking small steps and building up credibility, now I have people approaching me to become stockists, but so far I haven’t approached the larger stores. This year is the year I want to start working with at least one of them.
Last year was all about taking small, manageable steps, establishing good relationships with suppliers, finding out which designs sell and which don’t, working with small retailers, building my website, trying out fairs and shows and generally trying to create an income stream and gain recognition.
This year I’m determined to see Mama Jewels in larger shops, with more recognised retailers and move a step closer to becoming a recognised brand.
What BHAGs have you set for this year?
Amanda Waring, Mama Jewels
You can find out more about Amanda on the interactive business website www.inafishbowl.com
Achieving your company's targets
June 04, 2010
Every year it seems like the coaching and training world gets really excited about the importance of setting meaningful and achievable goals. Whilst I’m not going to disagree with the importance of goal-setting, I believe that it is more important to actually achieve your goals.
Take a moment to reflect on how many times you have set business or personal goals which you've lost interest or focus in after a couple of months. As a business owner, it is your role to keep your organisation focused and energised on working towards your vision.
My question is, how do you make sure your organisation actually achieves the goals you've set?
Firstly, you have to have some goals set to achieve. Is everyone within your business targeted to working towards the goals of the organisation? If I were to talk with your employees could they tell me what their personal goals are and how these will help achieve the company's goals?
For goals to be achieved, they need to be visible for everyone within your company. Do you have visual reminders for staff about the organisation’s goals? Are your line managers regularly sitting down with their team and talking about the individual, team, departmental and company progress against these goals? In your regular updates to your staff are you talking about company progress against these goals? More often than not, team and individual goals and objectives get written on a piece of paper and stuck in a drawer getting dusty until the next annual performance review. (And that’s if your organisation actually does them!)
The only thing you can rely on in the business world is uncertainty. Far too many companies go through an annual goal-setting process and then tenaciously stick to these goals for the next twelve months, regardless of market or trading conditions. Goals are made to be reset and reassessed as you go through the year. Whilst I’m not advocating resetting your goals every week, it’s worth looking at your company’s goals quarterly and when your results and evidence suggests it, readjusting these goals. Many a company has gone under by spending to a sales forecast level which they are never going to meet.
You have more chance of achieving your company’s goals if your staff feel some attachment or ownership of these goals. To get this feeling of attachment, how about involving them in the decision making process of how the company is going to achieve its goals? Or, and this is the slightly controversial part, how about setting up a bonus pot to be distributed amongst all staff if the company achieves it’s goals?
Many individuals and companies are forever looking and driving forward. Whilst this is a very positive attitude, it is worth looking back to learn and taking time out to celebrate successes. Reflecting and reviewing is vital to help your company achieve its next set of goals.
What are you going to do slightly different this financial year to increase your odds of achieving both your personal and business goals?
Heather Townsend, The Efficiency Coach
This post was first published for Clear Thought Consulting Ltd
Online start-up business owners – your SEO blank canvas
January 06, 2010
Sitting down for the first time to outline online objectives for your new business can be particularly daunting. Typically, you’re entering a sector where competition already exists and you may look upon competitors as tremendous obstacles in reaching your own business targets.
Perfectly true, but you have to remember with ‘search marketing strategy’, every online business, big or small, started with a blank canvas, not necessarily a structured plan with objectives.
I was involved with my first online business in 1997. The ability to reach certain search ranking targets was far simpler then – the market was much less saturated. Conversely, the opportunity to track, analyse and develop a search engine marketing strategy gives the 2010 start-up the necessary ammunition to build their SEO (search engine optimisation) arsenal.
As you begin to prepare your online marketing objectives, keep the following five tips in mind, to ensure your time and energies are optimised just as much as your search strategy:
1 Brainstorm and produce a list of 20-25 key 'phrases' that make up your SEO ‘dream ticket’. Do they look like realistic targets within your first year? You probably don't know. If they're single words, I’d suggest they aren't achievable within your first year of trading. My advice would be to add to each of these words or phrases another demographic term, for example, “Widgets" should become “Widgets Hertfordshire” or "Hire Widgets". Setting your SEO expectations too high, too early, can take away from what should actually be seen as tremendous ranking results for any start-up.
2 Track everything and leave no stone unturned. There are a range of tools available, mostly free, which allow you to see exactly what is happening on your website – how people find you, which pages they visit and the all-important terms they type into Google to find your website.
This information can produce the building blocks for a highly optimised search campaign and throw up new and innovative ideas to capture additional levels of traffic. Put the necessary packages in place from day one and review accordingly.
3 Understand - but don't become an expert. Starting a business and having access to reams of data can be tremendously offputting. I had a tendency to look at data on a daily basis, overanalysing each search ranking movement and trying to understand why certain keywords performed in certain ways.
My advice in hindsight? Research your key data on a monthly basis – especially if you’re starting up from home on a budget. As a new website, it will take time for your search positioning to bed in. Seeing rapid movements up and down the ranking can strike fear into most, but it needn't. Concentrate on your core business efforts and compile your analytics data for monthly review
4 Context is king. Your site content will make or break your online business. Poorly drafted content not only detracts from the usability of your site, it provides Google with little opportunity to grant your site authority. Write your content with the end user in mind.
Keep it simple, know when to produce both internal and external links and always field the opportunity to allow your site visitors to communicate. Don't let them wander your site trying to find your contact page or telephone number. Keep everything within context and your site will quickly develop it's own SEO pattern
5 Don't take your eye off of your initial business goal. The web is constantly evolving. New opportunities present themselves each and every day. Try your best not to deviate away from your initial online business objectives. If you receive a call from business X promising to send an email to 100,000 recipients for £x – be wary. Is your business in a position to capitalise on this opportunity? Does this opportunity make good business sense? Does this opportunity seem to good to be true?
Start your new business efficiently
December 18, 2009
1 Plan your marketing
Far too often, new businesses take a scattergun approach to marketing. They spend a huge amount of time and focus on marketing – which is correct – but there is no cohesive strategy, plan or thinking. So what happens is, 80 per cent of their marketing efforts results in little or no return.
If you have done your homework, you will be clear about how you help your target market with their ‘pain’, know where your target market hang out and how best to get your message to them. Use this knowledge to plan your marketing, so you focus your marketing on your target market, in a place where they will see it – and in a way that will encourage them to take action.
If you believe that word-of-mouth is going to be all the marketing you need, think again. Word-of-mouth works very well when you are an established business with a good name. Until you are an established business, word-of-mouth, in isolation, will not be an efficient marketing strategy.
Think very carefully about taking an enhanced listing in a physical or internet directory. When was the last time you looked in one of these for a tradesperson or supplier?
2 Know your costs
I’m going to be blunt. If you don’t know the cost of running your business, it normally means you are running your business as a hobby. Poor financial management of a new business is one of the main reasons for a new business to fail in its first year. Poor cashflow is a major factor in this. If you sell to businesses, see how short you can make your payment terms. For example, can you ask for some cash up front?
3 Look for recurring business opportunities
At the start of your business life, most of your business will have to be won from new clients. Winning business from existing clients is estimated to be between seven and 14 times easier than winning business from a new client. Aim to target new business from clients or customers that are likely to result in recurring business.
4 Be flexible
No one can predict exactly how your new business is going to perform. In the first 12 months of trading, you will probably need to tweak part of your business and marketing strategy. If you keep yourself open to opportunities and possibilities, you are more likely to be able to change strategy before it costs you time and money.
5 Work to your personal talents and strengths
In the early days as a one-man-band, you are going to have to be all things to all people. There are always going to be tasks that don’t fit your personal preferences. For me, this was bookkeeping. Be honest with yourself and outsource or delegate any tasks that can be done by someone else, without materially affecting the running of the business.
6 Set and write down business goals
Only about 3 per cent of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five to ten times as much as people of equal ability and standing, but who, have never taken the time to write out exactly what they want to achieve. It’s the same with new businesses. Those businesses that remain focused on their goals are more likely to achieve greater things. In the early days, you are on a steep learning curve, so you will need to revisit these business goals every three months.
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