As this year comes to an end, I’m super stoked for the new year to be upon us. A new year always brings new hope, it’s like starting a new chapter, starting fresh again. But, as business owners, we need to start the year off right, with goals for our business.
The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.
– Bill Copeland
I was never a new years resolution kinda gal. I never understood it because I just went with the flow for most things in my life. Which, I found out that it’s not really the way to go, that was one of the reasons why I kept going around in circles in my business for so many years. I worked my butt off but didn’t get really far. Once I discovered an easy way to set goals, it made so much more sense to have them! I use the SMART & CLEAR goal-setting framework to help me.
Before I dive in, if you haven’t already done your Annual Planning, be sure to visit my previous blog post to help you get started and to download your Annual Planning Template. Then keep reading this blog post…
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Let’s dive deeper into this SMART framework that we can use as a wedding floral design business owner to provide ourselves with a roadmap to success in the coming year.
S – Specific, Simple
M – Measurable, Meaningful, Motivating
A – Actionable, Achievable, Attainable
R – Realistic, Relevant and Results-oriented, Reasonable
T – Timeframe, Timely
Specific Goals
Your goals for your wedding floral design business should be specific and not too vague. Try to keep it simple and not too complicated.
Examples:
- I want to learn more about branding my business professionally and properly in order to attract my dream couples so that I can work with more of them in the coming year.
- I want to provide a better client experience to my couples so that they remember me and I will be top-of-mind when their friends get married and want a florist referral.
- I want to streamline more of my processes to avoid having to constantly doing the same tasks over and over again so that I can use my time more wisely on other money-making tasks
Measurable Goals
Your goals should be measurable so that you know how you’re doing, where you’re at, and what (if anything) you need to adjust to help you achieve your goals. When you see good progress, no matter how small or how big, you will also stay motivated and keep going to get to the finish line. Also, make sure that your goals are meaningful for your business and they will help grow your business.
Examples:
- I want to learn more about branding by reading a “certain” book on branding for creative businesses
- I want to elevate client experience by creating a Welcome Guide for onboarding, sending them a thank you card and a Starbucks gift card for signing and a Flower Guide to help them choose their wedding flowers. I want to check-in on them 3 months prior to their wedding and implement a proper off-boarding system.
- I want to streamline more of my processes by first making a list of everything that I can automate and streamline and prioritizing each one by putting a 1 to 10 next to it, 10 being most important and 1 being least important
Actionable Goals
Your goals should be actionable and attainable. You should be able to write out all the steps and actions you need to take in order to achieve each goal. Ask yourself how you can achieve the goals?
Examples:
- I will learn more about branding by first purchasing the book from Amazon and setting aside time to read every week
- I will create a better client experience by creating templates and PDF’s for the guides and off-boarding package using Canva or InDesign
- I will setup a scheduler and appointment reminders as well as payment reminders using a CRM (Dubsado or Honeybooks)
Relevant Goals
Are your goals relevant for your own flower business? Just because we’re all florists doesn’t mean that we all have the same goals. Are they aligned with your company’s mission, vision, and values? The goals must be relevant and realistic, as well as results-oriented for your own business. Are they realistic to achieve or are they very dependent on external factors that are beyond your control?
Examples:
- I want to learn more about branding in order to actively participate in designing my brand with the brand designer and strategist
- I want to create a better client experience for future potential clients as word-of-mouth is a great way for warm leads
- I want to setup automations and streamline processes so that I can eventually hire and scale my business
Time-bound Goals
All goals need a deadline or a target date to achieve them, otherwise, there’s no point in setting those goals. You would also want to ask yourself if this is the right time to be implementing these goals or are there other more urgent goals that you need to achieve first?
Examples:
- My goal is to rebrand my business in the new year so that I can be ready to attract my ideal couples. I will set aside one hour a week every Tuesday morning at 9am to read the book I bought. There are 6 chapters so I will finish the book by second Tuesday of February
- I will work on the Flower Guide and complete it by January 15 so that I can be prepared for Engaegment Season. I will work on the Welcome Guide an d complete it by February 1 so it can be ready to be sent to new clients who signed
- I will work on implementing 3 automations every month so that by the end of the year, my list of 12 automations will be completed
Can you begin to see how clear it becomes when you work with this SMART framework as you set goals for the new year? Above are just examples, of course, you can and should go deeper into more actionable steps for each goal.
Setting C.L.E.A.R. Goals
There’s also a CLEAR framework you can use to help you further on how to set goals for the next wedding season. I love to refer to both frameworks as I write down my goals and create the roadmap for the coming year.
C – Collaborative: who do the goals involve? Which team member do you need to get on board?
L – Limited: what are the limitations (time, place, people)? Are the goals realistic?
E – Emotional, Engaging: emotionally connected to your core values, and your team will also be connected and engaged
A – Appreciable, Actionable: small, quick, and actionable steps will get you to the finish line faster and easier
R – Refinable: what are the movable parts and can your goals be adapted?
There are only 3 weeks left in 2021, let’s take advantage of this downtime (at least for me here in Canada, the wedding season is pretty much over) to prepare ourselves for the new year and upcoming wedding season. Feel free to DM me your goals so that we can keep each other accountable!
Cheering you on!
