It’s been proven time and time again that people who have goals are more successful in life and in their business.  I have seen this to be especially true in starting a home business.   So many times I’ve heard people quit and say, “You know…this business just didn’t turn out the way I thought it would”.  Yet…when asked, “What were your goals?”  They didn’t have any.

That is so frustrating to me!  Having no goals is like getting into a car and driving for 12 hours.  Turning left and right.  Going on one freeway and down another.  Then landing in the middle of nowhere and saying “This was the WORSE vacation ever”.  Yet you had no roadmap, no destination in mind, no idea where you wanted to go.

Your business operates in the very same way.  You MUST have goals in your business in order to know where you are going.  Is it your goal to have a hobby?  Is it your goal to have a $25,000 a year business?  Is it to reach the income you want or to free up your time?  If you don’t have a goal, you cannot tell if you are on the right road to get there or not.

You see, you may want a hobby, but you may have a leader pushing you to achieve a certain income. That pressure will only frustrate you unless you share your goal with him or her.  Or you may have high goals of hitting $10K per month and you have a leader who is encouraging you to “just do your minimum”.  That will frustrate you just as much.  Neither of those are the right roads for you based on your personal goals.

Let’s look at it from a different perspective – You have a goal to make $1250 a month.  You want to cover your son going to a private school and that is the tuition.  As long as you hit that goal, you’ll be happy.  You don’t want to spend much more time in a business than what it would take to make $1250.  When your leader starts talking about the “next big contest”, you can wish her and the team the best of luck but let her know you’re happy earning your $1250 a month!   That’s your goal and that is success for you.  Now, if you’re not meeting your $1250 goal, you can talk to your leader about what you can do so that the business does meet your needs.

I encourage you to do the following:

1. Take some quite time this week.  Get away from your home and business.  Find a spot that you can do some thinking with no distractions.  Take a pad of paper and pen/pencil with you.
2. Think about your business.  Ask yourself these questions:
   1. Why did you want a home business?
   1. What is about your current state of affairs you want to change?
   1. If you have a company, are your goals being met?
   1. What would you LIKE to make with your business per month?
   1. Do you see yourself in this business 3 years from now?  5 years? 10 years?
   1. If your business went just the way you wanted it to for the next year, what would you like to be earning this time next year per month?
   1. Do contests motivate you?

These are all questions that should get you REALLY thinking about what you realistically want from your business.  The most important thing is to be VERY honest with yourself.  Remember, your goals are YOURS.  They are not your spouses, they are not your leaders, they are not anyone else’s but YOURS.

A few last tips would be to:

• Decide what you want from your business and set your goals. 
• When you get home, share your goals with your family and with your leader.
• Put your goals IN WRITING where you can see it.  Own it…it’s YOURS!!

If you haven’t set your goals for your business, set them THIS WEEK.  Only then can you make sure you are one the right road and hitting the milestone markers to get you where you want to be!

To the top,

Shannon