Want to receive The Solopreneur’s Shortcut every week? Subscribe here. We’ll send one thought, one tactic, and one time saver straight to your inbox. No fluff, just proven techniques for growing your business.
For this week’s issue we’re going to take a slightly different approach.
With Q4 quickly approaching I’m going to walk you through the exact process I use to set and achieve meaningful goals.
So, let’s get into it.
Today at a glance:
- Tactic: How to set impactful goals
- Thought: Identifying your areas of need
- Time-saver: Strategically leveraging your network
Read time: 3 minutes
Tactic: How to set impactful goals
You may have heard the phrase “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” And while that may be directionally true, it doesn’t provide any pointers on how to actually create a plan around your goals. Fortunately, we have OKRs to help.
OKRs stands for “Objectives and Key Results.” It’s a collaborative goal-setting methodology used by teams and individuals to set challenging, ambitious goals with measurable results.
These goals must also be met by a defined time period, usually one quarter.
This is the approach that I use for my business and help all my clients develop as well.
The image below walks through the process better than I could explain it. So check it out first, then I’ll give you an example for you to wrap your head around.
You typically start with one objective and have around three key results that measure progress towards that objective.
From there you can have several initiatives that are required to drive the progress of your key results.
This is the example provided in my video course, The Solopreneur’s Fast Track.
Although “Successfully launch my business” is a great goal, we need the associated key results to further define and measure what success looks like.
From there I’ve included the specific initiatives needed to make these key results happen.
You should also keep in mind that your objective can be even more specific, such as a revenue goal. And, you can have more than one objective per time period.
For example:
Objective 1: Make $10,000
Objective 2: Launch a podcast
Although launching a podcast could help you make $10,000, the overall point of that objective is to get the podcast live so these should be separate.
That said, I don’t recommend having more than three objectives at a time and you’ll want to make sure they all represent meaningful progress.
Want a better shot at achieving your goals? Share them with a friend, partner or colleague and keep them updated on a weekly basis.
The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone.
And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%.
Thought: Identifying your areas of need
Once I develop my OKRs I then ask myself a very important question, “What am I missing?” And, I know we asked this question during a previous issue but this time we’re asking it in regard to our OKRs.
Based on what you need to accomplish, what’s missing? Where are you stuck given your current tools, knowledge or time constraints?
For example if your goal was to book three speaking gigs, and you don’t have a speaking topic prepared, that’s what you’re missing!
You may also discover you’re missing a script to pitch your topic and a list of organizations to contact as well.
Or, maybe you have no clue how to do any of this stuff, which means you’re missing the guidance and structure needed to make it all happen.
Either way, you now have a clear understanding of the resources you’ll need to achieve your objectives and can go about creating or acquiring them.
Time-saver: Strategically leveraging your network
So now you’ve identified your objectives and the critical missing pieces needed to implement them.
The next step? Ask for help. If you know of specific people in your network who can either help you directly or perhaps recommend a resource, start there.
If not, consider sharing your request as a social media post. This will allow you to passively promote your business and potentially get some assistance at the same time.
For example, you could say something along the lines of
“Can you help me out?
As you may know I’ve recently launched my own business.
In short, I help eCommerce companies grow and monetize their email list.
One of my goals for this quarter is to create short form videos for my social media channels but here’s the problem; I have no idea how to edit videos!
Does anyone have recommendations?
I appreciate your help!”
Of course, you can tweak it however you see fit. The main goal here is to save time and reduce uncertainty by asking your network for help.
As an added benefit, you may even attract some leads and referrals.
To recap
- Plan your OKRs
- Identify what’s missing
- Ask your network for help
I hope you found this valuable (please let me know) and if you did please consider sharing it with a friend. They can sign up here.
I’ll see you again next week!
Want to receive The Solopreneur’s Shortcut every week? Subscribe here. We’ll send one thought, one tactic, and one time saver straight to your inbox. No fluff, just proven techniques for growing your business.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
1. Learn how to start a professional service business using the skills you already have (Available now)
2. Get quick answers to your most pressing questions (booked out one week)
3. Work with me 1:1 to build your revenue and personal brand (booked out three weeks)
4. Build your professional service business with me in a cohort-based live accelerator (click to view upcoming dates)
