Just like that, July is almost here and we’re starting off a fresh new financial year…. Can you believe it?
With the peak of end of year reconciliations, reporting and FY20 business planning nearly out of the way, it’s important to take some time to sit back and reflect on the year and cement your personal and business goals for the coming financial year.
The year that was
The most critical thing you can do when it comes to goal setting is to take time to review your goals from the prior year. Often goals can spill across into the following year if they weren’t quite achieved, or you might like to take your previous goals to the next level and build on them further in the coming year. Take a holistic approach to goal setting by reviewing where you or your business are placed currently, how you got to where you are today, and where you’re heading. Rather than setting small goals only to then set more once they are achieved, consider your long-term plan. For example, you may have spent the last year saving a deposit for a business loan, so now your priority will switch from saving to managing loan repayments.
SMART goals
Setting SMART goals is a simple yet effective tool. The more precise your goals, the better the chance you have of achieving them. The Corporate Finance Institute (2019) describes SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates this criteria to help focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving that goal. For financial goals, focusing on the Measurable concept and applying a dollar value is imperative. This is an area where precision counts, so specify your goals in as much detail as possible.
Big vs Small Rocks
Setting too many goals can often become tedious and exhausting. Continually working towards goals when you have spent a significant amount of time crossing other goals off your list becomes a never-ending cycle. The best approach is to separate your goals into Big Rocks and Small Rocks. Big Rocks are goals that are larger, difficult and take longer to achieve, whereas Small Rocks are small wins you can achieve simply and easily. Allocate your time so that a block of time is spent on Big Rocks throughout your day or week, and the rest is spent on Small Rocks to ensure you are maintaining the satisfaction of achieving your goals consistently and in a timely manner.
Make it fun
Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the journey along the way. In business, we often get too caught up focusing on the bottom line and end results without taking time out to enjoy the path we took to get there. Remember we are all human, and you are allowed to sit back and enjoy life and business. When it comes to goals, take a break from working towards your goals from time to time and let your hair down for your own sanity. For the perfectionists out there, a very wise and insightful person once told me that it is okay to not be on a path at every moment of your life.
Is it time for a new hire?
Don’t wait until 2020 to review headcount in your business. Firstly, January is a time where lots of people are looking for a new job however the majority of the workforce is away on holidays. Secondly, a fresh new financial year equals new budgets, new projects and new business goals so it’s the perfect time to scale up your team.
Are you ready to take your business from credible to incredible? Talk to Sare Simeonov today about your next hire.