Tired of pushing your Big Goals off, month after month, year after year? Let’s start building a focused, intentional plan to prioritize your future and stop fighting fires.
This guide offers real-world examples of “S.M.A.R.T.” performance goals, both for your business and for you, Entrepreneur.
(You know, because a high-performance entrepreneur is behind every high performing company!)
Please note, Major Force defines a SMART goal as one that is:
*Other sources often define the A as Attainable. But “attainable” and “realistic” feel almost exactly the same. So we highlight another crucial component: alignment.
More on that shortly.
First, let’s get into examples of SMART and not-so-SMART goals (and what makes the SMART ones ideal). Then, we’ll offer the steps to creating your own.
SMART Goal Examples
Business Performance Goals
Not SMART:
- redesign our website
- get 1,000 lead magnet signups by next week
- get 100% of members to renew services
SMART:
- convert 20% more web visitors to tutoring clients this year (in 12 months)
- get 1,000 lead magnet signups from Facebook traffic in 6 months
- increase monthly member renewal rates by 50% this month
Entrepreneur Performance Goals
Not SMART:
- be more consistent with work
- drink more water each day
- handle stress better
SMART:
- get 10 press mentions for my company in 60 days
- drink 128oz of water each day
- meditate for 10 minutes each day
What makes the SMART examples SMART?
We can see that, in all SMART examples above, each goal is Specific, Measurable, and Time-Bound. (What’s “Aligned” and “Realistic” is unique to YOU and your business. So those are not as easy to reflect in quick examples. But you’ll see how to gauge them below.)
Now’s a great time to break down the SMART methodology to convert “Big Goals” into concrete action steps.
How to Create SMART Goals, Step by Step
Step 1: Be Specific.
What, specifically, do you want to achieve? Saying you want to “be successful” would be about as specific as saying you want to “eat good food.”
Get detailed on what your goal looks like and feels like.
At the very least, write it down. You might want to take it a step further and draw a picture or create a vision board. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to plan it out.
And when being specific, ensure you’re thinking about the end game.
Example?
Most business owners don’t actually want to “figure out what to post on social media.”
They DO want to drive more qualified traffic to their websites that converts to actual sales.
Making witty posts on social is just how they think they should do it. (It doesn’t have to be. But that’s another story.)
The point is, focusing on the actual result you want is the best way to clarify specifically what it’ll take to get you there.
Step 2: Make it Measurable.
How will you know when you’ve achieved your specific goal? Here, define the exact way you’ll measure whether you’ve achieved it.
“Being successful” is not measurable. What does that look like?
“Posting ‘more’ on social media” is not measurable. How much more? And for what purpose?
A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: “Could someone on the outside looking in easily tell when I’ve achieved this?”
How will you track progress and celebrate wins? How will you prove goal attainment to your team, your partner, your stakeholders … yourself?
This could be a certain amount of revenue, or number of clients/followers/posts created. It could be a metric, like percent increase in either of those vs. a previous period.
Whatever it is, make sure it’s something that helps you track how close you are to goal attainment.
Step 3: Align it with Your Values.
We’re talking both your company values (Mission, Vision, Purpose) and your personal values.
Who are you at your core?
What feels good vs. slimy?
What feels doable vs. too scary?
What matters most to you in your life?
If your goals and values conflict, you and your team won’t be able to sustain motivation.
That’s a crucial enough point to warrant an example.
Let’s say “authenticity” and “inner peace” are high on your list of personal core values.
And let’s say your chosen marketing strategy is making dozens of posts on social. Or you’re cold-ish calling dozens of lukewarm prospects each week to try to drum up business.
Problem is, you agonize over using social media that much, because you’re really not a public person.
And you agonize over making so many phone calls to strangers, because you really prefer solitude for most of your workday.
Can you see how those would quickly create problems with motivation and performance?
So, take some time to reflect on what really matters to you and your company. It’s crucial to ensure your goals are aligned with those values.
Step 4: Be Realistic.
This one seems pretty obvious — I know. Hear me out.
Oftentimes, we become obsessed with this Big Goal we’ve wanted for so long. So we want it now! Then we end up not thinking through how many steps are needed to get to that big place.
So here, we must evaluate what’s achievable, given your:
- current internal resources (time, energy, motivation, money)
- current external resources (connections, partnerships, etc.)
- current skills
- current experience
This doesn’t mean you’re selling yourself short; it means you’re being practical.
This is one of the most difficult steps, in my view. When we’re goal setting, we’re often so excited and inspired by the goal that we fail to accurately account for our current resources. (Or lack thereof!)
Step 5: Make it Time-Bound.
Without deadlines, our goals are just wishes. Set a specific date for when you want to achieve your goal, then make it non-negotiable.
From there, map your Big Goal into small daily action steps, so you’re progressing on it every single week.
For instance, an important part of our high performance coaching program is choosing firm goals for your business. Basically, I help you prioritize and clarify goal(s) NOW based on where you want to be in 10 years.
We reverse engineer your far-future goals until we land on Minimum Daily Actions to guide your to-dos today.
That’s a super-strategic way to keep life and business aligned (there that goes again!) with what you really want.
But you can think of it on an even smaller scale:
Wrap every single goal you have in the container of TIME (deadlines). Again, it’s another way to track progress.
An Example: How to Convert a Goal from “Regular” to “SMART”
Let’s tie it all together. Let’s say your Big Goal is to “write a book”… at some point. Here’s how you might make it SMART:
Is it Specific?
❌“Write a book.”
Not at all. 😟: “Write a book” (as opposed to a special report or an essay) is kinda-sorta-on-the-way-to specific. But what genre of book? How long? What’s it about?
The more specific you get here, the faster you can POUNCE on the goal once it’s set. (You know, instead of wasting time deciding on specifics when you’re motivated to act.)
Let’s try:
✅“Write a memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
Peeow! 🚀💥: You’ve defined what you’re writing about and exactly what you’re shooting for.
Is it Measurable?
❌“Write a memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
Noooo 😿: Remember, how will you track your progress and celebrate your wins? We need some numbers here, so you can schedule out your action steps over time.
Let’s try:
✅“Write a 50,000-word memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
Yeah! 😺: From this, you’ve chosen a word count that helps you track progress.
Is it Aligned?
✅“Write a 50,000-word memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
Yes! 👍🏽: Your core values of creativity, transparency, and vulnerability are already reflected, both in the project and the type of book you chose. High five. You’re excited about finally getting the chance to tell your story.
Is it Realistic?
✅“Write a 50,000-word memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
For sure! 😁: You’ve got stories people have been nudging you to put in print for years. And with your current writing ability, you know this would be a simple undertaking.
Is it Time-Bound?
❌“Write a 50,000-word memoir on your experience as a small business owner.”
Not at all. 😕: When are you doing this by…?
Let’s say you consider completing it in a year. 50,000 words seems like A LOT.
It’s been years since you’ve written anything longer than that 750-word post for Forbes!
You guess a year seems attainable. But to be sure (and prevent overwhelm), you break it down across the time period you’re thinking. Then you realize it’s only 1,100 words per week.
So the SMART goal you land on is:
✅“Write a 50,000-word memoir this year on your experience as a small business owner.”
Yep! 🤩: Totally manageable, even alongside your other work. That’s only about as much as one long article.
You even decide to turn up the heat and submit the completed manuscript to five agents by the end of Month 12.
The Bottom Line: SMART Goals Get Crushed Easier
By following these SMART steps, you can take any vague dream and turn it into a concrete action plan. Then, all that’s left is to break it into Minimum Daily Steps… and execute.
What’s one thing you struggle with when setting and achieving goals? And how can this SMART process help? Let us know in the comments.
Also, want help with this process? See how high performance coaching can help you set better goals and crush them faster.
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