Tag Archive for: goal setting

accomplishments

Right around this time each year, I traditionally share an “annual review” of what went well (and what didn’t go so well) in life and business.

I wrote this unconventional goal setting exercise last year, having no idea what would be in store for 2020.

And to be honest, it still feels weird to discuss revenue numbers and business accomplishments given the year we’ve all been through.

When I went through this exercise with a couple of entrepreneurial girlfriends at the beginning of the month, my list of “2020 accomplishments” surprised me.

I didn’t think there would be anything of real significance given the lack of consistent childcare and overall mental and emotional upheaval that was happening. 

But when I really sat down to take the time to think about it, my “accomplishments list” wasn’t as meager as I expected.

And if you did this same exercise, I think it would surprise you too.

Because it turns out that what I considered “accomplishments” weren’t what I would have thought of before this year happened.

It included things like:

  • I set up an ongoing monthly charitable donation to Together Rising
  • Gained more awareness around racial inequity 
  • Allocated over $3K/month to Black women business owners
  • Started a free podcast that benefits my friends and family

In 2019, these aren’t things that I would have labeled as accomplishments.

For me, the silver lining of 2020 is that it changed my definition of “success.” 

While revenue and sales goals are, of course, important to any healthy business — they’re not the only measure of success.

Maybe your list of accomplishments looks something like this:

  • Completed two online courses
  • Learned how to create graphics in Canva
  • Built a landing page
  • Joined an anti-racist book group
  • Started painting again

While those may seem like small things, when compared to your original 2020 goals, this year has certainly taught us that anything positive is worth celebrating.

Even if it looks like this:

  • Survived virtual learning with my kids
  • Kept my job
  • Didn’t divorce my partner 
  • Created a plan to start my business in 2021

The point is, if you needed any permission to forget the big 2020 goals you may have set for yourself — this is it.

Instead, take the time to actually sit down and write out anything and everything you accomplished this year.

“Learned how to bake bread.” Done.

It’s a worthwhile exercise (for so many reasons), but it’s also an investment in 2021. 

It sets an intention, rather than prioritizing lofty goals that may seem too uncertain right now.

And maybe an intention is all you need.

Here’s to a new year,

 

 

 

P.S. This will be my last blog post and email of 2020 — I’m wishing all of you a very Happy New Year and will be back on Wednesday, January 6th : )


Factory45 shop

About this time of year, I traditionally write an annual review of how life and business went this year.

You may recall 2018 being a doozie with the health status of my mom, the arrival of Baby Lohr and the post-partum blues that came with it.

But this year I’m doing something a little differently, inspired by my own 2020 business planning.

At the beginning of December when I got out my notebook and wrote “2020 PLAN” at the top of the page, my immediate instinct was to write “Goals” just as I’ve done every year.

But I wrote this word instead:

FOCUS

In that moment, I realized it was never my past goals that were that important — it was the tangible steps that I focused on to achieve those goals.

And it’s this system of focused planning that I want to share with you as an exercise today.

First, I divided the year into two parts — Q1/Q2 and Q3/Q4 — but you can divide it into four parts (or more) if that works for you.

For Q1/Q2, I wrote down one singular focus: MARKETING
(i.e. spreading the word about the Factory45 2020 program)

Then for Q3/Q4, I wrote down one singular focus: FACTORY45 EXPERIENCE
(i.e. making sure the entrepreneurs in Factory45 2020 have the best possible experience)

Next, I made a list of all of the tangible action steps that would enhance each of these two focuses.

For MARKETING, I came up with a list of seven “buckets”. 

For FACTORY45 EXPERIENCE, I came up with a list of four “buckets.”

For example, one of my MARKETING buckets was “Email List & Blog,” so underneath that bucket I listed all of the things that go into my email list and blog as they relate to marketing. 

  • Repurposing “best of” blog posts 
  • Sending out a new YouTube video every month
  • Cross promoting other people in my industry 
  • Using paid ads to promote my best blog posts and videos
  • Driving new subscribers to my email list via lead magnets
  • Cultivating and fostering the existing relationship I have with my current readers

For each bucket, there was a list of actionable steps like the one above that would get me closer to my broader focus of Marketing.

*Important note here that you may find interesting: Social media did not come up in any of my buckets. Sure, I’ll still post on Instagram, FB, etc. but it isn’t a task that I’m putting emphasis on for my Marketing Focus. So, if you’re one of those people who is putting all of their eggs into the Instagram Stories basket, I encourage you to think outside the box!

Alright, still with me?

The final step was to list out January through December 2020, and allocate the most important steps in each bucket to a month or multiple months. 

It looked like this:

JANUARY

  • Paid ads
  • YouTube
  • Pitch podcasts
  • Outline new workshop
  • Activate free TCF webinar
  • Research video companies

The first three bullets span across every month of the year. But the other three bullets only exist in that month because they have a deadline.

Make sense?

The idea here is to have actionable steps each month, rather than general goals, that amplify what you’re focusing on for the first half (or first quarter) of the year.

The final step was to move this calendar out of my notebook and into Asana (the to-do list of my choice) so that I know exactly what I’m taking action on and when I’m taking action on it.

So in review, here’s how you can effectively plan for 2020 for your own business instead of creating general goals:

  1. Create 2-4 Focuses for each quarter of the year.
  2. List all of the “supporting actors” for each focus and divide them into Buckets.
  3. Under each bucket, list the sub-steps that go into each one.
  4. Allocate each bucket to certain month(s) of the year.
  5. Add the to-do list for each month into your task management platform, to-do list or digital calendar.

That’s all to say, I think I’m over “goal setting” in the traditional sense. 

Yes, it’s incredibly important to have a vision for your business.

But you know what’s more important? 

Taking action to achieve that vision.

 


 
 
 

This will be my last blog post and email of 2019 — I’m wishing all of you a very Happy New Year and will be back on Wednesday, January 8th : )


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