How do you measure a business’ success? Profits are one way. Employee retention may be
another way. If you are doing well in both areas, how do you continue that strong business
model? And if you are not, how do you maximize profit and retention? Setting goals for your
business is one of the most important techniques to utilize to ensure success.
Business goals keep a company on course. They also provide employees with a roadmap and
keep the whole team on track, making decisions that will influence goals. How do you
determine, though, the goals that are pertinent to your unique business?

First, understand there are short-term goals and long-term goals. Short-term goals are ways your
business may improve in the short-term—over weeks or a few months. Long-term goals are just
that; they are the objectives you want to achieve that may take more time, such as a year, five
years, or even a decade. Usually, conquering short-term goals will help you reach long-term ones
more easily.

Knowing there is a difference between the two and evaluating where you want to see your
business in the long term. Is one goal to add more staff in the next five years? Do you want to
grow your profit margin by 5%? Do you want to add more clients? Do you want to start another
branch? Envision where it is you want to see your business and write down those areas.

Next, determine the goal that is farthest away—for example, maybe you want to retire in twenty
years or sell your business in fifteen years. Figure out which goal is the furthest down the road.
Then, prioritize the other long-term goals and place them in the order of highest importance.

After they are raked, evaluate those long-term goals, and break them down into much smaller
segments. This will determine the distinctive goals you need to set for your business. If you want
to increase profits, decide the steps to employ to get there. Maybe make a short-term goal is to
hire a professional to evaluate your business’ finances. A finance professional—such as our
company—can assess your current finances and even utilize our Profit First system to maximize
your earnings.

Is maximizing employee retention one of your long-term goals? A good short-term goal to
accomplish this is to survey staff to determine the benefits they think are important. Another
short-term goal to follow could be to evaluate the wants of your team, followed by one to decide
on the items that are possible to achieve.

Design these short-term goals to be sequential. In this instance, if more vacation time is
important to staff, determine if and how to will initiate that goal. Choose short-term goals that
work toward fulfilling the ultimate long-term goal of employee retention.

Business goals are subjective to each company, but a universal start is to assess the future. Then,
break down those long-term goals into smaller goals. If you determine your business objectives
involve professional bookkeeping, accounting, or financial services—or maximizing
profit—reach out to us for assistance in helping you meet your ambitions.

Katie Robinette

Co-Founder

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