Setting Goals
A goal
It is the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. It is an aim that an entrepreneur seeks to reach.
The best way to reach a goal is by setting a mixture of short, medium and long-term goals. Each has different benefits to push you forward towards the desired outcome that you seek.
Enabling goals
These are the goals that are formulated as stepping stones for medium and long-term goals.
The goal setting process
The Goal setting may involve establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bounded objectives, SMART criteria.
Step 1: Set long term goals first
- Long term goals lay the foundation for goal setting process because they define where you want to be in the future. These goals are more strategic and define the meaningful future you want, hence more time is required.
- Long term goals are the ultimate results or personal accomplishments that will be realized over a number of years. An example maybe to be establish two wholesale shops to supply groceries to supermarket in 5 or 10 years’ time.
Step 2: Set medium term goals
- Setting medium term goals is the second step. These can be likened to large stepping stones that will help entrepreneurs to achieve goals.
- The best way to define a medium term goal is by looking at the long term goal. For example, if your goal is to build a wholesale shop in 10 years then your medium goal could be to run a retail shop which can be a big supermarket in 5 years’ time. This is a reasonable position which can be a halfway to where the ultimate goal you hope to achieve is. This goal can be as short as one year depending on the size of the long term goal.
- Medium goals should have specific time frames to help you move forward ensuring that you work towards your long term goals and ambitions.
Step 3. Set short term goals last
- Finally set the short term goals. These are measurable milestones established to indicate the success of a plan over a short period of time. They can be achieved more readily e.g. Running a tuck-shop business or a goal to apply for a financial assistance from VIRL by end of month to buy a commercial stand etc.
- Short term goals should be enabling goals i.e. small goals but definite steps toward your desired end result.
- Note that short term and medium term goals are equally important to help us get the bigger picture goals.
