Do you have money goals for your business? Most likely you do, but those are not the only goals you should have for your business! There are multiple goals you can create to help you reach those money goals. Of course, you can have all of the goals in the world and they won’t do you any good unless you hold yourself accountable at the end of every day. This means you must make the time to take the actionable steps necessary to check those goals off of your list.
Being Accountable Means Knowing Your “Why”
Do you know your “why”? You know, the “why” you went into business? The “why” you work the hours that you do?
Everyone’s “why” is going to be different. Other business owners may have gone into business for financial reasons or the ability to work fewer hours one or two days a week. You may have chosen to open your business, so you can take more than one vacation a year or spend more time with your family.
Before you can hold yourself accountable, you must take the time to remember your “why”.
Actionable Steps to Take to Reach Your Goals
Every goal you make for your business is going to seem impossible to reach if you look at it as one massive goal. However, if you break those goals down into actionable steps, you will find yourself checking off your goals faster than ever.
The reason actionable steps work so well is it is easier to hold yourself accountable for a small step than a larger one.
For example:
You have a goal to reach $500,000 in sales in one month. This is a lofty goal for some businesses, especially if you have no idea how you are going to reach it. You will never be able to hold yourself accountable for this goal because you will give up before you truly get started.
Now, if you create a plan on how you are going to reach $500,000 in sales in one month, you will find it is easier to be accountable for your actions. You can simply write down the steps you will take and then check each step off as you complete it.
It is best to have a completion date for each task. This will ensure you don’t let this goal linger for months or years. Plus, it is much easier to be accountable when you know you must complete a specific task by a certain date.
Don’t worry if you need to change your actionable steps partway through your goal-reaching process. Sometimes we think a specific idea will work well, but then we either realize it won’t or we come up with a better option. Simply adjust your actionable steps accordingly and move forward.
Find an Accountability Partner
It can be quite difficult to add accountability to your already overfilled plate at work. I recommend choosing an accountability partner who can help you out when you start to struggle or fall behind. Your partner should be someone who has either been through something similar in the past or a person you know will keep you honest.
A quick email, phone call, or text to each other can keep you both updated on your progress. And if you are struggling, a quick breakfast or lunch meeting may be all you need to get things back on track.
You might even want to consider joining an accountability group, so you are not relying on just one person. There are quite a few options out there if you are willing to work with others.
Staying accountable in your business is going to be hard. Especially if you have never forced yourself to be accountable before. But taking the time to remember “why” you are doing what you are doing and keeping an eye on the end results is so much better than giving up partway through any day. Every business owner finds themselves stuck in a rut at some point and being accountable can help you prevent that from happening to you.
So, what are you going to do to ensure you are showing up and being accountable in your business? Are you going to find an accountability partner or group? Or are you going to try to be accountable on your own?
Contact me today and let’s chat about accountability and other money-related issues in your business.