Business goals are one of the most important parts of being a legit business owner.

No, I’m not talking about business goals such as “meet my idol” or “hire my first virtual assistant.” Those types of goals are important for a business owner, but before you can get into those dreamy goals, you need to take a hard look at the numbers of your business.

Let’s be real, you’re not going to meet your idol or hire your first virtual assistant if your business isn’t bringing in the type of income that you need to make it happen. Talking about numbers, quarterly goals, and profit margins might be scary and boring, but it needs to happen if you’re going to run a profitable business.

Everything you do in business should make a positive impact on your profits, right?

Today, I’m going to walk you through the only guide you’ll ever need to set up business goals for the new year.

Step 1: Do a review of your last year

If you want to know where your business is going, you need to know where your business came from.

What happened during the last year of your business?

When doing your review, make note of:

• Your best and least performing content

• Your traffic and numbers for your website and social media profiles

• How much money you made and where it came from

• How much money you spent and where that money went

• Pain points and successes of your business

Doing a yearly review of your business can help you figure out what worked and what didn’t. If you’re anything like most business owners, you went into this year with no strategy and winging it.

Don’t worry, we do this because most of us don’t have a business background and we’re being scrappy with what we know. That shows that you have the heart and ambition to run a business.

To uplevel your business, you need to go into the next year with a strategy in place. You want to repeat the parts of your business that performed well and reconsider the parts that are holding you back. In order to do that, you need to take the time to go through your analytics in all the platforms that you’re on.

I know this sounds tedious, but this little bit of legwork will make a world of difference in how confidently you tackle the next year.

Step 2: Write down the numbers that you want to see next year

The best way to chart the growth of your business is to set down concrete numbers.

Do you want 2,000 more followers on Twitter by the end of next year? You need to write that number down and create a plan on how you’re going to get there.

Do you want to reach five figures in sales? Write down the exact number and break down where that money is going to come from.

“More followers” and “more sales” aren’t going to cut it.

Writing down actual numbers will help you track exactly where your business is at and what else you need to do to reach your goals.

Step 3: Create actionable goals to reach your numbers

Now that you have the concrete numbers down, how are you going to get there?

This is where you need to create your strategy.

For example, do you want 5,000 more subscribers to your e-mail list by the end of the year? You can do that through content upgrades, webinars, giveaways, etc. Come up with different ways that you are going to increase your subscriber count through the year.

If you want more followers on Pinterest, you might sign up for a program such as Tailwindapp and grow your Pinterest following that way.

Whatever your goals are, make sure that you are creating a strategy behind the numbers that you are setting for yourself.

Bonus Step: Focus on your creative goals

Of course, goals aren’t all numbers and strategy. You also need to make space for some of your more creative goals. You might want to…

• Start your own online course

• Write a book

• Go to a symposium

• Hire a coach

• Hire a virtual assistant

• Get your website redesigned

• Do your first webinar

The list is limitless.

The new year is an exciting time for business owners. Make sure that you keep up a record of your goals and strategies to help you get to where you want to be.

Bonus Tip: Set clear goals with a strategy in place.

It’s easy to get caught up in trying new strategies, especially when gurus and coaches are saying they have the “next big thing” to “shortcut” your journey to success. When you’re setting goals, remember to give your strategy a good 3-6 months before making a switch. This ensures that you’re giving your business strategies enough time to show whether they’re working.

What exciting goals do you have for the new year? Let me know in the comments below!