As a business owner, you’ll have dreams, aspirations and goals. Whether they are short term or long term goals changes things. The length of time you have to hit said targets differs and you may think that the long game is more important than achieving in the short term. Let’s take a look at what you should be concentrating on, the pros and cons of both and where your time should be invested.
Long term goals are often viewed as dreams. They might happen but there’s a good chance that they won’t too. You could set a ten year goal that your business will be turning over £X by it’s first decade in business, but how likely is it that this long term goal going to reach fruition? Would it be easier to concentrate on year upon year instead? That way once you nail that first year goal, you’re likely to be more motivated to keep on reaching for the stars. Of course, a huge downside would be if you didn’t reach your short term goal and that failure knocked your confidence.
Long term goals can detract from potential opportunities. What I mean by that is you could be so focused on the end game, the point in the future where you want to get to, the trig point on the mountain top, that you miss opportunities along the way. Don’t focus on the end goal and miss the beauty in the journey along the way. You shouldn’t be afraid to scrap the end goal and see what is down another path which crops up along the way either.
Short term goals seem more manageable as you see the outcome much quicker. This can be great to keep track of where the business is going, the cash flow, the projects completed, but it can also focus you maybe too much on the here and now. There is a huge positive in being able to adapt to global events, what competitors are up to and change things up to implement genius ideas along the way. At the same time you may deviate from your track too much, zig zagging your way through business life instead of walking a straight track.
You might be better to move with the flow of your business and see what happens. Think about what has been achieved this year instead of what hasn’t. Celebrate those achievements too! You may set yourself an unrealistic and unachievable short term goal that is never going to happen which could then impact the way you view the future of your business. It boils down to personal preference but whatever you decide upon, as long as your business is moving forward and you’re happy, you’re heading in the right direction.
If your short term or long term goals are based around the finance of your business, a bookkeeper can help navigate the journey. Getting your finances in order should be a short term goal which can ultimately help you decide where to focus your attention as your business moves forward. Get in touch with Clare at Bruton Young Bookkeeping and let’s take on this adventure together.
