Why Goal Setting is a Must-Do for Every Wedding Pro

Building a successful career as a wedding pro doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, effort, blood, sweat, and (let’s be real) some tears to get to the point where you have an established brand and a steady stream of clients rolling in. But, when it comes to making sure that all of those late night proposal sessions and weekends spent working are actually driving your business in the direction you want, you have to set a course—and you do that with goals. So, if you’ve been busting it without a set of goals to guide you, this article is for you! Read on to learn not only why goal setting is imperative but get ideas to help you set ones that will help make the reason you got into the wedding business a reality.

Why goal setting is an important business practice

Anyone who has started a business will tell you that the path to success is a mix of hard work and dumb luck. And, while we can’t help you with the luck part, we can help make sure that all the hard work you pour into your business is productive—that’s why business goals are important! Setting goals for your business gives you something to work towards as well as helps you see what you need to do in order to achieve each one. Think of it this way, your business goals are your destination and, once you know where you are headed, you can map out the directions you need to get there.

Setting goals for your business is also important because they are a way to hold yourself accountable to your biggest responsibility—growing your business. From setting marketing goals to financial goals (and everything in between), the effort you put into working towards your business goals is how you move the needle.

What you need to think about when setting your goals

Not all business goals are created equal and, when it comes to setting goals that are going to help you get somewhere, you want to make sure they are SMART. 

S – Specific meaning your goal is clear and concise

M – Measurable meaning you can track your success with insights or data

A – Achievable meaning it is realistic given the timeframe and resources you have 

R – Relevant meaning it makes sense for your business at that point in time

T – Time-bound meaning there is some sort of end date or deadline

Doing your goal planning with these variables in mind will ensure that you:

• Are setting goals that you have a realistic chance of achieving (as opposed to pie-in-the-sky goals that might take 10 years to make a reality)
• Can track your progress and make adjustments where and when you need to
• Can break out your goals into the action items and steps you need to take in smaller increments 

What types of goals should you set for your business?

We know you’re asking the question in your head and, though every wedding pro and wedding business owner is going to end up with a unique set of goals, there are common types of goals to set. Some of these examples might be a perfect fit for you and others not—but you can still use them to get the wheels turning to define specific goals for your business.

Business goals

• Streamline your sales process
• Hire your first employee or outsource specific duties 
• Sell more of your higher-priced package

Marketing goals

• Increase the traffic to your website
• Increase the number of leads you get per month
• Hit a certain pace of consistently publishing new blog content

Financial goals

• Increase annual revenue by a certain percentage
• Put a certain amount into business savings
• Pay down or pay off business debt

Brand goals

• Establish a clear brand voice
• Complete a rebrand 
• Make specific updates to your website

What to do once you’ve set your goals

Now that you understand why goal setting is important, what you need to consider before setting your goals, and have ideas to get you started, we couldn’t close this piece without sharing a few first steps to take. Because, once your goals are set, you have to map out how you are going to get there.

• Write your goals down because we fully believe you are more likely to put in the effort if they are documented somewhere
• Think about what you need to do to achieve each of your goals. Create a task list of those steps and mark deadlines for each
• Build a KPI (key performance indicators) sheet to track your progress on certain goals. These sheets are particularly effective at helping you see month over month progress with financial and marketing goals 
• Set a recurring meeting on your own calendar to spend 30-60 minutes each month getting organized around the upcoming goal tasks that need to be completed

Have we got you thinking about all the ways you can prep for next year? Be sure to add this piece about essential business tasks to your reading list! 

Photo Credit: Color Joy Stock