With the new year, new resolutions arise. The motivation to get things done increases and this is the perfect time for you to review the achievements and failures from the past 12 months. Set new goals for you and your business to grow in the coming year particularly in terms of profit.
When you are working as a freelancer and being your own boss, profit becomes a very important part of your business, so we compiled a few smart ways to achieve your profit goals this year.
Be realistic
The first step in this direction is for you to be realistic when setting the profit goals you want your business to achieve. What is important to you? How much do you need to make in order to break even? Are you biting more than you can chew? Take these questions into consideration before you start.
Define a target
How much profit do you want to make this year? It will be easier to set your goals once you have a clear target in mind.
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Get your goals organized by setting them as S.M.A.R.T. --specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Make it motivating
Once you have a clear view of what you want to achieve, write your goals in a motivating manner so you can be inspired whenever you look at them.
Plan ahead
You can never go wrong with a to-do list. Write your profit goals down in bullet points and ask yourself what needs to be done in order to achieve these goals. Lay out the answers as bullet points in a to-do list and establish deadlines to complete these tasks.
Make them visual
If you want, make cards or posters out of your goals and display them in your workspace so you can be reminded every day of what you need to focus on.
Track your progress
It is of extreme importance to track what you have accomplished so far and what yet needs to be done. There are several apps and software that you can use to help you with that -- Basecamp is a very popular one to help you get organized.
Review your performance
It is crucial to have a performance review to identify what is working and what isn’t. If this is not done properly, it is easy to get lost and not realize when you are losing profit. Goals should always be matched with performance.
Be open to change
When something is not working, make adjustments. Go over your strategies to improve your results and get your business going.
Once you have established what you want to accomplish you can start browsing projects and contests to get you started on the quest to achieve your profit goals in 2017!
