Part 3 is finally here! We’ve reviewed your last year, we’ve set your intentions and SMART goals for next year. Now, it’s time for my favorite part: planning and implementing a process for how to achieve these goals for your small business!

If you missed parts 1 and 2, you can find them here.

If you want to follow along with the workbook, purchase Your Guide to Goal-Getting for $10. On the last few pages, I’ve included a fillable calendar where you can follow along and plan your timeline over the next few months or years. We’ll be filling out that calendar throughout this blog post.

Ready? Alright – let’s go!

Mark important personal events

How many times has an anniversary, birthday, or busy season snuck up on you? You’re chugging along, minding your own business, and then…. crap. Your significant other’s birthday is NEXT WEEK, and you don’t have a gift or anything prepared!

Am I speaking from experience? Maybe. 😅 (Sorry, Steven!)

These events happen every year on the same day at the same time. So, it’s important to plan around them. Using the calendar in the Goal-Getting Workbook, start by filling out the important dates.

These include your non-negotiables (things have to happen this year), as well as your expected events (busy seasons, travel plans, visits from friends). Here are a few of my own:

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Major holidays
• Busy season
• Vacations
• Travel plans
• Weddings
• Graduations
• Visiting friends & family

This is key to building your business around your life, rather than vice versa. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day busyness of life, that you might let these pass you by. But, by intentionally scheduling these non-negotiables in your calendar, you’re already taking the steps to being proactive instead of reactive.

Plan your business goals

Now that we’ve got all of your personal non-negotiables out in the open, let’s create your business plans around these non-negotiables. For me, business goals this year look like:

• New product and package launches
• Hiring a designer for my rebrand
• Booking a photographer to update my brand photos
• Launching a new content stream

A mistake I’ve made in the past is planning out my business timeline, then letting my personal events fall where they may. The result? I became burnt out, tired, and a lil resentful of my business. Remember: your business should serve you!

If you find that there isn’t enough space in your calendar for your business goals, then my friend: you have tried to do too much. Prioritize what goals are the most important to you, and scale back. Then, if you achieve them early, you’ll be even happier! You can always add on more, but it’s much more difficult to scale back once your business plans are already in motion.

Hiring help

Now that you’ve planned your high-level business goals, it’s time to figure out what kind of help you need to achieve these goals. With this calendar in hand, you can figure out both:

1. WHO you need to hire (a bookkeeper, VA, mentor, copywriter, photographer, etc.), and
2. WHEN you need to hire them.

Something to keep in mind: service providers typically book in advance. Like, months in advance. So, you’ll need to plan accordingly!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to turn away clients because they need photos in 2 weeks, but my calendar is booked out for the next 6. 😢 So, keeping this in mind – if I need updated brand photos by December, that means I need to do my session in November, which means I should get in touch in October.

Now, If I didn’t go through this planning exercise, I would have gotten to December only to find that no brand photographers are available!

Don’t forget about rest

Another mistake I’ve made is booking my calendar for the year completely, and not leaving any time for me. As a busy bee, I like to keep moving. But, regardless of how hyper-productive you are, this will lead to burnout. You need time to rest, relax, and recharge. This will look different for everyone.

For some, rest means spending time with friends and going to parties. For others (like me), rest means tending to my villagers in Animal Crossing, or binge watching Harry Potter. Do what works for you, and PUT IT IN YOUR CALENDAR! I don’t mean to shout, but it is important. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, and don’t fall into the trap of giving all your time away.

Post your calendar where you can see it

Finally, once I’ve completed my calendar for the year (or quarter, depending on your planning cadence), I like to put it somewhere visible. With digital calendars, it’s easy to forget about events in the future since you have to scroll to see them.

By keeping a physical, long-term calendar, you won’t forget about these importance events, and seeing them every day will reinforce their importance. You’re less likely to brush off your next business goal if you’re looking at it every day.

Wrapping up

Well my friends, that brings Your Guide to Goal-Getting to a close. I hope this was helpful for you! If it wasn’t, well…I don’t know what to tell ya. But if you did enjoy it, feel free to pin it and share it with your friends! If you REALLY enjoyed it, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at hello@emilykimphotography.com, or DM me on Instagram @emilykim.co!

Your goal-getting cheerleader,

Emily

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