To give yourself the best chance of success in turning your dreams into reality, you will need to set specific and realistic goals that are inspiring. Many people use an effective goal setting process called SMART Goals, and there’s a good chance you’ve heard this acronym before. SMART Stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. I have my clients create SMART-I goals adding “Inspiration” to the end. SMART-I Goals are aspirational, ignite our passion, and are worthy of being celebrated at the end. Using this format, you will find each of these elements encapsulated in four key areas specific to entrepreneurial goals:
•Event Goal (IPO, Acquisition, Market Dominance, etc.)
•Monetary Goal (Revenue, Profitability, Market Dominance, etc.)
•Time Goal (Month and Year)
•Impact Goal (the result in people’s lives)
Or in other words, How much by when for what and why?
Here’s a template (and remember to be as specific as possible):
My company will reach $__________ in revenue by (month and year) ____________ when we will (event)__________________ which will (impact) ___________.
Here are some examples:
Lifestyle Company
My company will reach two million dollars in revenue by (month and year) October 2030 when I will (what event?) be personally and professionally debt-free, which will (huge goal) allow me to pay off my house, travel the world with my family, and give me more time to write my novel.
Buy or Be Bought
My company will reach $31 million in revenue by (month and year) April 2031 when I will (what event?) have an equity event at a 3.34x valuation which will (huge goal) provide complete financial freedom for myself and family for generations to come. It will also provide the means to start a nonprofit foundation to help immigrants start businesses and earn their citizenship.
IPO
My company will reach $250 million in revenue by (month and year) October 2035 when we will (what event?) IPO with an initial offering of twenty million shares opening at twenty-one dollars per share, which will (huge goal) give me the ability to purchase a professional sports franchise.
Set your sights high, climb to the top of that peak, celebrate, and then look up for your next adventure. If you’re not sure your goal is realistic, keep reading the next chapter: Overcoming Pitfall 3: Pulling a Goal out of Thin Air.
Overcoming Pitfall 2: Create the Map/Make the Plan
There are many ways to choose your destination. To help you dream big, here is a template:
•Determine which mountain range you are going to climb.
-Lifestyle
-Buy or Be Bought (Acquisition)
-IPO
•Pick your specific mountain by completing the formula for an actionable goal above—How much | by when | for what | and why (your huge goal)?
My company will reach $__________ in revenue by (month and year) ____________ when we will (what event?)__________________ which will (huge goal) ___________.
•Register your goal on the website for additional accountability and reporting at EntrepreneursParadox.com/AccurateGoal. We will help you achieve your goals.
•Note: I highly recommend you determine your mountain range and pick your mountain now. Doing so will help you get the most out of the remaining chapters. And don’t worry about getting it “right” or not. The following chapters will guide you through validating your goals.
3 Arnette, A. (2020, May 23). A New Route on Everest this Spring? Retrieved August 19, 2020, from www.rei.com/blog/climb/a-new-route-on-everest-this-spring.
4 N/a. (2011, February 24). Comparing the Routes on Everest. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from www.outsideonline.com/1808431/comparing-routes-everest.
5 The Science Behind Setting Goals (and Achieving Them). (2019, February 26). Retrieved August 20, 2020, from forbesbooks.com/the-science-behind-setting-goals-and-achieving-them; Goodman, N. (2018, December 16). The science of setting goals. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from ideas.ted.com/the-science-of-setting-goals.
Pulling a Goal Out of Thin Air
Some entrepreneurs pull goals out of thin air. The ones who create theirs from solid data are the ones who don’t have to question the validity of their goals.
A typical pitfall that entrepreneurs encounter early is setting goals without having gone through the process of reverse engineering them and making sure they are sound. Like any expert climber, you must properly plan for the journey—especially for a trip of this magnitude. Consider some of the critical questions a climber needs to ask and answer before setting out:
•How many miles is the trip?
•What kind of food is important to bring?
•What clothes, coats, and shoes will I need?
•How much moleskin will I need to cover my blisters?
•Will I need oxygen?
•What other supplies do I need?
•Where will we camp overnight? What shelter do we need?
•Which route will I take up the mountain?
•How long will it take to reach the summit?
•How will I train for the expedition?
•Who will be joining me on this adventure?
•How do I hire a guide for the ascent?
•What will the celebration look like at the top?
Without proper planning, you could get halfway up the mountain and end up having to turn around for any number of reasons: you could run out of food, have the wrong gear, or even lose track of the path to the top. To ensure the greatest chance of success, the mountain needs to be analyzed and the journey reverse engineered. This applies to the entrepreneur as well, who must reverse engineer the voyage up the business mountain.
The Reverse Engineering Critical Questions
Let’s review the previous climbing questions again, only this time through an entrepreneurial lens:
•How many miles is the trip?
What is your current revenue? What’s the difference between where you are now and the revenue goal? Estimate how many products or services you will need to sell to reach this goal.
•What kind of food is important to bring?
How much cash will you consume in reaching your goal? What is the expected yearly burn rate and total cash outlay to reach the goal?
•What clothes, coats, and shoes will I need?
What will your company look like when you hit your goal? How will the brand be represented? What articles and press releases will you launch? What will be your reach and market penetration? How will people perceive your brand and what brand ranking will your company need to achieve