Setting Goals for Your Business

Simply defined, growth is an increase in size. Makes sense... to be fair, I did get this definition from Britannica Kids.

But as we physically grow and our minds grow, things don’t remain so simple. For “grown ups”, Britannica defines growth as the process of forming or developing something; an increase in the number or size of something; the developing of a person’s mind; a result or product of growing.

Back to my point, defining growth becomes more complex. And it's especially more complex when trying to define growth for a business.

So then, what does define “growth” for a business? Is it revenue? Or profitability? Number of goods sold? Assets and liabilities?

The answer is, that there is no answer. It’s a trick question.

There is no single definition of what constitutes business growth. Just like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. Which can be a blessing… or a curse (but only if you let it).

With the perception of growth being so subjective, you have to define what growth means for your business. Otherwise, there are a lot of other people trying to do so… your competitors, potential investors, your clients, even your employees.

The first step to defining what growth means for your business begins at the end, aka your goals. What do you want for your business and how are you going to get there? The space in between becomes the measuring stick. And how your business performs against the goals you set for it, defines how you measure growth for your business.

Ultimately, the best way to tell if your business is growing is to align your metrics with your business goals and monitor them regularly.

So I’ll say it again, if you aren’t setting goals for your business then you’re letting others define what growth means for your business. And we don't let others tell us who we are, right? Same should be true for your business.

Need some help with goal setting? Here’s a downloaded guide from the Optitude journal (do you have this??). And feel free to reach out if you’d like to schedule some more time to talk about it.