Everyone wants to believe that their new business is going to take off like a rocket and be a huge success. This is entirely possible, but it’s better for you to set realistic goals for your virtual assistant business. By being realistic, you can see your business grow and you won’t become discouraged if you aren’t rolling in money in just a few weeks.
When you're deciding what goals to set for yourself, keep these ideas in mind.
Start with ambitious thoughts. Use your imagination and be overly optimistic as you start thinking about your business goals. List your ideas and then begin to whittle them down. If you do this, you'll end up with a great combination of reality and ambition in your goals.
Break down your list of goals. Look at each goal on your list and see how you can break them down into smaller, bite-sized goals. This will make it easy for you to see how you can achieve each objective and every time you meet a small goal, you’ll feel more ambitious to try harder for the next one.
Keep your goal list small. It would be great to have a list of 100 goals and be working towards all of them simultaneously, but the reality is you simply cannot do anything well if you are spread too thin. Pick the goals that mean the most to you: is it gaining customers, making money, or for creative fulfillment?
Don’t overestimate your time commitment. This means that you must be realistic in your goal setting. Don’t make a goal of gaining 10 new clients every month if this means the clients you already have won’t get your best effort. You are better off building a client base with wonderful customer service and doing an excellent job than just signing on with anyone who wants your help. You won’t meet your objectives of gaining clients if you lose one because you're too busy with the new ones.
Consider showing others your list of goals. When you have your goals ready, show them to several people you trust and ask what they think. People who have no investment in your business are more likely to see if your goals are as realistic as you think they are. Plus, they can offer accountability.
Believe in yourself. When you're setting goals for your VA business, be realistic but believe in yourself and your abilities. Only you can know how much you can accomplish. The higher you dream, the higher you will reach.
Setting realistic goals can be hard, simply because we want it all. You want your new business to be an instant success, but if you set your goals too high, you could be discouraged quickly and give up on a very promising business. When you design a more realistic set of goals and objectives, you can see the progress you're making as you reach every goal.
