As entrepreneurs, businesspersons and promoters of start-ups we are determined to grow and succeed. To do so, we continuously ideate and experiment – from new ways of acquiring clients and customers; to forging new alliances and partnerships; to new communication campaigns, to name but a few of the many initiatives we take.

Newly launched businesses look at ways to grow - a time when every small achievement, such as the first 100 customers or members, seems like a huge feat, and every trivial miss can seem like a significant missed opportunity.

Established businesses too seek growth – winning a new tender or expanding to new territories. Again the hits and misses can seem quite exaggerated most often. So how best can we ensure we are celebrating the right achievements and know if we are brooding over the right losses or know if they instead are, blessings in disguise?

The answer is simpler than it may appear – by setting clear goals and measuring business performance against these. While the answer is simple, executing is a little harder and we believe three logical steps can make this journey more pleasant than arduous.

Note, that I use the term ‘journey’ to describe the process. Maybe we carry the analogy and think about this similar to a long road journey to a far away destination.

It would be most helpful if we had a clear view of the destination and a clear road map to help us get there. Further, we should identify segments, which will help make the journey manageable and enable us to track our progress towards the destination.

Lets consider these three practical steps in planning our business journey:

Step 1: Set Clear Goals
Measurable and objective goals, such as market share goals, revenue goals or profitability goals, defined along with time dimensions are most helpful. The best way to define a goal is stay unhindered and focus on the opportunity and core need your business seeks to address and dream big!

Set realistic and achievable goals by being mindful of the opportunity as well as your resources, current and planned. Announce these goals to your key personnel and set yourself up to achieve such goals - hire and train an adequate number of appropriate resources; lease or buy the right equipment; plan the scale of your marketing campaigns etc. Plan to get to your goals in a profitable and timely manner.

Step 2: Measure and Track your progress
Once your business goals are set, define key ‘leading indicators’ that can be tracked and against which progress may be measured. Number of new and active dealers/distributors may be a good leading indicator for units likely to be sold and consequent market share in a distribution oriented business. Number of workers and effective shifts with productive hours of equipment uptime may be good leading indicators for factories. It is helpful to break the full journey into logical segments (time or tasks or a combination – anything that helps you set expectations and measure better).

Step 3: Review and Sharpen your Plans
It is extremely helpful and necessary to review progress and even review original plans/goals. Maybe market forces such as a new entrant or moves by your competitors or new regulatory policies etc. may require you to redefine or alter your destination. Regular and timely reviews to measure and track against goals can help you know how you are progressing towards your destination (original or changed). Regular and unhindered progress towards your stated goals is indicative of greater likelihood of achieving and exceeding your goals. Such reviews also help plan for contingencies and alternate plans in case of slower than desired progress.

We wish you well in your business journey and just as in the long road trip, having the right and helpful company makes the journey more enjoyable, we hope the assistance and new business links you will make through GlobalLinker, will help make your business growth simpler, more profitable and more enjoyable!