Setting Realistic Business Goals for the New Year
How to Dream Big & Keep it Real in 2022

With a new year comes the promise of potential, possibility, and a paved path toward new successes.

There’s something about the freshness—the newness!—of a brand new year that inspires us all to look inward, dig deep, and set goals to better ourselves, our businesses, and our lives in general.

All of these things are positive.

As humans, as cosmetologists, as business owners, we should always strive to better ourselves, projects, and businesses by setting goals and ambitions.

There’s just one problem with this type of thinking—often, it can lead us to set goals that are too lofty or entirely unrealistic.

Don’t get us wrong, we always think cosmetologists like you should shoot for the stars—but to do so, it’s important to set attainable, realistic business goals to guide you down that path toward eventual success.

So, how can you set realistic business goals, and further, how can you keep perspective as the new year approaches?

We’ve got you covered.

Here are a few tips for keeping your goals—big or small—realistic, actionable, and totally attainable for 2022.

Setting Realistic Cosmetology Goals for the New Year: Here’s How

Before we kick this thing off, we want to add one more disclaimer—we are *not* telling you to dream small and we are *not* telling you to avoid going after your big dreams.

What we are doing is helping you make those big goals more realistic, more actionable, and more attainable.

So, hell yeah!

Dream big, go for the gold, and do things that scare you a little—just make sure you’re taking realistic approaches to these ambitions. Here’s how.

Dream Big—But Start Small

Got big dreams you want to achieve? We couldn’t applaud you more.

There’s no reason you can’t tackle every ambition you’ve got in your brain. But big goals don’t just happen—they take lots of small steps to get there.

So, yes, dream big, but start small.

Think about your end goal. How will you get there? Work backward.

Think about the monthly goals you need to meet to tackle that ambition. Now think about the weekly goals. Now, consider the daily goals.

Dreaming big is easy, starting small can be the hard part. But if you’re working on small, actionable steps toward those big goals, nothing can stand in your way.

Reality Check Your Goals Against Your Resources

Take a look at that list of goals you’ve set up for yourself. Seems like a good list, right?

It might be—but is it feasible when you take account of your resources?

We’re not saying you can’t make things happen (you can!), but if your goals don’t necessarily line up with your current resources, maybe you’ll need to modify those goals with your resources in mind.

Being realistic isn’t shooting low—it just might mean being a little more creative with your goal setting and how you tackle your big dreams!

Ultimately, goals need a little reality check every now and again, and holding them against your actual resources can likely be the dose of reality you might need!

Get Your Team’s Take

Sometimes we can blind ourselves with ambition. 

Don’t get us wrong, being ambitious is a good thing—but the occasional reality check is helpful, too.

The best way to really check yourself? Get your team involved.

Schedule a meeting and get your staff’s take on your 2022 goals.

Do these ambitions seem attainable to them? Why or why not?

If they seem a little far-fetched, how can they help you reign in your ambition to a goal that’s still helping you achieve your dreams?

A little perspective can go a long way!

Set Your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Figure out what is going to tell you about your performance.

What indicators can you check on to monitor your progress?

Is it your profit? Your social media followers? The number of new clients?

Figure out what your key performance indicators are so you can begin to track your progress and monitor what’s working toward your success (and what might be holding back).

Schedule Progress Checkpoints Ahead of Time

Just as you need to figure out what’s indicating your progress with KPIs, you need to set realistic timelines and checkpoints to monitor your overall progress.

Set yourself up with monthly or weekly checkpoints to ensure that you’re on track to press forward on your path toward accomplishing your big goals.  

Have some of your own realistic goal-setting tips?

Share them with everyone at EBS and your fellow community of cosmetologists by leaving us a comment in the reply section below.

And don’t forget, with the new year comes a lot of new, helpful content and resources—you won’t want to miss a moment of it.

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