We are halfway through 2023 – scary for some, amazing for others.  Which camp are you in?

As you know I am a good goal setter and although I find it hard to stick to them, I do my best to keep them front and centre every day.

I have my goals strategically placed above my office desk, and I do try my best to stick to them while chasing the odd bright sparkly object around the universe. I have and will probably always have BSO syndrome!

So, firstly, did you set goals at the beginning of 2023?

If not, that is ok, but consider this your nudge to set them up for the second half of the year.

If you did set some goals, how have they gone?

• Are you checking with them regularly?
• Are you deciding, strategically, of course, if that or those goals are still relevant, achievable, or warranted in 2023?
• And if they are, how far into them are you? Achieved? On your way? Still on the to-do list!

It is ok to have things still on the to-do list – perhaps that is the nature of the goal!

For example, I have one goal to get to 200,000 downloads of my podcast by the end of 2023. And so far, that goal is tracking well. I’m not there yet, but it was an end of year goal – I think we will smash it but I still need to keep working at it.

That’s what I’m talking about when I say business goals. They can be things like that, or they can be financial goals.

If I am honest, I am not smashing my financial goals, but I do know why and I do know what to do about it (that’s why things like a mid-year review are SO IMPORTANT!)

I just need to make my financial goals a priority and stop doing other “stuff” and do the money-making activities. Money making activities was a good podcast episode and had lots of great feedback – so check it out here: www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/135

Before you set new goals, or even if you’re still on the path you want to be, consider these questions:

In the first 6 months of 2023,

• What did you absolutely love creating and working on?
• What did you hate working on?
• What was tough? What felt difficult?
• What was your biggest money maker?
• What was your least money maker?
• What do you never ever want to do again?

When I do planning at the beginning of the year with my clients, and we are reflecting on the year that was, it’s that last question – what do you never ever want to do again – that’s trips them up.

Maybe it’s nothing.

Maybe it’s something that you just have to do because it’s part of your marketing strategy or business model – BUT perhaps it could be outsourced?  Maybe it has to be done, but maybe you don’t have to do it!

What has been your lesson so far in 2023?

I have to say that mine, both through personal experience and from the experiences of my clients, has to be that we simply forget the power of the word YES.

Saying yes to opportunities brings both joy and frankly, other opportunities.  It’s a lesson I am seeing over and over again in 2023.

It reminds me of a podcast episode I did in my first year of podcasting. It was episode 48 and was titled What Happened When I said Yes for a Year – go back and have a listen.  It might be almost 5 years old but the lessons are still there!

The lesson I am about to learn in the second half of 2023 is follow up.  The absolute need to follow up leads in your business if you want it to grow.  It is something I do badly in one sense (good in others) but it is about time I started to be more strategic with follow ups and making them a priority, just like I make my marketing!  I feel that lesson is coming at me like a freight train ….

If you’re setting new goals for the second half of 2023, the most important things to remember are:

1. Knowing why you want to achieve that goal.
2. What’s the financial benefit for the goal?
3. What’s it’s going to take to reach that goal?
4. What’s it’s going to mean to you and your business if you achieve it.

I cannot encourage you enough to take some mid-year time to reset your goals to help you refocus on what’s important and what you want to achieve by the end of 2023.

And regardless of whether that’s you or not, I have these pieces of advice for you:

1. Make marketing a priority in your business! Stop making it a “if I’ve got time” priority and make it a real priority every day.
2. Take some time to look at your finances at the end of the financial year – yep it’s scary but look at them. Know what’s earnt money, what hasn’t and put more effort and energy, in the last half of 2023, into your money-making activities.
3. Give your workplace a “Maree Kondo” clean up. Clean and clear your workplace, invites a clean and clear mind to work with.  Spend an hour or two reorganising your workplace, giving it a clean and throwing out those thousand sticky notes that have all your important things on them (get yourself a notebook)!  Maybe cleaning your workspace also including cleaning out your inbox and computer files.  Let’s give ourselves maximum chance to start again clear and clean!
4. Put your goals where you can see them – every day you can see where you need to go. Consider doing a vision board.
5. Learn to delegate. Did you squirm just then or did your inner core shake? Delegation can be a learned skill so if you don’t do it or aren’t good at it – take small steps to be a great delegator.  It’ll give you more time to focus on the goals you’ve now got in front of you. Seek out experts in the fields of what you can outsource, and delegate to them!
6. If you are finding it hard to keep yourself accountable – find an “unreasonable friend” or an accountability buddy. If you don’t know where to start, head into my Facebook Group – Like Minded Business Owners and ask if anyone would like to pair up in there!  I have no double you’ll get a taker or two.  Accountability is one of the fundamentals missing from so many small business owners and it can make a massive difference to your output and input every day!

If you’re completely stuck and you feel like your challenges are too much at this point, then I’d love to invite you for a discovery call with me so that I can see how I might be able to help you.

There’s a link in the show notes for make an appointment with me or go to https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery

We can have a chat about your goals, your struggles and roadblocks and what’s holding you back and how I can help.

Love to hear your thoughts on goal setting for the remainder of 2023. Get in touch or head to the Facebook group – Like Minded Business Owners and share with everyone over there. Email me jenn@jenndonovan.com.au or DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn – would love to hear from you.

CONTACT JENN:

Don’t forget, you can book a free discovery call with me to talk about how I can help your nail your business goals, planning, strategy and marketing! Simply click the link and grab a spot!

My Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group is also a great community to join – full of awesome people in small business!

Or you can DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn, or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.  Jenn’s an expert marketing coach and mentor from rural NSW. She is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.  Not only is she a sought after expert on all things marketing for Small Business, she is a keynote speaker, author, was the Founder of Buy From a Bush Business and a Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace, and is the host of the very popular podcasts Small Business Made Simple and Stories from the Bush. Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!  H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram – @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Jenn Donovan

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan