Business Planning: Monthly Goals

Evrything Beachy is a top priority for me, but even so, it can be easy to procrastinate on the business goals I have when my business is a side project. Work, family, life, and simply being tired all impact how much I can dedicate to the business on any given day.

One strategy that I read about was setting short term goals for the business to help keep you on track. I have implemented this idea for Evrything Beachy and wanted to share it with you all in hopes that in might help each of you with your side projects, whatever they may be.

When I develop my short term business goals, I typically map out what I would like to achieve that month. I ask myself the following questions to help guide my thinking:

1) What do I want to achieve in terms of social media?
2) What can I being doing more of to promote my business?
3) What are some areas that I would like to improve?
4) What is something I keep putting off doing for the business but I need to do?
5) Where have I succeeded these past few months?

After I answer these questions, I develop some monthly goals. For April, these are the answers I came up with:

1) I want to increase my Instagram following to 1000 followers, blog more consistently, and be more active on Pinterest.
2) I have not been utilizing Etsy’s Teams feature as regularly as I would like to and want to see how consistent engagement impacts sales, if at all.
3) I want to improve my page’s photos and increase my photography skills overall as well as be more consistent in posting new items.
4) I need to update the search terms for each of my listings.
5) My Instagram has been consistently growing, and I have been taking pictures whenever I have the time.

These answers turn into the goals I set for April! In order to keep a schedule, I create a calendar for the month with the different tasks. The template I used here is from Canva, which is a great site for free templates that are cute and user-friendly! If you are looking for something with less design that is more utilitarian, Microsoft word also has a calendar template that is very easy to fill in. Finally, you could always just write your goals down on actual paper, and post it on your fridge. Whatever works for you!

Each day of the month has its own image corresponding to a different type of post: lifestyle, sea glass, or products. My Instagram account started with posting pictures of sea glass, but as my business opened, I wanted to incorporate product photos. I also believe in including some photos of other things to add a personal touch to your social media and humanize your business. For example, I typically will post photos of my cat.

I also have noted on the calendar which days I want to post blogs with the blue sea shell and which days I want to set aside for photography with the camera.

My social media goal for the month is placed on the last day, to ensure I keep working towards it the whole month. I also have some weekly goals, such as post 3 listings, not listed on the calendar itself and that’s okay too!!

It’s all about finding what works for you. If having a daily schedule as opposed to weekly or monthly works for you, then do it!

Please comment any strategies that work for you, I would love to chat about it!