Setting SMART Business Goals for the New Year

You enjoy so many benefits as an independent contractor—flexibility, control over the projects you take on, and the ability to build a business that truly fits your lifestyle. But it’s also easy to get caught up in the daily rhythm of deadlines and deliverables, which can keep you from seeing the big picture.

Before you rush into a new year of projects, it pays to hit pause. Conducting a business review as an independent contractor—looking at what you achieved, who you connected with, and where you want to go next—can reveal gaps in your services, tidy up your back office, and spotlight new opportunities to grow.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This methodology is used across many different industries to set clear, effective goals. Using this model can help you achieve more because you break your goal into concrete steps with measurable outcomes, as opposed to just thinking of the goal you want, writing it down, and hoping you follow through. Here’s how to do it.

Specific: Clearly Describe Your Goal

Start by thinking of a goal tied to a specific outcome. Goals can often be too broad, and therefore hard to achieve. Rather than trying to tackle too large of a goal, try to narrow your focus.

For example, rather than having a goal of “grow my income by 10%,” focus on what would actually drive that growth. Instead, your goal might be: “secure one new contract every quarter.” This is a more specific and clearly defined goal to work with.

Measurable: Define Milestones and Describe Desired Results

To make your goal measurable, define what metrics you’ll use to track your progress. Set specific milestones that you can use throughout the year—or throughout your defined timeline—to make sure you are continuing to work on your goal.

Milestones for securing one new contract per quarter might be to network with one new contact per week, reconnect with a past client or peer every other week, or apply to three project opportunities via an online marketplace each month.

Milestones can be quantitative (numbers based) or qualitative (outcome based) depending on what you are trying to achieve. Be sure to also clearly define what success looks like at the end of your timeline.

Learn More: 3 Ways to Evaluate Small Business Goals

Achievable: Make Sure Your Goal Is Realistic

Setting high standards for yourself is great, but if your goals are unrealistic or too hard to achieve, you can end up doing yourself and your business more harm than good. Goals that are too big, too fast, or too vague often leave you feeling discouraged instead of motivated.

It’s okay to experiment with different goals to see how far you can push yourself. Just be mindful not to chase a goal that adds unnecessary stress to your daily life or turns out to be impractical. A good goal should stretch you, not burn you out.

Relevant: Choose a Goal That’s Meaningful to Your Business

You’re right that relevance can feel obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to lose sight of what you actually want from your business. When you’re busy, you might pick goals that sound impressive, are easy to check off, or simply mirror what others are doing—without really asking if they move you in the right direction.

Take some time to think back on your original vision for your company, whether it’s written in a formal business plan or just lived in your head for years. How does this goal fit into that vision? How does it support the kind of work, clients, and lifestyle you’re hoping to build? If it clearly connects, it’s likely relevant. If not, it may be time to refine or rethink it.

Discover: How to Write a Business Plan for Small Business: 8 Steps

Time-Bound: Set a Deadline for Your Goal

Lastly, make sure you set a deadline for your goal along with a timeline for your milestones. Putting time constraints on your goal will help you stay on track and motivated as you work towards meeting each target. Meeting each smaller milestone and date is great motivation to know you’re well on your way to achieving your desired result.

SMART goals are well defined, actionable, and achievable. Approaching goal setting this way can help you sharpen your business vision, recognize small wins throughout the year, and grow your company the way you want.

For more, check out our Year-End Small Business Review Checklist.