Let’s change gears this issue and talk about how you SHOULD be approaching your goals now that we are in full swing for 2023… This is a serious topic we talk about every year at WindowCleaningBusinessCoach.com
The beginning of this year is when everyone is setting their new year’s resolutions. This year is no exception. They want to lose weight, make more money, pay off debt, etc. They set goals and sometimes develop action plans to achieve them. However, and unfortunately for many window cleaners, this is a critically missed step.
So, now that we are a couple of months into the new year, how are you doing? Did you set your goals, still working hard to achieve them, or are they long forgotten, and you are back to the same old grind?
If your 2022 didn’t go as planned–or you fell short of the goals you set—let me tell you an ironclad way to make 2023 the Best Year Yet.
Regular goal setting calls for the goal setter to think up a big audacious goal and write it down, motivating them to action. After all, as they say, a goal not written is only a wish.
But, a goal written down is seldom more than a wish. If the idea is to write something down – then look at it in the mirror every morning, then try as hard as you can to “achieve it,” taking the baby steps needed to get it done based on the plan of action.
In Reality…
If your brain doesn’t believe it can achieve the big audacious goal, it shuts down right away, robbing you of any chance to even start, let alone achieve the goal.
Focusing on big goals freezes the brain. They render you actionless because it’s too hard to know where to start. For example, picking up 500 new commercial accounts this year, nobody believes it, and nobody runs after it. The same thing goes for “making a million dollars,” “losing fifty pounds,” or “running a marathon.” The mind can’t wrap itself around that kind of goal.
Another reason big goals fail to motivate is that there are too many factors between point A (setting the goal) and point Z (achieving the big goal) that you simply can’t control.
Break It Down into the Simplest of Components
This is where Reverse Goal Setting comes into play. Reverse goal setting arrives at a “big number” through the back door—but spends zero time actually thinking about or worrying about that big number. Instead, reverse goal setting focuses on the small steps that lead to the bigger prize… and here’s the kicker: it only concerns itself with the bite-sized things that can easily be measured… and that you absolutely have 100% control over. Now, the daunting 500 new commercial accounts this year becomes 42 per month or 2 per day. See the difference?
Failing to plan is planning to fail. To accomplish anything, you need a game plan. And the most important part of having a plan is the thinking and planning you put into it when you created it. Business plans are no different. It will keep you focused; show you where you want to go and how to get there. So, let’s break this down into some step-by-step strategies:
Step #1:
Set Your 5 Year, 1 Year, 6 Month, 90-Day, and 1 Month Goals
…in that order. Many that venture into the window cleaning business have a limited idea of what they want to achieve and where they want to be in 6 months or a year down the road. Mission: translate those ideas into specific, measurable S.M.A.R.T. goals.
If your goal looks like this…
“I would like to be financially free, be able to quit my job and stay at home while living in a million-dollar house and driving a Bentley.”
Think again!
So, what is a S.M.A.R.T. goal, you ask?
S – Specific (exactly what you want to achieve)
M – Measurable (able to track the progress & measure the outcome)
A – Action Oriented (describe the plan)
R – Realistic (challenging but realistic to your business)
T – Time-Based (must include a time limit)
Apply the reverse goal principle, starting with your long-term goal (5 years) and then working backward, identifying what you need to do to achieve your big goal. Identifying your long-term goal will help you set and achieve your short-term goals. When we bring a new coaching client on board, this is one of the first questions we ask:
“What do you want your company to look like in 5 years, 1 year?”
Dream and put yourself in that state of mind. See yourself already there. What’s it look like, feel like, etc. Then, we go backward, breaking these goals into eventual baby steps.
- Decide how much money you want to make—your personal income.
- Decide on an annual revenue amount you want to reach.
- Do you want commercial only, residential only, or both?
- How big do you want your team of technicians to be?
- What kind of lifestyle do you want, meaning – on the glass, off the glass, working a couple of days a week, absentee ownership, etc?
Let’s say your 5-year goal is a 1 million dollar window cleaning operation providing you with a $200,000 annual income, working a couple of days a week off the glass. Now, you have something to measure.
Below is an example of goals you can itemize for yourself and your business.
5 Year Goal – 5 years from now (date), I have a team of 15. I have 1 million in revenue. $200,000 gross income and I have two divisions: residential and storefront. Monthly revenue is $100,000.
1 Year Goal – 1 year from now (date), I have a team of 5. I’m no longer on the glass. One storefront route is built full-time, and I have three technicians on residential, with one office person. My income is . Monthly revenue is $37,500.
6 Month Goal – 6 months from now (date), I have a team of 3. 2 full-time and 1 part-time. Two residential technicians will be full-time. One commercial tech will still be heavy part-time cleaning 100 stores. My income is . Monthly revenue is $25,000.
90-Day Goal – 90 days from now (date), I have 1 full-time residential technician trained on windows, gutters, and pressure washing. I have 1 part-time commercial technician cleaning 50 stores. My income is . Monthly revenue is . Monthly revenue is $15,000.
1 Month Goal – 1 month from now (date), I have 1 full-time residential technician working with me. I have my office in order, software implemented, goals set. I have my marketing plan laid out. Marketing plan details are as follows: .
As you can see, these are only examples, but guidelines nonetheless are specific and written in present tense.
This is the stuff my company and my coaching clients keep a strong focus on (these strategies go much deeper). And boy, does it make a difference in one’s company. It will do the same for you!
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