Hey there Savvy lady… (Esther here, one half of the incredible Savvy Duo)
Question for you: How many times have you heard about SMART goals or “new years resolutions” in the last month or so?
Everyone’s talking about how to set our SMART goals… are you over it like I am? #letsbereal
In this training I’m going to show you;
- Why SMART goals really annoy me (and why they often just don’t work in helping you achieve your biggest goals and dreams)
- How to set BIG inspiring goals that help you ACTUALLY achieve your goals in 2019. (We’re not just setting them this year Savvy lady, we’re going to help you achieve them)
- The reason ‘why’ you’re setting goals and how this is the single most important thing to the entire process.
- A step by step action plan of what you need to do to reach your goals as a coach in 2019 (You’re welcome 😉
You’ve so got this Savvy lady… Let’s dive straight in.
First… let’s address why SMART goals annoy me and why I feel they just don’t work… (Warning: quick rant approaching – but I promise it will be helpful)
…Look, I know that the ‘SMART’ approach can be an effective way to set goals (plus it’s easy to remember!)
I mean any goal that includes what the acronym stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely is good in my books (I’m giving a big hint away here… note that I just said ‘good.’)
But for those coaches out there… (YES I’m talking to YOU savvy lady!) who know that 2019 is THE year that their coaching business has them hitting consistent 5-figure months, then ‘SMART’ is just not going to cut it.
I mean, if you’re anything like the savvy go-getter I know you are… you’re not content with just hitting one or two 5-figure months, you’re looking for consistent 5-figure months that’ll have you hitting good 6-figures in 2019…
…All whilst being fully online and having the freedom to be anywhere that there’s an Internet connection.
Not to mention, having a healthy stream of clients coming through that has you hand-selecting amazing people to work with.
Ahh finally making a great income and impact. #hello2019 😉
Now, back to why I think SMART is not the way to go.
Sit with me for a moment.
Pull up a comfy chair, enjoy a nice glass of wine or green juice (if you’re doing that cleanse for #newyear… me, well I’m waiting for Feb!)
Get comfy and ponder this…
Are you OK with goals that are “attainable” and “realistic”?
I mean, you dream about goals that others shy away from, right?!
You don’t want to achieve only goals that are “attainable” and “realistic” for anyone wanting to make it as an online coach?
Goals that others say “ohh that’s not realistic, right?” when actually you know people are achieving these goals (and you know deep down that you can do it too!)…
…you’re just not sure on how to actually go about making it your reality.
I’m talking #lifestyle goals like 3-day workweeks, the freedom to travel wherever and whenever you like, consistent income that has you saving and spending how you choose.
When others are OK to be slogging away doing 50hr+ weeks, trying to do #allthethings with online marketing only to fall short and be happy enough to scrape in at $3k months…
…It starts to become clear that those safe, smart goals aren’t going to get you to your desired reality.
In fact, if you set SMART goals… they might even do worse than keep you up with Sad Sally who’s scraping in at $3k months… they may actively hold you back
Consider what happens when you set an “attainable” goal of earning 15% more than you did last year.
You might work 15% more.
You might spend 15% more on ads or spend 15% more time on social media and blogging.
You might even reach out to 15% more potential clients directly.
And you’ll likely earn about 15% more.
“That’s not so bad!” I hear you say.
After all, that was your original goal, right?
Or what about this as a potential…
Did that 15% goal inspire you to work harder?
Or did it create a subconscious (unknown) earning potential ceiling that has you stuck and unable to break through to what you really dream of?
You know… the goal that others say is “unattainable.”
Instead of focusing on goals that are “attainable” and “realistic”, savvy entrepreneurs (like you!) know that the key to success lies in creating goals that feel like a stretch.
Like past their comfort zone… slightly out of reach—maybe even UN-attainable.
Savvy coaches who want to grow an online coaching business don’t strive to earn 15% more than last year.
They want 50% or even 100% more.
They stretch themselves.
They’re savvy and find new (ie: better) ways to attract and sign on ideal clients.
Savvy in a way that they don’t have to work twice as hard, but they remain open to the possibility of doing so—at least in the short term—when it’s necessary.
Of course, you cannot simply declare crazy goals and expect the universe to hand them to you.
And that’s exactly why putting aside those smart goals is so…smart.
When you shun the attainable in favour of the “holy cow, how will I ever do THAT?” goal, you push yourself beyond those self-imposed limits and reach for the stars.
Sure, there’s a chance you might not increase your income by 50% or 100%, but you’re much more likely to do better than a mere 15% increase.
So push your perceived boundaries.
Gather that courage that had you deciding to start your business in the first place and make your goals BIG.
No more “realistic” or “attainable” (see how boring they sound now?)
Prepare your mindset and take the action to reach those big goals and you’ll be far better off for it, I promise you.
So what now?
What I’ve found that’s most important for me (and a high percentage of my clients) is living my purpose and my ‘why’.
It’s more important to me (and many others) than money.
Don’t get me wrong, great income each month and reaching good 6-figure+ years are super important (because it means I’m helping many people!)
But what’s most important is living a fulfilled life doing work that I love and having a great lifestyle.
Understand why you do what you do on a deeper level.
What do super-successful coaches all have in common?
It’s not out of this world amazing skills.
It’s not a huge amount of experience.
It’s not even a powerful drive.
All of these things are not a prerequisite for success.
Hard to believe?
Think about it… no one is born with skills and certainly not experience, and a number of successful people lack drive.
Sure, they can all help your business build and grow.
The one thing that does make a huge difference, however, is your “why.”
Your purpose.
Why did you decide to become a coach?
Why do you spend too many hours in front of your computer every week?
Why do you stay up too late and get up too early, just so you can work on growing your business?
The “why” is what ultimately drives us to success, but here’s the thing: it’s different for everyone.
Your why is not my why, and my why is not her why.
It’s a deeply personal choice that can have great meaning…or not.
For example, a woman who has been through tragedy in her life might spend 60hrs+ per week coaching and mentoring other women who are experiencing (or who have experienced) tragedy, to come out the other side with a little more ease than she did.
Her why is to help other women who are in the position she was once in.
What drives her is that she can help women where she didn’t get the help.
She’s walked the path and wants to help others walk theirs.
Or like Jaimee (my fellow Co-Founder of SavvyEntrepreneursOnline.com) who left university early to take on an “opportunity of a lifetime” management job only to leave 3 years later as she knew she wanted a different path.
The path of working your way up the ladder, or building someone else’s dream was not for her.
She left at the tender age of 22 to start her marketing consulting and coaching business and for almost 10 years has been running an online business that now helps her travel the world whenever she wants and helps others create the freedom they truly want in their life…
Or like me…
I left my senior management corporate job at 30 to dive head first into entrepreneurship land (note to those playing at home… don’t leave a well paid job with no plan like I did!)
My beautiful Dad passed away suddenly a year before and it gave me a whole new meaning to the importance of life.
Jaimee and I share our big “why”: Our mission is to empower incredible women to create a thriving online business so they can be strong, courageous, independent and savvy leaders of their own lives.
To experience the freedom and flexibility to build the lifestyle they truly want to live, to create the positive impact their Soul’s crave, to be financially abundant, to be location independent and spend time with the people who matter most to them.
We’re driven to empower women to be inspired to love themselves, to look after themselves, their needs and to live with purpose and passion.
We’re motivated to help women discover their Truth and their voice, to grow within
themselves, so that if they choose to, they can be all that they came here to be and do.
So let me now ask you.
What’s your big “why”?
What drives you beyond money?
What’s your deeper purpose?
The thing that has you springing out of bed each day?
Could it be the desire to travel anywhere at any time?
Or perhaps the freedom to spend time with those you love like your children or family and friends?
To not be at the mercy of a boss that drives you crazy?
To give to charities that do good in the world? To everyday do work that lights you up and makes a positive impact?
Whatever it is, your “why” is the key driving force that acts as the foundation for every action (or inaction) you take in your business.
So, when deciding on taking on a new client, ask yourself the question “is working with this person well aligned with my why?”
And for this time of year when we’re setting big goals for 2019 for both your life and your coaching business.
Ask yourself “Are my goals moving me closer to my big why?
Do they allow me to experience what I crave to experience in life?”
It’s so important to clearly write out your “why” statement.
For me when I first jumped into being an entrepreneur (now I’m onto my 3rd successful business!)
I was driven to experience a different life than the soul destroying corporate life I had.
The thought that I consistently had back then was “I just don’t want to be in corporate and live a life that is dictated to by a company.”
Sure, I was successful in escaping my 9-to-5 and having a business that worked with big names…
But the thing that slipped me up was that I ended up doing work that I wasn’t passionate about. I felt I wasn’t making the kind of impact that I wanted to in the world.
So I shut down that business and started to teach women how to start and grow businesses.
Now in my work alongside Jaimee with SavvyEntrepreneursOnline.com…
I am living my dream doing work that I love making the kind of impact that matters to me.
Happy days.
So, how do you turn your ‘why’ statement and your desired dream into your reality?
Great question!
It’s all about having a strategy and plan of action that you can get started with.
After all dreams don’t become realities without taking action, right?
As a coach, it can be difficult to watch people stay stuck and be so frustrated at their lack of progress!
Ohh boy procrastination, confusion and lack of direction can be so painful!
Or worse, coaches who try to do #allthethings at once without a strategy and end up getting burnt-out and worse off for it financially.
Do you know the people I’m talking about?
They sign up to free webinars and downloadable’s, they might even buy online courses.
And yet they fail to move forward and make their dream their reality.
They’ve had the dream to get to 5-figure months in your coaching business for so long so that you can live your dream.
So that they can live their “why.”
Is it because they’re lazy?
Usually not.
It’s simpler than that… but highly frustrating.
They’re stuck.
Ok, so let’s get to the ‘How To’ part of this blog!
First up, start with your long term vision.
Knowing your purpose and creating a big picture vision that propels you forward is a game changer.
Become crystal clear on what your version of success is and create a bound-out-of bed passion for your business.
Now it’s about learning what you need to do to take you from your current reality to your desired reality so that can live your purpose and your ‘why’ and be the change that you want to see in the world.
Now to setting motivating goals…
In order to reach your vision and live your purpose, you need to take inspired action.
This is why setting goals that excite you are vital.
They help you maintain focus to create the financial abundance and lifestyle freedom that you crave.
Create a clear action plan to reach your goals to set yourself up for the best results without bogging yourself in down in perfection.
So, let’s back up for a minute.
If in five years you want to be working 3-day workweeks, have the freedom to travel and work from anywhere, then you need to have set things in place first…
Here’s the clear milestones and steps you need to reach your goals…
- The income to cover your day-to-day living costs as well as travel costs. How?
- By having a clear and definable program and package of services to offer your ideal client so that you’re no longer selling your coaching services by the session or by the hour (and instead easily hitting those #dream consistent 5-figure months.)
- A clear marketing message, website and funnel to attract ideal clients.
- Systems and automation in place to help you create your laptop lifestyle.
- A clear process to sign on clients into your coaching services.
With these things in place, you can now work backwards from your five-year goal, and create staged milestones along the way.
If you know you’ll need to earn $250,000 annually in order to travel and live your dream lifestyle, and right now you’re earning $60,000, then reasonable milestones might look like this:
Year 1: $100,000
Year 2: $200,000
Year 3: $250,000
With these set milestones, it’s a lot easier to know exactly what you need to do to achieve them, by now setting smaller goals that track you towards your big goals. monthly, weekly, and daily goals.
Create monthly, weekly and daily goals.
If you said to your friend, “hey, you need to move from $60,000 to $250,000 in three years!”
That may be pretty overwhelming to hear…
It’s a $190,000 increase.
Many people would dismiss it as next to impossible.
But when you break it down as we did above and then even more so into mini steps, it suddenly doesn’t look as overwhelming.
In the first year we outlined, your income needs to increase only by $40,000.
That’s less than $3400 per month!
Surely that’s easy enough to accomplish!
Especially when you have a high-value program to offer your ideal clients.
Say, if you had a program that was $2,000… that’s only 2 sales extra per month and you’d be well ahead.
That might mean sending one more email to your list, or creating a funnel that brings in a steady stream of leads (stuck on that?
Check out our FREE “6 Key Steps to Building Your Online Coaching Business.”)
The point is, reaching this much smaller goal is far more palatable than thinking about that big five-year goal!
So what’s your big vision?
Your big dream?
I’d love to know (we’re cheering you on already!)
How can you deconstruct it into smaller milestones and goals?
How can you then plan out your weeks and days to achieve them all one-by-one?
Are you ready to create a map that’ll help you to make your dream a reality?
Jaimee and I have mapped the whole pathway out for you.
No more guessing games about what goes where and at what time.
Phew!
Download your free guide: The “6 Key Steps to Building Your Online Coaching Business” here.
Here’s to 2019 being super successful for you!
Esther Gretton. x
