3 Tips for Setting Goals As A Creative Entrepreneur

We’ve been entrepreneurs for over ten years now, and one of the most common questions we get from creators is: "How do I set up my business goals?"

As someone who has gone through setting up creative businesses multiple times (and failed at it more than once), We can tell you that the answer is not as simple as it sounds.

If you've ever been an entrepreneur before, you know how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of starting something new. You want to make sure everything's in order, so you put together a list of all the clients you want to work with and figure out how much money they're paying per project. You may even decide how many projects each client will get and how much time each task will take so that everything balances out perfectly in your budget!

But this kind of planning doesn't always work in real life, especially for creative businesses like freelancing or graphic design, where your clients often have very different needs than what your first thought was when you started.

Here are some tips on creating realistic goals for your creative business...

Make your goals SMART.

The acronym SMART is a tried-and-true way to ensure that your goals are actionable and measurable:

Specific: It should be clear what you want to accomplish.

Measurable: Such as sales numbers or profit margins.

Achievable: Set goals that are challenging without being unrealistic. For example, when we first decided to launch Style Sense, we sat down and wrote a plan.

We then broke our big goals down into four smaller goals that we could realistically achieve. Our dreams felt much more attainable by the end of our goal session.

Goals should align with your strengths, interests, purpose, and values — not just because they sound relaxed or fun!

For example, if becoming a celebrity stylist isn’t essential to you personally, don’t do it. Plenty of stylists don’t work with celebrities and get paid very well.

Don't give up too soon on something that doesn't seem to be working right away.

It's ok if you don't meet all of your goals. You will fail; it's impossible to avoid it. Use that as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, continue to master your craft, and learn from others.

Knowing where you're going is essential when you're just getting started. Otherwise, it's straightforward to get lost. It may seem like the road ahead is long and hard, but that journey will be easier to sustain if you start with an end goal in mind. With realistic goals and a great effort, your business can eventually reach the heights you want it to. All it takes is dedication.

Take the first step towards achieving your dreams...

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