To maintain success at your screen printing shop, you need to identify your goals and how to accomplish them.

As important as goals are for businesses, very few business owners enjoy sitting down and setting goals, and many business owners avoid it altogether. As overwhelming as goal setting can seem, there are a few tips that can help you set and achieve goals in your screen printing business.

Make time for goal setting

The first step in setting goals for your screen printing business is to simply take the time to think through your business goals and refine them into actionable steps. You likely already have some idea of where you would like to see your screen printing business go. Do you want to expand to new markets? Increase revenue? Reduce waste? Expand production and printing capabilities with new equipment or more staff? Commit time to sitting down and writing all of the goals you have for the future of your business, being as specific as possible. After taking some time to brainstorm, begin refining your goals until you have a general focus for your business.

Make it SMART

One of the basic concepts of goal setting is to make sure your goal is SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based. The idea is that unless your goal is all these things, it’s really an abstract dream. When you take the time to turn your business goals into SMART goals, you’re creating the beginning of an achievable plan so you can make your business goals reality.

Turn your goal into achievable action steps

The only way to achieve your goals, once you have them set, is to create action steps to move your business toward your goals. One of the best ways to do this is to work backward from your goal: Look at your goal as a whole and consider the timeframe you’ve set for it. What would you have to accomplish within the next six months to achieve that goal? Within the next two months? Within the next two weeks? When you have a list of steps, delegate them appropriately to your staff, or set aside the time in your calendar each week that you will need to work on achieving your goals.

Monitor milestones

Achieving your business goals requires constant vigilance. That means that you have to make the time to monitor the milestones you’ve set toward achieving your goals. Check in with employees who have been delegated tasks toward achieving your goals and make sure that they’re hard at work on those tasks. Hold yourself accountable to be sure that you’re putting the necessary time in to accomplish the action steps you’ve set for yourself. If you find that the focus on achieving goals has slipped, make the necessary course corrections.

Regularly re-evaluate your goals

Goals can be a moving target. You might find that you’re reaching your goals faster than expected or that it’s taking longer than expected. An unexpected client might steer your business in a new direction. That’s why it’s important to make a point of regularly revisiting and re-evaluating your goals. Whether you set a formal goal-setting session for once every six months or make goal-setting part of your business’s new year tradition, evaluating and adjusting your goals will keep your screen printing business moving forward.

Want some more ideas on how to keep your screen printing business moving in the right direction? Check out these blogs:

Are You Ready to Grow Your Screen Printing Business?

How to Establish a Winning Culture at Your Screen Printing Business

7 Tips for Leading Your Screen Printing Business to Success