If you want to achieve great things in life, you have to set goals, right?
But sometimes, thatโs easier said than done.
We get it, friend, but weโll be honest with you: our industry hasnโt just changed…itโs revolutionized. Meaning setting clear, achievable annual goals to achieve these incredible things is more important than ever.
But where do you start?
Today, weโre breaking down the six key steps to creating an annual plan that moves the needle forward in your life and business!
Step 1: Find your North Star
The North Star is what all of this is working towards. Itโs the end goal, the guiding light, the ultimate dream. It may shift slightly from year to year, but it generally remains in a fixed position.
Maybe youโre thinking, โWell, thatโs nice, but I donโt really need that,โ think of it this way: Imagine we gave you a brand new car and told you to drive for 2,000 miles and, that if you found us at the end of those 2,000 miles, weโd give you $6 million. But hereโs the catch: the car has no GPS, no map, and we didnโt tell you even what general area weโd be in.
Would you ever find us? Nope. Because you donโt know where youโre going.
Thatโs how many stylists and salon owners are living their careers right now. Youโre driving the fancy car that looks great on social media, youโre doing the work, but because youโre unclear on the destination and why it matters, youโll never get there.
Thatโs why the first step of setting achievable goals that push you forward is deciding your North Star.
Step 2: Set your social content strategy
Having a solid social content strategy is key to every single business goal you have. Period.
Do you ever see something cool on and think, โOh, I love this. I should talk about it on Instagramโ? Thatโs the path to popular, not profitable because itโs easy to find topics and content that will give you a lot of likes, comments, and DMs.
Posting the content that will get you closer to your North Star destination is much harder.
So think about how youโre using social, why youโre using the channels you use, what your messaging is on each, and then pre-define your voice message and strategy for each platform so you donโt lose your way.
Step 3: Reflect
You canโt know where youโre going until you look at where youโve been.
As you live week-by-week in your business, youโre feeling the feelings and reacting to things as they come up, right? Thatโs why reflecting is so important. Using that hindsight at the end of the year to see why this broke down, why this failed, why this is the way it is.
When you actually take the time to reflect and troubleshoot, youโll be amazed at what you discover and how, through that discovery, you can plan for a brighter tomorrow.
Step 4: Dream
Dreaming is what most people think ofโand doโwhen it comes to goal planning.
Dreaming is great, but dreaming is a big, fat waste of time unless youโre going to get strategic.
So dream. Dream big. Lean into the wild, the ridiculous, the never-gonna-happen. Because in the next step, youโre going to lay the groundwork to make those impossible dreams come true.
Step 5: Strategy
Youโve probably noticed thereโs been two common themes running through each of these steps: North Star and strategy. Thatโs because itโs impossible to have one without the other. You need strategy to get to your North Star.
If you donโt include a North Star-oriented strategy to make those dreams happen, they wonโt. You donโt have the support to ensure that dream happens. But if you create the strategy, your dreams can actually come together.
Step 6: Execution
The first five goal-setting steps are important, but weโll be honest: execution is actually what fails most people.
Have you ever been so fired up at the end of the year to start a life-changing journey…then mid-January rolls around, and itโs, โOh, Iโll get to that later,โ…then later never comes? Itโs a tale as old as time, right? Or โlaterโ comes, but you just chip away at pieces of it and never make real progress on that goal?
Weโve all been there.
Two pieces are missing when that happens: strategy and execution. But when you get strategic about execution, you can make sure it wonโt all fall apart.
These six steps are crucial to creating an annual plan that helps you move forward, create the wealthy life youโve dreamed of, andโbest of allโreach that North Star.
Youโve got this, friend!