By: Cori Widen, Product Marketing Lead at Boosted by Lightricks

As 2020 is (finally!) coming to an end, you might be ready to start planning for a better 2021. To help your small business start the year on a good note, now’s the time to start thinking about your business goals for 2021. There’s a lot of advice out there when it comes to setting goals for your business, but not all of that advice is super relevant for small businesses.

Keep reading for ten unique, practical and slightly unconventional ideas to help you set and achieve all of your goals for your small business in 2021.

1. Create a vision board 

Before you say no to creating a vision board, it’s important to know there are many ways to go about creating one. Not into crafting? Don’t worry, you don’t need to start cutting things out of magazines to create a vision board. A vision board can be as simple as saving a few images that make you feel inspired! One of our favorite ways to make a quick vision board is on social media. As you come across photos, videos and quotes that inspire you, save them to a collection on Instagram or by creating a quick board on Pinterest called ‘2021 Small Business Goals.’

2. Make goals for work & personal life

If you made a vision board, you might have realized that some of the things that you saved are more related to your personal life than your work life. It’s just as important to set personal goals for yourself in 2021 as it is to set goals for your small business. Setting and achieving goals in your personal life is a super important way to help you achieve business goals as well. 

3. Set small goals

Have you ever had a task to do that was such a big one that you felt overwhelmed and procrastinated doing it until it was too late? Sometimes, it’s good to dream big and set big goals for your small business – but not always. If you do have a few big goals you’ve already set for 2021, try breaking them out into smaller, more achievable goals. This way you won’t get overwhelmed and you’ll be continually excited as you cross off tasks and goals from your to-do list!

4. Set loose deadlines

While a hard deadline might be motivating to some people to hurry up and complete a project, it’s actually better to set a loose deadline when it comes to goals for your small business. Just like setting small goals, a loose deadline is less overwhelming and provides you with more flexibility in terms of when you achieve that goal. 

5. Write your goals down 

This piece of classic advice is a good tip for a reason! Writing down your small business’ goals for 2021 can help you remember your goals more easily. Also, you can easily hang up your goals in your office space so that you can see it every day and stay motivated. Besides, who doesn’t love crossing things off their to-do list?

6. Don’t be *too* specific

Okay, so this tip is a little unconventional. Most articles about setting goals will recommend setting ‘SMART’ goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). But when it comes to setting goals for a small business, it’s better not to get too specific. Not only will it take you much longer to set your goals, but it can also make setting business goals more overcomplicated and overwhelming than it needs to be. Instead of spending a ton of time getting super specific about every detail you want to achieve, sometimes it’s better to just get started on achieving your 2021 goals. 

7. Talk about your goals 

When it comes to setting goals for yourself and your business, there’s a common piece of advice to tell your friends and family about your goals to help hold you accountable. We like this piece of advice for an additional reason as well – the more you talk about your goals, the more tangible they will feel and the more they will be on your mind. (And when your goals are on your mind often, you’ll be more likely to achieve them faster!) 

8. Celebrate small achievements 

Treat yo’ self! 2020 has been a rough year for small businesses and you deserve to celebrate all of your successes – both big and small. Also, celebrating the big and small achievements can help you stay motivated and help you achieve even more of your 2021 small business goals.  

9. Track your progress

Besides not setting ANY goals for your small business in 2021, the worst mistake you could make when it comes to setting goals is to not keep track of your progress. Keeping track of your goals and the progress you’ve made doesn’t need to be complicated. Take some time each month to reflect on the goals you’ve set for your small business and see what type of progress you’ve made towards achieving your 2021 business goals. If you haven’t made much progress yet, see if you need to make any adjustments to help you better achieve your goals. 

10. Change your goals

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life can be pretty unexpected and it might just not be possible to achieve some of your goals. Instead of just forgetting a goal that isn’t achievable at the moment, why not take some time to change your goals? It’s always admirable to set goals for your small business and it’s okay if those goals have to change every once in a while. 

We hope that these practical and unique tips help you learn how to set (and achieve!) goals for your small business in

Good luck and have a Happy New Year!

Cori Widen is the Product Marketing Lead at Boosted by Lightricks. She has been leading product marketing campaigns and doing qualitative market research in the tech industry for 10 years.