A Strange Phenomenon
I have noticed a strange phenomenon over the last few years with regards to my business goals, particularly my financial goals.
Back in the beginning of 2012 I set my financial goals for my business at $30,000 for the year. Now that may not seem much but for me my goal was to leave my full time job and to do that I figured I needed to bring in sales of $30,000 part time. If I could do that part time, I figured I would work twice as hard working on it full time. It was a lazy goal as i knew i could reach that goal quite easily.
I left my full time job in September 2012 and I reached my goal of $30,000 for the year.
In 2013 my goal was to double the $30,000 to $60,000 in sales by the end of 2013. It was a little uncomfortable but not pushing it too far and well within my comfort zone.
I reached my goal quite easily.
In 2014 I said to myself, okay let's push the boat out a little and go for a goal of $120,000 in sales for the year. It was uncomfortable enough to feel 'Shit! I'll need to work some on that'. I pushed it and started thinking outside the box and reached my goal of $120,000 in sales.
In 2015 I thought, okay I'm really going to go for it and set a goal of $250,000 in sales. I was at the very edge of my comfort zone, but still excited enough and challenged enough to really put my head down and go for it.
In 2016 guess what! I have set a goal of $500,000 in sales. This was after a conversation with my business coach who asked why i was going for a goal of $350,000 and not higher. So I thought 'Ah Fuck It' I am going to go for $500,000 as my goal.
A strange thing happens when you set goals like this for your business. You are always asking the question okay how can I give more value so more people will want to buy my products and services and your subconscious mind really goes to town to bring up more ideas to make it happen.
Looking back on all of these i realised I had unconsciously created a model for setting my financial goals for my business.
What Zone Do You Belong To?
A Model For Setting Financial Goals For Your Business
1. The Lazy Zone
Where you are currently making a set amount each month and it's pretty much guaranteed so you set your goal according to your, almost, guaranteed income.
2. The Comfort Zone
Where you are actively chasing new business and incorporate this into your financial goals. You feel you can achieve this quite easily if you add a few things into your business suite, like products, training, or coaching.
3. The Edge Zone
Where you are pushing yourself to the edge of your comfort zone but not quite enough to feel really uncomfortable. Your brain starts to think about new and better ways to build your business and you seek out more training and build up contacts to help you achieve this goal.
4. The 'Ah Fuck It' Zone
Where you really are pushing new ground, and it makes you feel uncomfortable but excited enough to go for it. This is where you add a new product, a new training, a seminar and you're going for it big time. Your thought is 'Ah Fuck It' I am really going to go for this.
through the years I have gone through all the zones unconsciously and reached my goal every time, so my thinking is why not stay in the 'Ah Fuck It' zone and really push myself every year. Even if I didn't meet that goal you can be sure it would be a hell of a lot more than the Edge, Comfort or Lazy zone.
Everybody's financial goals for their business are going to be different which means the different zones will represent different financial amounts. Your Lazy Zone might be $2,000 for the year and your 'Ah Fuck It zone might be $10,000.
Pay attention to each zone as you set your goals and consciously record how each zone makes you feel.
Expanding Your Money Consciousness
So what you're doing is expanding your money consciousness to believe you can and will achieve so much more and once your money consciousness is expanded the thought of the smaller goals seems too easy. So you are constantly expanding your money consciousness.
Now, this is not about sacrificing your goal of giving quality information to readers and buyers. It's not just about getting as many people as possible to buy your products and services, far from it. What happens is that as you step into the outer zones of this model, you automatically start to think how you can help more people, and how to give them more value.
So as your financial business goals expand so does your goal to serve more people and give more value.
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below, would love to find out what zone you are in just now
