Struggling to reach your business goals? Here's five ways to turn things around

Every budding entrepreneur knows that setting goals for your professional and business development is paramount to success, but what if you’re just not quite reaching them? Wealth development coach, Zaki Ameer, shares five reasons you may not be finding success in your business goals, and some top tips to turn things around.

Throughout your professional career it becomes increasingly clear that setting and attaining business goals is crucial to achieving success.

According to Edwin Locke’s original study into the process of goal setting, when individuals set more challenging and specific goals, they were 90 per cent more likely to have a higher performance.

However, it takes more than simply setting goals and having the intention to carry them out. There are numerous factors preventing people from achieving their goals and hindering their success, but once they are revealed it’s much easier to regain a clear focus and to keep a business thriving.

Five reasons you haven’t reached your business goals

Here are five reasons why people have difficulty reaching their business goals and a few tips to get things on track.

1. The goals are neither realistic nor specific

Goals aren’t made to create a misleading or unbearable amount of work that is completely unachievable. While goal setting can accomplish incredible results, it’s important to be realistic. After all, one of the reasons why being a CEO of a company is impressive is because not everyone is cut out for the job.

Additionally, the more specific the goal, the easier it is to achieve. So if a goal of yours is too broad and as a result, rather daunting, break the goal up into smaller elements so that the work load feels lighter.

2. The goals aren’t measurable

Being able to reach your business goals will not work unless they’re measurable. For each goal you set, outline an accurate way of being able to measure and track its progress.

Monitoring the development of each goal increases the likelihood of it eventuating into action. It’s also a good idea to have a schedule in place to keep a constant eye on the goal, and I’ve found the more frequently you check in, the more likely you are to reach the goal.

3. Not taking feedback on board

From tracking your goals, you’ll be able to gather some insightful feedback to help their continual progression. Don’t be afraid to adjust your plans if something in particular isn’t working.

Also feel free to reward yourself if things are looking good! Achievement of the goal itself may be enough of a reward for you, but you can also give yourself treats throughout as you hit certain milestones.

4. The goals aren’t prioritised

However many goals you have in mind at any point in time, prioritising them is essential. Arranging tasks in order of importance allows you to clearly plan ahead and to focus.

Some goals may lead into another, so obviously you need to achieve one before the other. Additionally, because you should be continuously tracking your progress you should also be re-structuring your priorities when need be.

5. Repeating mistakes

Despite how optimistic you may be, you are bound to make some slip-ups along the way, and it’s important to remember that failing at one element doesn’t mean failure overall.

Be productive and look for a different solution and make sure you learn from your mistakes.

If you find yourself repeating the same errors you should step back and re-assess whether this goal is actually achievable, or if it’s the right goal altogether. Many people find themselves setting goals based on other people’s expectations, rather than basing them on your own needs and wants.

This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated for 2022.

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