When starting your memoir business, you need to set goals from the start. Working hard is not sufficient for business growth. Like most entrepreneurs, people who are launching a memoir business are sometimes prone to working harder and not necessarily smarter. One smart strategy to use to grow is to set goals for specific time periods: the year, the month, the week, the day. A company needs these goals to focus on if it is to grow.

Set Goals for Your Memoir Business

1. Your first goal must be an income goal. Set goals for how much money do you want to earn in a year? This figure ought to include the income you need to earn plus the additional income you would like to earn because “it would be nice.” The “need” goal is your absolute minimum. It is the figure that should keep you in the office working until it is reached. The “would be nice” income may or may not keep you in the office, but it is stimulating to have it in sight anyway. Not having an income goal is an unreasonable way to approach working solo and expecting to do well. This is not a hobby you are undertaking.

2. Include taxes and an estimate of your expenses in the figure you come up with for your income goal. These expenses will necessarily come off the top and, if not figured in, may leave you far from meeting your minimum needs—and this deficit will not give you peace of mind! So, set goals for a paid vacation!

3. What conditions would you like to have in place for your memoir work? Like the income goals, these have to be broken down into “need” and “would be nice.” “Need” could include moving away from the corner of the family room into an office, while nice might include having your own photocopier—but your evaluation of “necessary” and “nice” can be different, and in your situation, you might find that a photocopier is an essential need.

Don’t forget to include time off among your goals. Include at last two weeks of vacation per year and figure that expense into your weekly goals. For instance, if you target earning $52,000/year while having two weeks off, you weekly goal cannot be $1000/week! It must be $1,040 to allow for a paid vacation yearly. (Of course, your weekly intake goal also has to include all the expenses you are incurring by being in business—taxes, social security, etc.)

4. What services and products do you wish to deliver in what lapse of time? These will not only contribute to your bottom line but also provide you with much satisfaction in the delivery. You need to set a goal to develop enough products to up-sell and cross-sell to customers. For starters, you ought to have at least three or four products or services. With time, you will develop additional products and services. Set a timeline for developing products and services and continue to do so until you have a profitable line. For instance, you might have a goal to create a new product or service every 8 weeks.

Add to these four, your other goals, and work attentively towards them. You will be successful over time.

In conclusion

To paraphrase many business gurus, let me end with: success depends on a few essential disciplines or tasks practiced well every day, day after day. Set goals to meet your minimum “must do.”

What other goals would you add to these as you launch your memoir business?  Share them in the comments below!