grow your business

The best way to create what you want in your business is to get clear on what your income goals are and exactly HOW those income numbers add up to become real dollars in your bank account. If you don’t do this, then it is extremely hard – practically impossible – to either create the income you want or to do it in a way that feels organized and peaceful.

Your income goals are concrete numbers that set the stage for your marketing and operations plan for the year. They help you strategize, they help you clarify the support you’ll need, and they lay out for you the scope of what you want to tackle for the year. Every successful entrepreneur I know sets goals to help her thrive and expand her business.

How Do You Set Income Goals?

Setting your income goals is actually quite simple, but the trick is to do it, and do it thoughtfully. Even though it’s a simple process, I see too many entrepreneurs out there who skip over this important planning essential or who do it half-heartedly.

To set your goals for the year, the first place you want to start is with your Soul-Centered Offerings. Your Soul-Centered Offerings are your programs, packages, services and products. Your Soul-Centered Offerings are at the heart of your income goals because your income will depend on how many offerings you sell, and at what rate.

Step1: Know what you’ll be offering in any given year AND at what rate you’ll be offering it at.

For example:

• If you are a yoga instructor, at what rate will you be offering your private yoga sessions?
• If you are an accountant, will you charge by the hour or by the job, and how will you determine your rate?
• If you sell cupcakes, how much is a single cupcake? How much is a box of 10?
• If you are a coach, what do your coaching programs include and how much do they cost?

**Now, I believe strongly that being compensated for your talent and brilliance is essential. Yet, all too often I see talented entrepreneurs with incredible offerings priced at rates far less than they are worth. Sometimes you say, “I have to price it this low because that’s the industry standard." Or, “I’m not really sure what it’s worth but this seems about right." Or, “I feel I should be charging more but what if people won’t think I’m worth it?"

If you recognize yourself in one of these statements, it’s an especially important moment to get clear on your rates. You can’t create a higher income for yourself if the numbers don’t add up, in other words: if you’re undercharging (& believe me, I did that for years, so I understand!). If you’re stuck here with charging enough, we’ll look at this more in depth in a future article. For now, see if you can stretch a little bit and raise your rates, just a wee bit.

Once you’re clear on your offerings and how much they cost, you can move on to Step 2 –

Step 2: Get clear on how much income you’d like to make in the next 12 months

Keep this number realistic, but a stretch. How much income do you desire to earn over the next 12 months?

A helpful hint is to get clear on what you’d like to be spending your money on. The reason I suggest this is because to just name an income number – $50K or $100K or $1 million – is just a number. It has no real meaning behind it, it has no "deep and sacred why" behind it. And without that, it’s hard to really take it seriously.

So, get clear on what you desire to make over a 12 month period and write it down.

Now, knowing how much you’d like to make is NOT enough. Without knowing how much you need to sell to reach that income goal, your income goal number can’t really move from hypothetical into action steps that get you real results….

Step 3: Get clear on how many units of your offerings you need to sell to reach your income goal.

For example, if you’d like to earn $100K over the next 12 months and you have one product that is priced at $1,000, then you need to sell 100 of them to reach your income goal.

Or, if you’d like to earn $100K over the next 12 months and you offer one private package that is $5,000 each and one group package that is $1,000, then perhaps you choose the goal of selling 15 private packages and 25 group packages.

Step 4: Some other questions that will be helpful in setting your goals:

These questions will help you get even more clear on what you’d like to earn and create and how you’d like to do so:

• What are the work hours you want to spend on your goals?
• How much time do you want to spend on your goals? For example: If you create an offering that you know takes 30 hours for each one you sell, but you’re selling each one for only $500, you need to either tweak the amount of time it takes you or your price on that offering.

**It’s so important to take time into consideration when you’re creating your goals because you want to make sure that you have enough time to achieve your goals without burning out!

• How often would you like things to happen (how many performances, classes, programs, etc. in that 12 month period)?
• Is your goal stretching you enough or does this just seem easy-peasy, like you’re playing it safe? (HINT: You want to s-t-r-e-t-c-h without overdoing it!)
• What are the costs associated with the creation of your offering? These can be commuting costs, materials, membership or association fees, office expenses, etc.

**It’s so important to take expenses into account to be able to reach your desired income amount!

Once you’ve moved through all 4 steps, and created your income goals for the year, you are ready to create your marketing and visibility plan. You’ll have a super-strong foundation now to get clear on the execution plan that makes the most sense for you….