The way you’re setting goals is wrong. It’s not just you, it’s how we’re taught. And we’re not just setting the wrong goals in business, but everywhere. According to The Times Tribune, 92 percent of people don’t accomplish their New Year’s resolutions.

So we’re clearly not doing something right. To find the solution, it’s important to start with recognizing the problem first.

The Problem:

The problem with how we set goals isn’t that we’re being too ambitious, or not ambitious enough. It’s how we’re framing the things we want to accomplish in the first place. 

Take the most common non-business goal for example, which is “I want to lose weight” according to parade.com. Who doesn’t want to feel better about their physical appearance? But let’s make it more specific and “better” by changing it to “I want to lose 10 pounds”. 

For your business, you might set a target of a 40p percent increase in sales by the end of the year. This is a good, specific goal right?

But “I want to increase sales by 40 percent” has the same core problem as “I want to lose 10 pounds”: We can’t control them. They’re output goals. 

The Solution:

To set goals that are more easily monitored and attained, the key is to set input goals. 

An input goal is one where you can directly control whether or not it is achieved. 

For example, let’s use “I want to lose 10 pounds” again. Without any real clarity of the work you’ll put in, it’s hard to measure the amount that you’ll get out. You might start a killer workout regiment with a healthy diet, get in great shape, and feel great about your body. But if you “only” lose 8 pounds at the end of it, you’ll feel like you’ve failed when you really haven’t. 

An example of a good input goal for getting in shape is “I want to exercise for 30 minutes every day and eat vegetables with two meals per day”. These are two clear and measurable actions that you can control that will almost certainly lead you to getting in better shape.

The same goes for “I want to increase sales by 40 percent”. If you launch effective marketing campaigns and get great customer reviews, but your sales numbers only increase by 35 percent, you’ll feel like you fell short of your goal.

In your business, don’t set output goals you can’t control. It’s great to have targets and milestones to shoot for along the way, but focus on the actions that will take you to where you want to go. If you want to increase sales, set goals that are within your control.

For example, set a goal of requesting 70 percent of your customers to leave a Google review, or reaching out to 40 new potential clients per week. Just like with personal goals, it’s important that your business goals are a good fit for you, and focus more on creating healthy habits than swinging wildly for an end goal.

Here are a few more tactics from LocalIQ that have proven to increase your sales on a budget.

Nobody looks forward to meetings or interviews, but they can be even more uncomfortable when you’re not face-to-face. In today’s world, it’s increasingly more common to substitute in-person meetings with a remote phone or video call. 

If you find yourself dreading the next Zoom meeting or phone interview, follow these tips to overcome your phone anxiety:

1. Dress the Part

Let’s just get this statistic out of the way: 1 in 10 people in Zoom meetings aren’t wearing pants. (Sorry for putting that visual of your coworkers in your head.) On top of that, 75 percent of people surveyed said they wear sweatpants, pajamas, or shorts during digital meetings.

Preparing for a meeting starts with what you wear. If you were to show up to an interview in a sorority shirt and sweatpants, you probably wouldn’t feel too confident about getting the job. 

Now, by no means do you need to wear a suit and tie during every call. Think of it like a casual Friday at the office. The clothes you wear have a big impact on your mentality and work habits, whether you realize it or not. So please, for your own sake, put on some pants.

2. Rehearse Your Lines

It might sound oversimplified, but practice makes perfect. When you’re going to be on a call, practice the things you know you’re going to say. Like, actually practice out loud.

If you have to present something on a call, whether it’s with potential clients or just sharing with your colleagues, rehearsal is important. Go over the main details you know you’ll touch on, and prepare answers for possible questions that might come your way during or after your presentation.

For calls with interviewers, think about what kind of questions they’ll ask you, and practice the answers you’ll give. Talking to yourself and hearing your answers out loud before saying them in an interview can be helpful, and help you make sure you come across like the smart, knowledgeable candidate that you are. 

3. Find a Separate Space

If you’re working from home, it’s important to have a place in your home that’s a dedicated working space. You don’t need a full office setup; the corner of your bedroom or even the kitchen table is perfect. The most important thing is that you’re able to separate your work and personal spaces. 

Use your work space for your work calls as well as your daily work tasks. The human body is easily influenced by habits. Train your brain so that you’re working when you’re at the table, and relaxing when you’re in bed or on the couch. The lines between your work life and personal life are blurred enough when you work from home, so make it easy on yourself by separating spaces.

Starting your own business is an exciting moment that you’ve likely waited years to realize. Once the moment finally arrives, it’s tempting to jump right in. But it’s important to slow down and consider a few things first.

Before you take the leap and start your own business, ask yourself these 7 questions:

When you’re taking on a new client, it’s important to follow certain steps to make sure that the relationship will be a healthy one. Here are four steps we think all small businesses and freelancers should take with new clients, from the start of the relationship to the end.

The beauty of starting a small business is that anyone can do it. In the United States alone, there are 30.7 million small businesses, making up 99.9% of the businesses in the country! But with such a large number of small businesses, it’s hard to make yours stand out. The best way to stand out is by positioning yourself and your business as a more professional and well-established venture. 

How do you do that? Here are five tips we’ve put together for you:

For small businesses, keeping track of your finances is a daunting task. If accounting isn’t your strength, all the different types of documents can be overwhelming. How do you write them? When should you use one over the others? 

That’s why we at Invoice Home have compiled this list of 9 widely-used documents, how they work, and when to use them. To create any of these documents, head over to our invoice generator to get started with one of our more than 100 templates!

Becoming a freelancer is exciting! Being your own boss is a freeing feeling, and one that few get to realize. But the road to becoming a successful freelancer can be long, and it gets bumpy along the way. Luckily, many of these bumps are common, fixable mistakes. We’ve put together 7 of the most common mistakes that new (and veteran) freelancers tend to make, and how to avoid them.

As we venture further into the work-from-home era, networking is becoming more difficult. There are fewer opportunities to shake hands and connect with other people out in the “real world”. But that doesn’t mean that networking is suddenly less important. If anything, the lack of face-to-face interactions has made connecting with others even more essential. With fewer chances to make impressions, it’s vital to have the impressions that you do make stand out. 

Luckily, the world of online networking has continued to evolve. There are many platforms to connect with others, both personally and professionally. But it’s hard to know which methods will actually be effective, and which will leave you lost in the shuffle. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the best methods for networking from home!

A side hustle (AKA a “side gig” or “side job”) is a great way to earn extra income, build a portfolio, and gain experience. And it’s only getting more common. According to Bankrate, 49 percent of Americans under 35 reported having a side hustle in 2019. You’re probably wondering if it’s time to start your own! In this post, we’ve highlighted 6 signs of a successful side hustler. If any of these apply to you, it might be time to get started.

Breaking news: running a business is hard. There are so many different aspects to juggle as a small business owner that it’s impossible to be an expert in everything. But one area stands out as the biggest problem for small businesses: finances. According to smallbizgenius.com, 82% of small businesses that fail do so because of financial issues.

At Invoice Home, we know your business is your prized possession, so you should have every resource you need to make sure it’s running strong. We’ve compiled a list of 8 financial blogs (in no particular order) that every small business owner should read.