Small Business Goals for a Positive New Year

Hold tight! 2022 is here, and it’s going to be great. If you’re setting small business goals to make 2022 the best year ever, we have tips on setting business goals that set you up for a year to remember. Given the realities of small business, and the past few years certainly underscore the point, we’re all intensely aware of the external factors we can’t control. But one thing we know as we set goals for 2022 is that if we play to our strengths, success can come despite an external environment that’s wildly unpredictable. As you look to promote and grow your business this coming year, define business goals for the new year that promise to leave you feeling bigger, better, and more fulfilled by this same time next year.  

How Do I Set Macro Goals for 2022?

When defining your major business goals for the new year, look at big milestones you achieved in 2021: 

• Did you introduce a new product or service?
• Survive a steep drop-off in customers due to a quick pivot or scrappy deployment of resources or inventory?
• Did your employees exhibit impressive commitment and creativity?

Define big things you did right in 2021. Leverage the strengths those achievements point to. Your success could be the result of talent, supply change, flexibility, customer loyalty, price point, and more. Establish macro goals for 2022 that build upon those winning characteristics of your small business. Pick two or three so they are doable and focused. Set the bar so it can be reached. Define quarterly, monthly, or weekly milestones that you and your team can hit, to keep you engaged and energized as you advance toward success while staying positive every day. 

How Do I Set Micro Goals for 2022?

Small goals for your small business are key to a positive year ahead. The year serves up 365 days to grow with our customers, co-workers, and community. It’s meeting daily goals that leads us to a good night’s sleep and a feeling of accomplishment and connection. When looking at your daily micro activities, set business goals that feed into your macro goals. For instance: 

• Offer each customer a larger size or add-on product or service with every transaction.
• Ask a caring or community-driven question of each customer—and listen to the answer.
• Take two to five minutes out of every 30 minutes and meditate, listen to a song, or write down a personal thought.
• Be mindful of your posture. Stand up straight, shoulders back, chin up, core engaged, so you’re conscious of being present in your work.
• When you have a less than flawless customer interaction, see this as an opportunity to collect data that you’ll use to change course going forward. Be mindful of staying present during each interaction so you can learn.
• Remember Nelson Mandela’s wise words: “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.”

How Do I Incorporate Business Goals for the New Year Into My Calendar?

We’ve all experienced the mystical fallacy and brutal letdown of New Year’s Resolutions. Who meets them? And if so, for how long? Your small business goals should be realistic and inspiring. New Year’s resolutions tend to be focused on a rapid, radical about-face on current routines, abandonment of current habits, and sudden adoption of new, healthy ways of being—in other words, a recipe for negativity and subsequent defeat. We mean, not to be fatalistic here, but if we’re looking for a positive 2022 we need to define small business goals that acknowledge and build off of our strengths and weaknesses today—ignoring none. Start slowly, and don’t ignore weaknesses. For instance: 

• If your goal is to upsell with every transaction, start with one transaction a day. This gives you time and space to experience and reflect on how best to do this, what feels right about it, what feels wrong, how to adjust your approach so your upsell becomes organic, not forced. Add this task to your daily calendar—every single day, so you start the day with a reminder to work this in. Again, you’re not abandoning your current routine, just slowly, almost imperceptibly “crowding it out” with something new.
• If your goal is to make some upgrades to your restaurant or VRBO, add a small, manageable task to your calendar for each week. You can look over 52 weeks and see how much you will have accomplished over the coming year, and in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you or require that you pull too much energy or resources from other areas of the business.

How Do I Use Promotions to Meet My Small Business Goals?

Everyone likes a gift, especially if it’s “just because”. Thrilling your customers has a boomerang effect: They smile, you smile; you give a little extra, they buy a little extra. You show your employee you’re thinking of them with a travel tumbler and coffee shop gift card one morning, and they’re working late to make sure your new sales campaign is buttoned up ready for a flawless debut. The dance of professional relationships with customers and team members is dynamic. Use customized gifts to help reinforce your small business goals every day of the year. 

• For growing your customer base, send a targeted mailing to current or prospective customers, including an accessory they’ll keep close at hand, like a customized pen, pad of paper, or calendar. Hand special customers a gift at the end of a meeting or transaction, such as a wine tumbler or custom tote. Let them know they’re a valued customer and deserve something extra special.
• If your business goals for the new year include increasing referrals, incentivize employees and customers with personalized gifts for referrals that also keep your name out and about—high visibility items like a customized hat, water bottle, or pen set.
• Make keeping team morale positive a priority goal for 2022. Use customized gifts, delivered quarterly or more frequently, to remind employees you’re thinking of them. With more employees working remotely and working from home, either partially or full-time, receiving a gift at their front door feels uniquely personal and helps close the gap between in-person and virtual collaboration. We like customized cookies and brownies, and generally,  chocolate and candy of all kinds. Since your employees may be interacting more with you virtually than in previous years, bring your brand into their home office with an engraved coffee mug, luxury pen, calendar magnet, or bluetooth speaker.

What Are Some Business Goals for the New Year that Will Help Me Stay Positive?

A positive mindset is the best recipe for the best year ever. Encourage a healthy approach to business through daily acts of intention and connection. 

• Use a custom journal like the Cooper Notebook to write a daily goal and encourage employees and customers to do the same.
• Take 30 minutes each week to sit alone or with a colleague and focus on deep breaths, no agenda, and just “being”. Encourage your employees and customers to do the same by distributing gift cards to a local coffee shop along with a custom tea/coffee mug, or a customized rubber duck to accompany a stress-relieving bath.
• Encourage your employees and customers to share their opinions about the business and what could improve it. Establishing this as a goal for 2022 may result in a lifetime of benefits. You can solicit opinions in a casual way, without a formal survey or corporate agenda. Ask your employees how they are feeling, individually or in a small group. The only requirement for success here is that you welcome, listen to, and respond to their replies. If someone’s feeling stressed out due to sick kids, get a care package in the mail. If someone says they’re overwhelmed with extra work due to being short-staffed, redistribute their work, take some of it into your own hands, or change deadlines so they can breathe. Small actions in response to employee struggles go a long way in boosting morale and encouraging the two-way street called “loyalty and commitment”.

What Promotional Products Should I Have on Hand to Help Hit My Small Business Goals?

Glad you asked! Following are fun, affordable, and brand-focused promotional items that spread positive vibes along with your brand. Cheers to a 2022 that’s better than ever! 

Push Positivity in 2022 with These Promotional Pens

Mineral Alpha Soft Touch Pen with Rose Gold Trim: Modern, elegant, and sure to bring a smile. 

Bright Alpha Soft Touch Pen with Stylus: Brighten up any attitude and every desk–at home, on campus, or in the office. 

Design Wrap Colorama Pen: Impossible NOT to spread positivity with his perfectly uplifting pen, covered with your good thoughts and creative design.  

Keep Small Business Goals Top of Mind with Custom Calendars

Reflections Wall Calendar: Meet daily goals and encourage peaceful reflection with this calming wall calendar.  

Meeting Business Goals for the New Year Requires Setting (and Writing) Your Intentions

 Spiral ‘Thank You’ Notebook with Color Dividers: Organize your wins with this perfectly sized notebook. 

Soft Touch Vega Journal with Pen Holder: Jotting down action items and documenting wins large and small doesn’t get any easier with this journal and pen set.  

Hitting Goals for 2022: They’ll Drink to That!

Recreation Bottle Push/Pull Lid – 20 oz.: You can’t be positive without being hydrated! These brightly colored water bottles say “winning!” in 2022.

 
12 oz. Kappa Tumbler: Got a lofty goal for your small business team to hit in 2022? Give an awesome incentive with this stylish water bottle. 

And Don’t Forget a Little Fun

Mini Plastic Piggy Bank: Cutting expenses, saving for a rainy day (or a vacation after you smash your revenue goals)? Keep a daily reminder, and eyes on the prize, with this piggy bank on every desk. 

Stay Positive By Setting Business Goals that Speak to Your Strengths

Your success in 2022 is as close as the skills and passions you have within yourself and your team. Leverage those to define both micro goals and macro goals, and pursue both in small bits throughout the year. Look toward 2022 with the confidence that your growth will be personally and professionally fulfilling, and the result of connection and community with the customers and employees that matter the most. With a future this bright, yep, you guessed it, you gotta wear shades.