Everyone talks about the importance of setting goals both in your personal life and in business. Whether you’ve just ventured out on your own or you’ve been in business for a number of years and have a team behind you, setting goals is something you cannot ignore.

Goals are a roadmap that tell you where you are going and how to get there. Without them you may find yourself going in circles, not being able to prioritize, not knowing if your business is indeed successful, perhaps eventually giving up.

Here are 3 reasons why it’s important to have goals:

It’s really nice to be able to work in a team environment. Whether it’s looking for a business partner, hiring employees, or selecting sub-contractors, your team is an extension of your business and ultimately, a reflection on you as a business owner.
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I have experienced the good and the bad.  My goal is to share my experience so you can avoid stress along the way.

1. Hiring without a well defined plan

Hiring for long term growth is different than getting someone in to help with a temporary backlog of work.  Training costs time and money. Make sure you clearly understand how this individual will contribute to the overall growth of your company.

It is the dream of the entrepreneur to be able to take their family on a vacation while their business is operating without them and making money on its own. Imagine sitting on a beach and not having to worry about what is happening back home.

The reality is when your business is starting out, it is very difficult to take vacation. It takes a lot of planning and faith in your team to have someone else helm the ship.
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Here are 3 common mistakes business owners make that prevent them from taking a paid vacation:

​Many people have really unique and creative ideas for a product. They go full steam ahead and spend a ton of time to develop maybe an app, create a service program or spend money to manufacture a product only to realize that people are not buying it. They end up wasting their time and hopefully not too much money.

The best way to avoid this scenario is to test your product idea before you invest too much of your own time and money.  Here are some common mistakes business owners make: