Goal Setting - Be SMART

I am just home from another incredibly inspiring Pampered Chef Team Meeting! Wow! Why can't my 'real job' be as exhilarating as these evenings?! The mood is always so light, the food delicious (and plentiful), and the energy so contagious!

Among our 'homework', we are to set our business' goal for the next 90 days. In fact, our director gave us this beautiful, little flowerpot and Forget-Me-Not seeds to remind us to nurture and grow our business. How sweet eh?!


Since, I came home from my last Pampered Chef workshop full of energy, there was also a lot of confusion about where to direct it. With my radio broken in my car (go figure), I drove home in silence tonight, and I was really able to think about where I want to go with my Pampered Chef business.

I turned around in my head everything I want to do with my Pampered Chef income; pave my driveway, buy a printer, pay down some student debt, save money. These are all goals, but what do I strive for first or how do I capture this? Then, I decided to try applying the "SMART" approach we use at my 'real job' .

SMART goals are:

• Specific


• Measurable


• Attainable


• Realistic


• Timely

Specific: I already know what I want to get out of PC. More money so I can buy a printer and pave my driveway, in addition to some of that other good stuff.

Measurable: If I need $3000 for the above, then I know exactly how many shows I need to book to generate this income. If I am not on target for a month, I will know if I need to get more bookings.

Attainable: While I have not yet had five shows in one month, I know that I have the time on my calender and energy personally to successfully hold five shows per month. This is do-able, yet still a challenge, because I will need to actively pursue bookings.

Realistic: Along those same lines, while five shows will be a challenge and I will be busy, it is possible for me to achieve. Ten would not be, especially since I want to provide excellent service and support to my hosts.

Timely: For me, there really isn't a better time than spring and summer to let my business take off. If I move out the 90 day window to 120 (end of August), this is the latest I want to achieve my goal. By fall, the real life will take over again, so 'end of summer' is my deadline.

After thinking these through, I came up with my goal:

By making three contacts a day, successfully coaching my hosts and holding five shows per month, I will earn enough income to purchase a new printer, pave my driveway and paint my spare room by the end of summer.

It's so clear now, not only WHAT I want, but HOW I am going to get it. I even recorded it on my phone to listen to daily and posted it at my workspace, on my kitchen fridge and bathroom mirror (all places that I will see daily to remind me to get going). What aspects of your life could use SMART goals?

Reevaluating and Determing What My Goals Really Are

I am completely energized. I spent today attending a Pampered Chef training and then spent almost two hours at the gym reflecting on my 'next steps'.

Having attended my fair share of training sessions and meetings for a variety of reasons, I thought today's session was excellent, and I assure you, I do not make that comment often. The training was enthusiastic and the group was engaged. I was engaged! Yet, as the afternoon wound down, I felt that fear creeping into the back of my mind- how will I maintain this energy? Once I leave the safety of the meeting room, how to I keep my enthusiasm and ensure I put the ideas into action?

Scanning the evaluation form, my fear was solidified when I got half-way down the page: "What 3 goals will be most impactful to your business in the next 90 days?"

Goals? Impactful? 90 days? When I got to the gym, my mind was still lingering on my goals for my business.

My reasons for getting into direct sales was quite easy - money. Money, however, doesn't motivate me. The motivators were on my vision board, and the main one, was my house. (Hence the connection to here). Until now, I thought my motivators were my goals - change the electrical, renovate the basement, have fabulous shoes, etc. I realized today, that if I am to achieve these goals, I need to break them down into smaller goals. It seems SO simple, yet I have been too focused on the big picture, to determine how to navigate through it.

This lead me to David Allen's "Getting Things Done".
I took a day-long workshop last fall, and it changed my worklife. Why not implement it in my home life? David suggests breaking large tasks (in this case, goals) down into their smaller steps. A simple example? I want to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Burrows. HOW do I do that?

1) Get the book. In this case, it has a hold on it at the library for 4 months.

2) Request the first available copy.

3) Pick it up when available.

4) Read the first page, then the first chapter.... and so on.

SOOOOOO... all this rambling, I am going to do a "mind sweep". I am going to write down EVERYTHING that is on my mind. All the little things I want to do, and I have been thinking I should start. Outside of work, I suspect that most items on my brain are either Pampered Chef or house related. Then I will be able to determine the steps to reach my short-term goals.

My Vision Board!

The first time I saw a "vision board" was on W Network's "Smart Cookies". I have since created one for my Pampered Chef business, although we have been referring to it as a "Dream Board". Here is mine.

My collage serves as a constant reminder of all the items and goals I want to achieve in the next couple of months and years with my business and financial savings. It, of course, includes the major things around my house that I have planned - my electrical, basement and some furniture additions, while it also includes some PC goodies and recreational time (snowboarding in Whistler)!

The Smart Cookies even suggest including photos of your family and those around you that motivate you to succeed. After you've created your board, they also suggest that if you work on your computer a lot, take a picture and make  it your desktop background so you are always being reminded of what you are striving towards! 

Anyone else have a vision or dream board?