A goal can be defined as an object of an individual’s effort or ambition, an objective or preferred result. To put it in simple words, goal is another word used for tasks, which people give themselves on a regular basis – that is pretty much it. 

The term ‘goal’ brings with it an aura that can sound morally good. Goal setters are known to be overachievers and believed to be superior to those who do not set goals in their lives. At times, goals can be considered intimidating or impossible to achieve. But in reality, a goal could be something as little as making a promise to yourself that you will clean the dishes every night before going to bed this week.  

The issue with assigning power to the word ‘goal’ is the concept of setting a goal becomes intimidating; therefore people feel discouraged towards it. Once we start to think of a goal as nothing but a regular chore that needs to be done, a large number of individuals will be inclined towards setting new goals and making it a priority. Hence, a lot more people could fulfill their professional and personal ambitions. It should be remembered that creating goals for your business is a perfect way when you want to achieve a higher level of success.  

For an investor, what type of goals will be better for your business’s bottom line when it comes to real estate and how can you work towards achieving them successfully and efficiently? The answer lies below.

Goals for Real Estate That Are S.M.A.R.T.

It is a known fact that businesses that plan out their goals are ten times more likely to succeed as compared to ones that don’t. A business study at Harvard recently discovered that 83% of people do not bother setting goals, and the ones that do set goals, 92% of them fail to complete their goals. Firstly, why is there a small number of individuals setting goals for themselves? Secondly, why are not more people achieving their goals successfully? There is a simple answer to these questions: these people are not setting smart goals.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. You can follow this acronym as a guide when it comes to your business’s real estate goals.

Daydreaming about your aspirations and hopes is very different as compared to actually sitting down, getting a paper and a pen, and setting sincere goals. Daydreams will not get you results, but smart goals for your real estate business will give new heights to your business. 

Now let us get into the details. 

What Should Be The Short-Term and Long-Term Goals For Your Real Estate Business?

You can have various kinds of goals when it comes to real estate; therefore you should not let people tell you that yours is too small or big. Hence, the best types of goals are the ones that will push your business in the forward direction at a comfortable pace. Starting with the smaller goals for instance, driving by a certain number of properties every month or speaking with five latest contacts per week. Despite being simple goals, in the long-run, they will have a long-term impact on your career path. However, if you’re more ambitious than you would want to set larger goals. The word ‘larger’ being a relative word, this could mean driving to a lot of houses or perhaps take place in longer time periods. Nevertheless, the truth is that the size of the goal doesn’t matter, but as long as that goal is moving your business forward is what’s important.

Goals for Your Real Estate Business That Are Specific

Every goal that you set for your real estate business should be very specific. You should clearly define each term in the goal while also establishing steps that you should follow. For instance, if you are looking to improve the revenue of the current year then your goal needs to be more specific than just wanting to increase your profits. A better goal would be to increase your profits this year in order to improve the marketing budget for the coming next year. You can start by evaluating your main generation strategies and streamline your system. Plus, you would need to write down the names of the people who can help make your goal into a reality. Though it is not necessary, creating an actual checklist can be helpful, where you cross out every step of your goal after you have accomplished it. According to that same business study that was done at Harvard, writing your goals down gives you 14% more chance of achieving them. So why not add that to your goal setting plan in order to give your goals the extra advantage? When planning your goal, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want to achieve?
2. What is the importance of this goal?
3. How does achieving, or not achieving this goal will affect the bottom line of my business?
4. What kind of resources do I need in order to achieve this goal?
5. Who should be involved that can help me achieve this goal successfully? 

If your answers to all of these questions are valid then your goal has officially fulfilled the “S” section of your S.M.A.R.T acronym..

Goals for Your Real Estate Business That Are Measurable

Measurable goals will help your motivation levels by letting you keep track of your progress. If your goals have KPIs and metrics, you can then evaluate your improvement level and the amount of work that is left to complete. Once you start tracking your progress, you are then likely to complete your work before your deadlines. Therefore, you will have an exciting sense of accomplishment as you reach your finish line. When you do not measure your goals, you are bound to get distracted and go off track. 

For example, if you would like to save $20,000 before the year comes to an end, you would need to plan it out. Instead of just declaring this statement, you need to be precise and mention that you’ll start by saving $1,000 in your account every week. By doing this, you can easily track the amount of money you are conserving and make up any difference in case you skip a week by accident. 

Goals for Your Real Estate Business That Are Attainable

There are times when people set goals for their business that are extremely massive that they become difficult to accomplish. A first-time investor of real estate should not expect to be flipping forty properties within the first year of their job. In order to truly reach the level of success when it comes to achieving your goals, you must think realistically or else it won’t happen and you will feel defeated. This will eventually discourage you altogether from setting goals. Your goals must be challenging enough by pushing you to the limit and using up your resources. Plus, at the same time, it should be practical enough so you can accomplish it. You should ask yourself:

1. Am I prepared financially to work on this goal? 
2. Did I allot enough time in order to achieve this goal?
3. What limitations and obstacles can I expect while I work towards achieving this goal?

While planning your goal, you should think about any negative situation that might potentially arise and come up with a plausible solution for that situation. If you are able to do that then you will be absolutely ready to handle any obstacle that might come your way. 

Goals for Your Real Estate Business That Are Relevant

Setting relevant goals means that you make sure that these goals matter to your real estate business’s current state. For instance, wanting to become a real estate firm’s CEO someday while you are currently wholesaling properties at the local market in order to pay your bills is not qualified as being relevant. Therefore, it is important to create goals that are long-term, and thinking of a successful future can be a wonderful way to remain motivated. However, when it comes to helping the bottom line of your real estate business, relevancy plays an essential and vital role. 

Goals for Your Real Estate Business That Are Time-Bound 

The final step is pretty much self-explanatory: set a deadline for your goals. For instance, talking about improving your education of real estate is one thing, while talking about attending either an industry conference, REI club meeting, or a networking event twice every month for half a year is another. If you come up with a target date when it comes to achieving every individual goal, it is likely to be a distraction-free journey for you. Writing down your daily, weekly, and monthly goals will help you accomplish and reach your six-month goals. Once you reach that goal, this will help you reach your one-year goal. From there you can look forward to accomplishing your five-year goal, and etc. Furthermore, it is important to celebrate every step of the journey and celebrate each of the milestones that you achieve as you accomplish your goal in order to stay motivated and energized. 

Conclusion 

To sum it all up, setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for your real estate business is the ideal way for you to achieve success in the long-term. So the next time you find yourself daydreaming of the time when you are financially free, go ahead and grab a paper and a pen and come up with the goals you are willing to achieve in order to reach your perfect future. That being said, it shouldn’t be enough to just write the goals down. You should make sure that every goal that you write follows the rules of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting.