Why is it essential?

Because you’ve got to KNOW what you

want in order to GET what you want!

It’s critical, then, that you have written business goals,
and plans to meet your objectives.

Think of written goals as a script for your business; you wouldn't go out
and shoot a high-budget corporate video without a script, would you?

Do you know exactly how much money you want to make in 2004? In
2005? In the next five years?  Do you know how much money you need
to take in to cover your overhead?  To buy that new camera, tripod, or

editing system? Or, for that matter, to buy a brand new building?

Do you know what steps you must take --what products you must create
and sell, how you should price them, what sort of clients you must have,
exactly how many dollars you must bring in, and how you're going to do it
all --to meet this goal?

If you can't answer these questions, you may be headed for an unfortunate
fall.  It happened to me twice (I'm a slow learner), and the experiences were
both painful and expensive enough to make me reevaluate my methodology,
and completely change the way I was doing business.

Today, right now, I know EXACTLY --to the penny --how much our
business needs to take in on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly
basis in order to survive, profit and grow.

Let me put it another way. You have two goals right now; a
positive one and a negative one!

:::

First, you want to make as much money as possible.

Secondly, you don't want to lose what you already have. 

Inexperienced people usually fail to grasp the importance of the negative objective,
which can actually be more important than the positive one. As my old partner
Randy used to say, "Golf is not a game of great shot, but one of more accurate
misses; the one who wins makes fewer mistakes."

Business goals give you seven benefits: They help you

1/ Organize your objectives,

2/ Develop your strategies to accomplish these objectives,

3/ Set your priorities,

4/ Develop your schedules and timetables,

5/ Clarify activities & delegate responsibilities,

6/ Anticipates problem and create solutions, and

7/ Set your financial guidelines and goals.

There are scores of books, videos and audiotapes available today that can
provide you with detailed instructions on how to set your goals and then
achieve them. For the sheer simplicity of it, I’ve always liked Tony Robbins'
formula set forth in his books and programs:

A. Know your outcome.

B. Take action.

C. Notice your results.

D. If necessary, change your approach.

A: Know Your Outcome.

You need a clear, precise dollar objective for your business. It should be written
down on paper because you need to look at it often. It should not only cover what
you need to pay the overhead and your salary, and cover the cost of employees
or subcontractors, but it should also allow you the profit that you need to make
for future growth and savings.

Don't be shy when you're determining this number; don't say that you want too
much. Spend some time deciding what you REALLY want out of your business;
pick a figure that will make you happy with your life.

:::

Once you know how many dollars you want to earn, you must objectively evaluate
all the different means available to you to do just that. Can you meet your goals
doing what you've been doing all along, or will you have to add more services,
create new products, expand your business and your customer base, or raise
your prices without driving your clients away? And how are you going to reach
your clients to tell them about your services -advertising? Referrals?  New business
cards? A sign for your building? A new brochure, demo tape, newsletter, direct
mailer program?

:::

Make a list; check it twice!

Once you've set your goal, you'll need to start putting together a list of which
marketing alternatives you'll use, and how often you'll need to use them.

You must also have techniques for converting your prospects to buyers, and
techniques for upgrading your buyers so they'll buy more of your problem-solving
products and services.

B: It’s Time To Take Action!

Start something happening! If you're in the industrial video segment, for instance,
draft a series of introductory letters and case histories, draw up a mailing list of
likely prospects, and begin sending them your materials. Follow up with phone calls.
Have a demo tape ready to send to those prospects who respond favorably.

If you're concentrating on wedding videography, find out when the big wedding
shows are held in your area, and make plans to attend them. (Incidentally,
NEVER exhibit at a trade show or a like event without having very definite
and specific goals for how much business you want to gather while you're
there. If you don't, you're just wasting your money.)

Work your network of still photographers, wedding planners; make sure your
existing clients are happy with your work and ready to provide you referrals.

C: Notice Your Results.

When you're doing activities that are designed to help you reach your goal --and
you should be doing something every day towards that goal, even if it's just making
ONE call or sending ONE letter --you must notice your results.

Is your advertising working?  Are people responding to your newsletter, your
direct mail efforts, your new website? Do you see definite results? If they are, terrific! 

If not...

D: Change Your Approach.

Maybe your brochure is a dog. Maybe your ad in the local paper says the wrong
thing, or is directed to the wrong audience. Maybe your newsletter is ending up
in the circular file.

If it's not working, try something different. Don't be afraid to admit that your great
idea for marketing your business didn't work. I once scrapped 7,500 expensive oversized
multi-color postcards because they weren't doing the job we had intended them to,
and I'm supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing. (We’re NEVER too old or
too smart to learn something new.)

Remember, Above All, That Persistence Pays Off.

Many people simply give up too soon. Don't be one of them! Keep the formula in
mind: if something doesn't work well, try something else --and keep trying --until
you get that magic formula for success.

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Keywords:

goal setting, business plan, video business