Most handmade entrepreneurs are SOLOpreneurs (working on their own), which means that learning goal-setting skills for your skin care business is essential.
As a business made up of just one person, there are dozens of details to keep track of and remember on a daily basis.
I’ll go even further and venture to guess that the majority of skin care makers are also starting or running their business on part-time hours.
- Are you a stay-at-home mom building your business during early mornings and nap times?
- Or maybe you have a full-time job and live for the weekends where you can master your skin care recipes and write your business plan?
- (OR if you’re like me, have experienced both of the situations above!)
When you’re the only one running the ship, it’s easy to get distracted by minor details and lose sight of your long-term vision…which makes your success roll in way later than it should (if ever…).
In this post, we’ll work together to master effective goal-setting for your handmade skin care business so that your time management and focus are MUCH more streamlined!
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Why Do We Need Goals as Entrepreneurs?
“I’m going to start my own business so that I can do WHATEVER I want WHENEVER I want!!!” (🤣 🤣 🤣)
This kind of thought process may have inspired you to start the ball rolling on creating your own skin care business, but I’m sure you’ve realized since then that successful entrepreneurs have to have structure!
Maybe that structure looks like a simple to-do list in your notebook, or maybe you’ve gone so far as to use a content planner for your business tasks.
The ideas that drive that task list or schedule are what will either make or break you as an independent business owner.
Creating effective goals that have your long-term, big picture in mind will ensure that even the little tasks throughout your day all have a purpose and are worth your precious time.
Why Your Mission Statement Should Guide Your Goals
Before you set out to make some amazing goals for your skin care business, you must take the time to create a mission statement.
Your mission statement is going to be the guidepost to help you determine what goals are necessary to make your business vision come to life.
For example, if your mission is to ‘create a luxury skin care business that is an authority in science-backed formulations and sustainability’, you might consider the following goals:
- Transition all of your packaging to bamboo and glass.
- Get your aromatherapy certification or take formulation courses.
- Grow your Instagram following to provide social proof and trust in your brand.
As you read through the goal-setting tips for your handmade skin care business below, make sure your mission statement is in the back of your mind to keep you on track!
What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals?
The most effective way to set a business goal is to use the acronym ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ to help you avoid setting goals that are vague or hard to track.
Let’s walk through the acronym together with a specific example of how a skin care business could use it to open its shop with laser focus and an increased likelihood of completion.
Initial Goal: I want to turn my passion for handmade skin care into an online business.
S – Specific:
“S” stands for specific, because you want to make sure that each goal is as clear and precise as possible. You don’t want to write goals that are too general or abstract, so aim to create concise goals:
Example: I want to launch my skin care line on Etsy.
M – Measurable:
“M” stands for measurable, because you want to be able to track your progress regularly. It’s difficult to stay motivated when you don’t have an easy way of telling if you’re making progress or not.
You can measure your results by figuring out what success looks like in the long run. What are some metrics (numbers) that you can use to track your progress toward improving the performance of your skin care business?
Creating a measurable goal is important because it allows you to keep track of how far you’ve come and how much work there is left to do.
Every activity, project, or goal requires a timeline for completion. A good rule of thumb is to try and aim for a timeframe that is as short as possible (or one that can be broken down into smaller amounts), while still being realistic.
Example: I want to launch my skin care shop with at least 20 different products available.
A – Attainable:
“A” stands for attainable, which means goals are those that you have the power to achieve. Setting yourself up for success by choosing goals that are within your control can help improve motivation and confidence.
Take your personal situation into account when identifying which parts of your goal are attainable. What resources do you have at your disposal? How long will it take to get everything in place before you can begin working towards attaining the goal?
Example: Since I have a full-time job, I will realistically be able to work one hour each morning before work, on my lunch breaks, and dedicate at least 4 hours on Sunday to make this happen.
R – Relevant:
Relevant goals are those that have value for you or your skin care business. They’re often things that are important to you, personally or professionally.
When creating relevant goals, it’s important to think about what truly matters to you and what will be most beneficial for your business in the long term. Every goal should contribute toward your vision for success.
This is the time to refer to your mission statement and make sure your goal is supporting it directly.
Example: The missions statement for this pretend individual is to open a shop that allows customers to ask questions and request custom orders. Opening a shop on Etsy is perfect for that small-batch, intimate feel. Therefore, this goal is relevant to our mission statement.
T – Time-bound
Time-bound goals have a deadline for completion. This can be extremely motivating because they’re associated with a sense of urgency and importance.
When you write down time-bound goals, there’s an instant feeling of ‘pressure’ to get the job done in the limited timeframe given.
Example: I want to have my shop open by Black Friday weekend.
Initial Goal:
I want to turn my passion for handmade skin care into an online business.
Initial Goal turned into a S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
“I am going to launch my skin care shop on Etsy with at least 20 products by Black Friday. I will need to work one hour each morning, on my lunch breaks, and 4 hours each Sunday to make this happen.“
Why is S.M.A.R.T. Goal-Setting So Effective?
S.M.A.R.T goals are incredibly effective because they motivate you to achieve your vision by helping you to think through the details AND enable you to plan out into smaller chunks.
Your main S.M.A.R.T. goal is generally a large, long-term goal – you’ll end up taking that and breaking it down into smaller (and then smaller!) short-term goals.
Let’s use the example above (launch on Etsy with 20 products by Black Friday) to backward plan (we’ll also be pretending it is January):
- 20 products, complete this portion by May
- 20 products/5 months = 4 products/month (January – May)
- 1 product a week (formulation and feedback)
- June: Make Skincare Product Labels
- July: Take Product Photos
- August: Write Product Listings (Sales Pages)
- September: Beauty Website (About Page, Profile, Banner)
- October: Start building up a social media presence
- November: Launch! Promote!
And even further:
- January (week 1): Create lip balm recipe and get feedback
- January (week 2): Create acne scar salve recipe and get feedback
- January (week 3): Create belly balm recipe and get feedback
- January (week 4): Create under-eye salve recipe and get feedback
Etc. Etc. Etc…until this example entrepreneur can use his/her overarching goal to figure out what should be done every morning, lunch break, and Sunday work times.
There are countless ways you could attack the main S.M.A.R.T. goal and break it down into smaller, short-term (quarterly, weekly, monthly, daily, hourly) goals.
To learn how to break down your goals into step-by-step, daily actions, be sure to visit How to Use a Content Planner for Your Skin Care Business.
The idea is that your S.M.A.R.T. goal has the power to fill your to-do list and time-blocked schedule with incredibly specific, driven items that all lead to the fulfillment of your business mission in a focused way.
Goal-Setting Ideas for Your Handmade Skin Care Business
The best way to create S.M.A.R.T. goals is by asking yourself questions that get you from vague ideas and dreams to a concrete plan with measurable results (that support your mission statement!!!).
Here are some example questions that can help you in goal-setting for your handmade skin care business:
- Do you want higher engagement on your social media?
- Do you want to increase your social media following?
- Do you want higher traffic to your website?
- Do you want more customer reviews?
- Do you want to spend less time on your business?
- What does ‘success’ look like to you?
- Do you have certain production goals?
- Would you like to start wholesaling?
- Do you have business sales goals?
- Do you want to increase your repeat customer rate?
- Do you have a specific business launch date?
- Are you aiming to quit your day job to be a full-time skin care maker?
Next, break these ideas down into details that are:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Relevant
T – Time-bound
Go straight to your favorite scheduling tool and plan out your time intentionally.
As you develop your S.M.A.R.T. goals, you’ll find that some things take more time than you originally thought, and some things take less time than you originally thought.
Do yourself a favor and check your progress every month or quarter to see if you’re on target. It’s always okay to re-adjust based on real-life happenings!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
But also…no one wants to build a business by themselves! That’s doing it the hard way!
If you want to push the easy button, check out The Thrive Online Membership, a VIP experience just for motivated skincare entrepreneurs like you, working together to build amazing online businesses!
Grow Your Skin Care Business!
Browse through the resources below to boost your handmade business visibility and profitability!