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Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps

You’ve probably heard the way to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time. In business this is fundamental because it decidedly identifies the road to success. This road, it should be well understood, isn’t an easy path and will have plenty of bumps along the way. These setbacks, or failures, are excellent parts of the learning curve and are typically more valuable than successes. Savvy entrepreneurs embrace this truth and use it in a strategic way.

Some of the largest and oldest companies were born from simple ideas. These giants grew from obscurity, not because of all they offer, but because each accomplished a goal which made them instrumental to the world of commerce. In 1939, after many frustrating years, inventor Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanization. Though the legendary achievement is etched in history, the backstory is quite telling. Goodyear spent years trying to turn his concept into reality. He went dead broke and into extreme debt, yet endured and persisted on one single goal.

How to Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps

Of course not every entrepreneur suffers such extreme adversity. It’s true that the majority of businesses do experience fits and starts but overcome and go on to achieve enough to turn a respectable profit. The way this happens is through a series of phases which include periodic cycles of failures. These aren’t due to lack of motivation, not being smart or talented enough, but the result of trying to accomplish too many things at once.

When people set out to begin a major work project or adopt a healthier lifestyle, it’s easy to become discouraged when picturing the long road ahead. By the same token, even smaller-scale plans like keeping a medical appointment or a standing date to the gym can become easily derailed by the busyness of our daily lives or a simple aversion to the doctor or the treadmill. —The Wharton School

Let’s get back to how to eat an elephant. The key to tackling any big goal is to do so in a smart and workable manner. Though most people understand reaching a goal takes time, their enthusiasm causes over-reach and that’s when things start to go wrong. You just can’t do six things at once and expect to master all of them. Too many directions, which is to say too many projects, is a recipe for failure. So, the key to success is the opposite — do one thing at a time. Here’s how to accomplish your biggest goal in small steps:

Set a big goal to reach. The first step is to set a realistic goal. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big but these can be too large to reach before feeling discouraged. One of the reasons entrepreneurs achieve success is they have a vision that’s focused and workable.
Identify a realistic path to take. Another component to achieving your big goal is to map out a realistic path to take. Break the process down into phases —these don’t have to include every possible detail or include all contingencies. Martin Luther King remarked on this when he said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Start with one small, incremental step. You’ve probably heard different adages about the first step being the hardest. It’s true and to feel a sense of accomplishment while building momentum, the first step ought to be small.
Take a moment to reflect the accomplishment. After each incremental step or phase is complete, take time to reflect on your accomplishment. The sense of pride is inspiring, and it reinforces your self confidence.

With every step and phase completion, you can look toward your ultimate goal but stay focused on the here and now. This will help to motivate you and it’s a great way to appreciate your hard work.

As a side note, it would be an honor to help out my LinkedIn connections with their business. At minimum, I’d love to connect and be in touch. We can do this by you signing up & getting my Top 5 Business Tips each month; and it’s free! May Your Business Succeed Beyond Your Dreams! ~Best, John Waters

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Stop Chasing Rock Stars and Learn Why “Average” Hires Are the Real Secret Weapon for Building a Thriving Business

April 9, 2026 No Comments

“A-players hire A-players; B-players hire C-players.” This quote is often attributed to Steve Jobs, and whether he coined the phrase or not misses its point. The sentiment is obviously about a fundamental strategy to succeed in business. So, many entrepreneurs subscribe to this belief, thinking it’s practically infallible. However, that’s simply not the case because plenty of business owners have discovered that chasing top talent is the proverbial carrot on a stick. Instead, they adopt an alternative approach and seek out “average” individuals instead. Here’s why.

The Entrepreneurs Guide to Vacationing

May 5, 2017 No Comments

If there’s one thing that successful entrepreneurs possess, it’s drive. The drive to start a business on a small scale and grow it to larger and larger proportions. The drive to make improvements and to learn from mistakes. The drive to encourage employees, professional associates, and friends to do their best and deliver on their promises. The drive to drive at practically everything, especially toward new goals. It’s hitting the brakes which often doesn’t come naturally. Though the idea of relaxing on a beach, hitting the ski slopes, or visiting a new destination might be intriguing and tempting, all can easily fall short because you won’t actually enjoy your vacation. Instead, you’ll be checking your smartphone and/or tablet, and might even phone-in now and again just to see what’s going on, and of course, to provide your sage advice. How to Take a Vacation from Your Business and Make It Work Why you ought to be concerned about your business while you’re away, you have to establish and respect some boundaries. It’s very difficult to put aside your business passion, but such a thing is absolutely necessary; and, it’s also quite healthy in more ways than one. While the human species is built, in-part, for work, it is also limited as to what it can handle. These are the reasons we feel tired after a day at work and why entertainment has risen to such a popular level for escape. Giving yourself permission to walk away from your company can be difficult. But if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your staff: When you take vacation time, you’re setting a good example. —Entrepreneur.com Of course, such an escape can not only come from sports, books, television, and the like, but also from vacation. Some business owners actually go on vacation and never really leave their businesses, which is the definition of waste. When you consider the fact that someone would make plans, pay for travel and lodging, along with other expenses and not truly enjoy their time off, it makes the whole affair more costly and more unhealthy. I had a partner, in a previous business, who one time proclaimed with some sense of pride and peppered with a bit hint of martyr … “I HAVEN’T TAKEN A DAY OFF IN 5 YEARS”. Needless-to-say, he was and is a very hard worker, but reports from his remaining staff say the environment is like a “Salt Mine”! Everyone needs a break from work and that certainly includes business owners. When you start and build a company, it’s only natural to want to stay the course and keep your hands on the wheel. After all, the business wouldn’t exist without you and it wouldn’t be able to grow if you weren’t there. Though it might be difficult to take time off, it’s necessary and there are things you can do to take a vacation from your business and make the most of it: Have an action plan in-place. This isn’t a plan for you, but those who stay behind to run the business. It seems that Murphy’s Law takes effect the moment you aren’t present, so, have at least one contingency plan but don’t make it complicated. It should be easy to follow and simple. Know that you’ve invested in the right people. Your employees were likely hand-picked by you and this is a great time to see how well you chose your team members. Of course, there’s probably one who is a natural leader and who knows the business well to leave in-charge while you’re away. Disconnect from the day-to-day. You might check-in very briefly on a weekly basis, and that’s acceptable; but don’t give into the temptation of running your business from a distance. In our time, technology allows us to connect at any time and share information in moments. Those moments are just too precious and you need to disconnect. Put your family first. Okay, so your conscience is telling you that you work too much, too long, and don’t spend enough time with your family but you don’t change. This is the time when you can spend quality time and create wonderful memories. I have a client who hired my company in 2011 to help his retail business during the rough economic recession. He said that he was at his limit, and was ready to “throw in the towel”. Besides helping this client to recover, improve sales, cash flow, moral and pay down past debt and taxes, our Client wanted more time off with his family and vacations. The time off and vacations appeared to be a distant goal given the carnage left from simply trying to survive the recession, but we developed a strategy and took action weekly to clear up the past taxes and debt while helping him pursue his goal of time off and vacations. In 2013 he took time off and this motivated him to do it again. In 2014, our Client planned a family vacation for the summer. So, we helped our Client plan out and detail the specific and critical business metrics that needed to be managed by each of his team while he was gone. My Client reviewed this plan and his expectations on the metrics and operations protocol (i.e. Leads, Sales, Cash Receipts per Day, Deliveries, Installations, Service, and how to handle emergencies) with his Team. When he returned from his vacation, I asked; “how was your vacation and how did your team handle your being away for 10 days?” His response, “this was one of the best family vacations I’ve had in a long, long time, and there were very few issues while I was gone … I am looking forward to doing it again”. My Client took another week in Montana in the fall of that year, and 2014 ended up a record year in sales all while he built a team that will continue to allow him more vacations and time off

My Small Business Manager didn’t Manage the Business Well and Now it’s a Total Mess…What Do I Do?

June 23, 2022 No Comments

Some business owners run their company for many years, only to discover that they can’t do everything on their own. Once this inevitable realization materializes, most start to hire others to help them with various aspects of the business. Some even aspire to be largely absentee owners, leaving the day-to-day operations to a professional manager. So, they train someone up, giving them the responsibility of managing the company and then take a more offhand role, sometimes into a completely new venture or, to focus on one particular area. Typically, this goes fairly well, especially when said manager has been well trained. However, it sometimes ends in utter disaster and the manager winds up making a mess of everything. So, what do you do if you’re stuck in the latter nightmare scenario? What Good Managers bring to Small Businesses Before we get into how to fix a bad situation, let’s first look at why business owners hire managers in the first place. Usually, managers are brought on to handle all of the day-to-day activity. This allows the owner to put his or her efforts into expanding the business and even exploring new opportunities. A good manager will bring a nice return on investment, easily paying his or her salary, all while adding to the company’s bottom line. Bad management can impact employees and a company’s overall operations. Incompetent managers exist, and they can have challenges relating to staff members and keeping them motivated. In addition, substandard supervisors may not be able to balance budgets, increase revenues or capably perform other crucial tasks. —Houston Chronicle Small Business A good manager can really be an invaluable asset, being able to oversee employees, carry out projects, order materials and inventory, assign employees to various tasks and projects, and a whole lot more. In the end, the manager is also responsible for the public face of the company, particularly when the owners aren’t on site. Of course, there’s a great deal of trust involved here and unfortunately, that trust is sometimes betrayed. How Business Owners can Fix Mismanaged Companies If your small business has been mismanaged by an incompetent or uncaring manager, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The amount of damage he or she may have done may not be immediately apparent and will materialize over time. But, you can’t just wait to find out, you’ve got to leap into action immediately and do the following after letting him or her go: Talk to the employees. The very first thing you want to do is get a sense of the employees’ perspectives. You’re likely to learn a lot and some of it may take you completely by surprise. But, you’ll probably also get a kind of consensus and that will help you to know precisely what’s most important and how to prioritize what to fix first. Speak with vendors. This may sound a little odd but it’s probably worthwhile. Since vendors interact with the managers routinely, they will have different stories to tell and just like the employees, will probably give you some type of consensus. At the very least, you’ll find out how your former manager interacted with the vendors and if he or she had good or bad business relationships. Consult your customers. If you haven’t really heard any complaints from customers, this would be highly unusual. Although, your former manager may have been great in providing excellent customer service, while still mismanaging the business’ finances and/or mismanaging the team members. Regardless, getting your customers’ input is very important because it will let you know the reputation of your company. Lastly, you’ll have to go through the slow and meticulous process of piecing the operation back together. This might include having to make other personnel changes, establishing new relationships with different vendors, and possibly, having to repair customer relationships. Fortunately, a good business consultant can walk you through this very difficult process step by step. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps

How to Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps

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