19 Entrepreneurs Share Their Business Goals for 2018

Mercy - CBNation Team

7 years ago

It’s a new year and right after the ball drops, it’s time to go to work. Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their New Year’s Resolutions around their business. It could be more revenue, hiring clients or launching a new product or service, but every new year is an exciting time because it’s ripe with opportunity. We asked 19 entrepreneurs to share their business goals and what they were looking forward to in 2018.

#1- Increased networking and public service opportunities

Networking has been a core focus over the last few months and it has helped me grow my business and opportunities. Working with other business owners and entrepreneurs we are looking to create workshops for the local community to help assist them in entrepreneurship and winning the career lottery. This is a big part of the networking and opportunities from being a member of Toastmasters International and Small Business Masterminds. Recently, I just finished my last speech to earn my competent communicator certification through Toastmasters and placed first twice in two speaking competitions and top five in the final contest. My goal for 2018 is to take my accomplishments and what I've learned in 2017 into 2018 with paid public speaking opportunities such as Key Notes, Workshops, and Special Events. Not only will we be out more but we are ramping up our impact in the community by supporting an organization such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in South Central Missouri by becoming a volunteer for children. A CASA volunteer Speaks for an abused or neglected child in the court system. These are all children who have been removed from the home and have been placed in a foster or group home. The major focus for me as an advocate is to help adolescent boys. There is a great need for men in this area to be advocates.

Thanks to Kirby Ingles, Kirby Ingles Life Coaching!

#2- Sustain income

I am so excited for 2018! 2017 was the first year my business broke 6 figures, I hired an assistant and marketing team to take my two brands to the next level. Which brings us to 2018, aka Next Level year! I will be traveling almost a week a month. Which means I will not be able to make the same income I did as when I am in town with my clients. So, I am continuing to do what I started last year offering webinars, I am launching a VIP membership and also launching my Spanish content. There are a lot of moving pieces but the ultimate goal for 2018 is to sustain the income but from multiple streams. By end of 2018 I should be able to be anywhere in the world and still grow my brands.

Thanks to Lesley Logan, Profitable Pilates!

#3- Impact change

I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions. Instead, I believe in working one day at a time to accomplish a greater goal that is universal to my business and passion. In 2018 (and beyond), I look forward to helping more military spouse and veteran entrepreneurs grow their business through social media and marketing strategies. With my business, I always have goals like networking more often, increasing sales, and growing my email list, however, my true reason for having a business is to impact change. That is my main goal of 2018 and in all future years – to build a military community that is financially free by supporting their passions and entrepreneurial career dreams.

Thanks to Jenny Hale, The Military Social Media Guru!

#4- Four goals

I have some very specific goals for my industry and a few slightly larger goals, more around branding myself: I want to book a $15,000 wedding. I want to get repped by a photo agency I want to finish my book proposal and land a book agent. I want to land at least one speaking gig.

Thanks to Phillip Van Nostrand

#5- Create podcasts

For 2018, one of my main aspirations is to create a podcast with amazing content that’s digestible in 5, 10 or 15 minutes for the busy person on the go. I listen to podcasts all the time and would love to venture into doing a series myself. I additionally want to expand Cinqe into Silicon Valley and welcome new clients within and surrounding that area. Finally, building our team and hiring individuals who are passionate, excited and genuine about finding love for others is also a goal that I always keep in hindsight.

Thanks toErica Arrechea, Cinqe Matchmaking!

#6- Continue to Challenge Ourselves

Our company, Product Launchers , is on a wonderful upward trajectory. We have more than doubled revenues every year since our origin, and enjoyed great profits for our clients and ourselves through launching products in retail. As we're headed into our fourth year in business, it can become very easy for a company at this level to get comfortable – and complacent. We recognize the danger in that mentality and have re-energized our organization with new processes to enhance productivity, and most importantly, are implementing exciting, new initiatives that everyone is apart of. For example, we're adding lines to our portfolio that have proven to be successful in a declining retail market, i.e. pet treats, ready to drink beverages, licensed products, etc. Additionally, we're investing heavily in digital marketing to build another recurring revenue channel for our clients. And finally, we're launching a new company, Unscripted that takes our successful business development skill set from product launching and applies it to any industry, for any product or service offering. Our goal is to continuously challenge ourselves to continue our momentum and again double our revenues by year end!

Thanks to Linda Parry Murphy, Unscripted!

#7- Business and income expansion

2018 is all about expanding my reach for my business and tripling my income. I'm outsourcing to brand ambassadors in exchange for promoting my services and products they will receive my coaching services and download. The Brand Ambassadors will allow me to have some grassroots promotions in place to expand my word of mouth marketing. I'm launching a digital self-paced course for moms to regain their sanity with work/life balance, and I'll be automating most of my workload so I can spend more time with my family and pursue more speaking engagements in 2018. Work smarter with more intentional effort.

Thanks to Lauren Cecora, Postpartum Mentor!

#8- Two goals

Here are my goals for the new year: Reach out by phone or e-mail to one old contact every week to reconnect and say hello. It sounds old fashioned but getting updates via social media only does so much, I want to have real conversations with people I care about but don¹t get to see often. I also want to do more in less time by limiting e-mail time and get off of half the newsletters and group lists I am on, unsubscribe is my friend. I am excited about the new year and plan to treat myself as well as I treat my best customers. I want to respect my time on my calendar as if it were an important meeting with a VIP because it is! I no longer want to sacrifice my time to write, think, exercise, plan, etc. to squeeze more meetings and calls into my day.

Thanks to Paige Arnof-Fenn, Mavens & Moguls!

#9- More risks

My New Year’s resolution for The Tylt is for us to take more risks, specifically in service of our mission to take the pulse of the internet. **Taking risks allows The Tylt to creatively explore new ways to serve our community which we’re confident will have a huge impact on our business. Collaboration and collective experimentation allows us to step back and reimagine what our product can represent in a space where we’ve already been successful. Continually having a fresh perspective is important to
us.

Thanks to Kyle Lelli, The Tylt!

#10- Trend

I’m most looking forward to seeing how brand marketing shakes out after a very tumultuous year. Consumers want their brands to reflect their own values, and we saw many willing to take a stand on issues previously thought to be off limits to brand marketers in 2017. How that trend continues to evolve in 2018 will be fascinating.

Thanks to Bob Clary, Develop Intelligence!

#11- Help people

Our main business goal for 2018 is to focus on helping people instead of focusing on sales. This includes taking the time to answer all questions, to offer free advice (if appropriate), and to not be afraid to point someone to a competitor if it is a better fit. We've found that when we do this, the sales come naturally and client retention is higher. Plus, following this philosophy makes us happier and more productive people.

Thanks to Michele McDonough, Creative Mindscape!

#12- Expansion

We at KYDS LLC (Kentucky **Distillation** Services) are fundamentally changing the science of industrial hemp extracts. We will be rolling out, the first ever, loyalty program in the industrial hemp sector as it relates to contract service distillation. **In 2018, our goal is to expand our service to additional markets via licensing / joint-ventures, and investigate novel crude hemp plant oil purification technologies. In 2018, our core focus will be expanding our footprint locally first here in Kentucky and internationally, and job creation. We will invest heavily in R & D and aggressively penetrate emerging markets where our service is in demand.

Thanks to Dr. Pritesh Kumar, Kentucky Distillation Services!

#13- More productivity

Our company turned 3 years old in 2017 and had some of the biggest hits in pop music of the past 12 months. The things you do that get you to year 3 don’t necessarily make sense for the coming years. We plan to double down on the work as if we’re in year 1, and really have a goal of becoming the best (not the biggest) management and A&R song shop in the music business. In 2018, we have a goal of pushing for a more collaborative environment across our three offices so people aren’t working in silos. We believe we can do this while still supporting people operating as mini-CEOs and encouraging folks to be pack leaders — we don’t want a socialist culture. Capitalism works in the music business. We just hired more people in our Los Angeles office and just opened Nashville, so we’re excited to grow the team and look forward to larger rooms when we really need to meet as a company and put our heads together. Boutique companies are winning in the music business right now — we are seeing David beat Goliath on a regular occasion. I’m also looking forward to the next 5 years in the music business as there has been a total renaissance, they money is back thanks to streaming services and it’s a bright outlook for the future.

Thanks to Lucas Keller, Milk & Honey Music!

#14- Dare Bigger

For founders of startups, life is often a series of white-knuckled moments for the first several years, wondering if you’ve made the most inspired or insane decision to try this new venture. As the business starts to stabilize, and nights begin to have more hours sleeping over worrying about which bills you can afford to pay that month, your instinct is to take a breath and coast a little. Instead of being seduced into being comfortable, this is the moment to dare bigger. In 2018, as we roll into our fifth year of business, we’re remembering the burn of entrepreneurial fire that spurred us into this project, and we are dreaming the next set of steps as audaciously as the first. It is putting us back in touch with why we wanted to do this in the first place, and is opening up new opportunities that are far beyond what we initially thought possible.

Thanks to Leigh Melander, Spillian!

#15- Be the best

So, my goals for 2018…first, build the best range of wine gift baskets on the internet. Seriously, the selection that's out there currently isn't even mediocre. Second, I want to increase the production value of the video that I'm producing. I realize having seen winemakers interviewed by a documentary filmmaker that what I have is barely, if even ok and getting to awfully good isn't impossible.

Thanks to Mark Aselstine, Uncorked Ventures!

#16-Three aspirations

One of our small business goals is to expand our social media presence, which has served us quite well over the years, but we feel that we can get more out of it. We also plan on investigating new topics to create articles about, both from our own ideas and those submitted by our readers and followers. Expense management is also something that we feel we can always do a better job on, so we'll be addressing that as well.

Thanks to Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers!

#17- Step outside

Our goal for the new year is to step outside of our comfort zone, meet some new people and take advantage of community resources. We forget how many active groups that exist to nourish our passions and connect with like minded people. The perfect community group is different for everyone, we suggest identifying your passion — trust us there’s a niche group for every interest– and doing some research online.

Thanks to Candice Simons, Brooklyn Outdoor!

#18- Partnership

My business goal for 2018 is to develop our partner strategy at Badger Maps. It's challenging, but it's the best way to expand and develop markets in Europe and Asia. It can also help us acquire new customers in the US. There are companies we could partner with that have their own product but sell to similar customers, companies that would benefit from including us as a part of their solution and companies who have a business model of reselling products like ours. I’m excited to start off this new project in 2018!

Thanks to Steven Benson, Badger Maps!

#19- Customer service

We're excited to keep building and moving onward and upward in 2018! Our number one priority will continue to be great customer service — making sure the needs of our customers are met, following up, partnering with other like-minded businesses, and continuing to work hard to anticipate their needs before they realize they have them!

Thanks to Deborah Sweeney, MyCorporation.com!