REI Wealth Monthly Issue 15 | Page 13

SMART STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING YOUR PROBATE BUSINESS IN 2014 LEON MCKENZIE Allow some time for this in a quiet work area. As you can see, setting goals can be the Deciding your direction for the next year is such a foundation of a successful probate business plan. critical part of success in the probate business that But, not just any goal will do as not every goal will you should block off time to take care of this. be effective. Meeting with another successful probate investor to share ideas is a great way to start, or you can Setting SMART4 Goals even read books on the subject or take part in an online webinar. Regardless, after you have done your research, you need to take some time to think. While many business owners don’t set business goals for each year, nearly everyone has a New For some entrepreneurs in the probate Year’s resolution. The vast majority of these never business, this might be a rapid-fire hour long happen – and for good reason. Saying you want to session. For others, this type of deep thought and planning may take an afternoon, a day, or even more than a week. The key is to get it done, as the future of your probate business depends on the lose weight, stop smoking or spend time with your family are all good things to do, but how you achieve them on a daily basis is an entirely different issue. vision you have. There is a process that will allow you to set goals Why You Should Set Goals for your probate business that you really can achieve. The key is that each of them follows the Thinking about the direction for your probate criteria of being specific, measurable, attainable, business during the next year is simply not relevant and timely. enough. Entrepreneurs that truly want to be successful always set goals. Goals allow you to carefully define what you want and the steps to getting there. The statistics around goal setting are nothing short of staggering. • 80% of small business owners DON’T keep track of business goals and 77% haven’t achieved the vision for their business. • 1 A mere 4% of Americans define and write down their goals, and yet 78% would like to be more productive. • 2 Business owners who set goals increase their productivity by 1000%! 3