Long-term, sustainable success isn’t about luck, it’s about strategy.

You can have all the great ideas in the world, but if you don’t have a solid, actionable strategy to bring those ideas to life, you’re not going to get very far. Next-level success won’t happen if you’re just throwing ideas at the wall like spaghetti and hoping some good ones stick! If you want to make the leap to the next level, you need to start with realistic, attainable goals, and back them up with well-planned, intentional actions.

Smart strategies are the foundation of your success, and strategy planning should absolutely be a team effort. You need everyone on the same page and working together to achieve the goals you set for the future of your business. Before you begin your next strategy planning session with your team, your coach, or your strategist, ask yourself these questions:

• Are Your Goals Aligned with Your Business?
  
  This goes back to that whole “realistic, attainable goals” thing. Sure, you can set a goal to make a million dollars by next week, but unless you’ve got the winning lottery ticket, you’re probably not going to get there!
  
  Set realistic goals within a realistic timeframe. You can set quarterly goals, 6-month goals, annual goals- whatever works best for your life and your business. But they have to be attainable! If you can chart clear steps and strategies to earn a million bucks in the next 12 months, do it! But don’t just set a goal that sounds good and hope you make it – you need a vision AND a plan.
  
  
• Does Your Data Support Your Strategy?
  
  You can’t create smart strategies if you don’t know the ins and outs of your business. You’ve got to know what works in your business model and what doesn’t. You need to have a clear understanding of your finances, and you need to set your KPIs and other metrics that monitor the health of your business BEFORE you strategize.
  
  Basing your strategy around your data saves you time and money, because you’re not just guessing and praying- you’re building strategy on a solid foundation of proven stats and numbers.
  
  
• Do Your Goals Support Your Business AND Your Life?
  
  Aiming high and setting big goals is great- unless it takes over your life. If your goals are putting you right back into that hustle and grind, work 24-7 mindset, you might not be setting the right goals…
  
  Your personal time matters as much as your business, so don’t let your plans shift your priorities. Ask yourself if you have the money, the manpower, and the tools to implement the strategies you’re creating. If you don’t have your bases covered, your strategies won’t succeed no matter how smart they are!
  
  
• Can You Map a Clear Path to Your Goals?
  
  Strategies without steps aren’t really strategies! A smart strategy is a detailed map of the road to your ultimate goal.
  
  You need a clearly defined, detailed, step-by-step action plan that keeps you firmly on the path to the next level of success. You have to build strategies that incorporate product lines, services, marketing initiatives, tracking systems, and countless other milestones that lead you directly to the goals you set for your business.

If you’d like to learn more about the strategies that take your business to the next level of success, check out this episode of Building Your Empire with SophieZo. And if you want a full-service business support team that specializes in elite strategies for growing businesses, let’s talk!