I believe that the hardest part about running a business is controlling your mindset. Starting a business can sound so easy, and yet, when you start and really get in it, there are undoubtedly going to be hurdles of all types.

One of the challenging areas is managing the mindset on the revenue side, because for most businesses it isn’t predictable. And, even after years of predictability, there may always be a sense of fear that it will not continue.

As an employee, you get a predictable paycheck no matter what happens in the business.

As a business owner, your on the line to meet expenses. And how do you plan ahead? How can you rely on what’s going to be coming in?

I used to resist setting goals that I couldn’t control. Why set a goal of X clients per month if I don’t know how to actually get that many per month. I didn’t know how many appointments to schedule, and then of course people reschedule or do not hire me…on and on.

But, for the first 4 months of this year I have had a consistent goal. I have hit that target on the nose in any month. Yet, what’s the overall average for all 4 combined? Yup, the exact target.

Slowly but surely I am learning to see the value of setting goals, even if I do not control all factors. By setting my intention, circumstances start moving to make it happen. Additionally, over time, if tracking numbers, I can better understand the metrics to meet goals. That might be how many newsletter subscribers once I learn conversion rates, etc… And there will always be unexpected events, both positive and negative, but that’s not a reason not to have an intention to start with.