What to Do When You Miss a Business Goal

Every business will miss hitting big goals. It’s what you do in that moment that determines whether you succeed or fail. The first step truly is not giving up! That’s not just a platitude – it is a common thread among all successful women entrepreneurs and it’s worked in my business. We all know how it feels when we work so hard and still do not see results. This is what to do when this happens. 

What to Do When You Don’t Reach a Business Goal

Let’s talk about what happens when you don't reach your goals. You’ve set a goal. Maybe it’s financial (you're going to make a certain amount of money this is month, this quarter, this year); or maybe it’s operational (you will finally get your bookkeeping automated or hire a VA); or maybe it’s customer behavior (you will have 100 people signed up for your online course). Whatever it is, you’ve done the work to set a goal that will help your business and, ultimately, move you towards the big goal of financial freedom. 

You likely set a timeline for this goal and even though you’ve been wanting, yearning for, or believing in this goal, you look up and the month (or months) has passed and you haven't reached your goal. What do you need to do?

Don’t let a bump in the road stop your journey!

This is very, very common and it reminds me of a great old-fashioned movie called “All About Eve” with Bette Davis who started it saying, “buckle your seatbelt it's going to be a bumpy night!”. This is being a woman entrepreneur in a nutshell! The journey is extremely bumpy and it doesn't always go in the direction you want it to go. 

It’s what we do when the bumps veer us off our path that truly determines if we’ll succeed. What are you going to do now? You know you’ve been doing everything you're supposed to be doing, you’ve been working, you’ve been focusing, you’ve been trying, you’ve been wanting, you’ve been taking action, and you still have not received the result you wanted. This is tough and it’s easy to start thinking: “well, I did everything and it didn’t work, so I should just give up.”

I’m going to challenge you to stop that thought right there! Yes, it’s important to honestly look at how you’ve worked towards your goal and pivot in areas that may not have served that goal. But this is not the time to give up. This is when those who succeed, stay in the game and keep doing it even though you don't see results, even though you don’t have money in the bank, even though it looks like it's not working. You keep going.

I can't tell you how many times over the 30 years I’ve been in business that I've thought about giving up! There is no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons for my success is simply perseverance. I just stayed in, I didn't quit, I didn't stop. Of course, I looked at what wasn’t working and I adjusted – I changed direction, I looked for new opportunities, and I kept my business going. This is the hardest part, this is really when those who will be successful, shine and those who will fail, will fail. 

Just because it doesn't work now doesn't mean it won't work ever. 

Perseverance – and continuing with the work even when you think it doesn't work – is one of the reasons why people succeed. Not because their products are better, or because they have a better business plan, or they give a better webinar, or they have a better product. It's simply because they stayed around and kept doing it even when it looked like it wasn't going to work. 

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Who is Leslie Kuster?

I became a 7-figure woman entrepreneur in my 50s -- with my successful Back from Bali clothing brand! It took some getting real with myself to finally say, “Damn it, I want money!” Now I am here to ignite women entrepreneurs -- like you -- to experience the empowerment, independence and joy of creating a business that brings you both money and freedom. Read more about my story here.