Have you thought about your goals for 2021? 

Every year is a big year. But for some reason this year feels particularly important. It comes on the back of a very difficult 2020 but with that adversity comes hope and ambition for 2021.

Here at The Work Crowd, we have seen some huge positives for both our freelance and client members. Despite all the obvious issues of the last 9 months, the truth is there has been some hugely encouraging developments in the business world that have been born out as a by-product.

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of start-up businesses, a very obvious shift in the way we work and communicate and of course there’s the dramatic increase in e-commerce with Forbes magazine suggesting that the industry growth has accelerated forward 4 to 6 years in the space of 4 to 6 months.

We ourselves have seen an increased interest from clients that are looking to push their businesses forward using marketing comms without the significant expense of hiring an individual. Businesses are clearly looking to work harder, faster and most importantly smarter and that’s what we here at The Work Crowd, are able to offer.

One of the most important things that anyone can do at this time of year is goal setting. It’s strange but this is often overlooked as we come out of the busy Christmas period and head into the New Year. Goal setting often gets buried in the return to work but we’re encouraging everyone to stop, take some time and think long and hard about what you want to achieve with your business this year.

If you’re a client, you may have a particular project or new launch in mind, changes that you want to make structurally or even a completely different look and feel to the business identity and its website. Either way here at The Work Crowd we have some of the most talented freelancers available covering everything from graphic design, PR, strategic marketing people, social media experts and copywriters.

Utilising freelance support is often a much more cost-effective way to access senior level experience, knowledge and capability and it’s always more effective than having someone sit, full time, within the business on a significant salary.

With that in mind when it comes to goal setting for your business our suggestion is that you consider following the SMART method. It’s a reasonably easy, universally used process and it works. Try this:

• S for Specific. What is it that you specifically want to achieve?
• M for Measurable. Make sure that you revisit whatever you decide and measure the success at a later stage.
• A for Attainable. Be realistic about your goal setting and don’t create something you know deep down you’ll never actually achieve.
• R for Relevant. Focus on making sure that what you want is ‘on piste’ and that it’s somehow connected to what you already have.
• T for Time. Make sure that the goal is set against a realistic time frame. There’s nothing wrong with being challenging but realism is just as important at the same time.

We find that the best way of approaching this simple task is to sit down and ask yourself the questions, write the answers up and store them safely to revisit and review at a later stage. Whatever you do, never file them in the bottom draw, it’s a waste of valuable time. Whatever comes from your goal setting exercise, think hard about what you do next to achieve those goals that you’ve just set.

If, as is often the case, you feel that you’re going to need some support to achieve those goals then can we suggest that you pick the phone up to us here at The Work Crowd. We not only have access to the resources you’ll need but we will help you achieve whatever your business  goals are for 2021.

So, in summary, think hard about some simple goal setting and above anything else, be happy, stay safe and remain confident in the knowledge that even though lockdowns may come and go, business opportunities will always continue to present themselves.

Have a great 2021 and stay in touch.