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I started my business and blog in 2019. It’s been a learning experience to be sure.

As the new year approaches, I’m confronted with many small business start-up goals that I want to pursue.

So, I’m going to write them down and broadcast them to everyone. That way, I have a few people keeping me accountable throughout the new year of 2020.

I had a few goals I achieved for my small business start-up in 2019 but I hope to achieve more this upcoming year.

Since my small business is still in the early stages, I’m still developing many of the more basic aspects, like target audience, marketing strategies, and consistent engagement. I’m hoping to nail down many of my small business strategies throughout the new year in 2020.

If you’re struggling with how to start your small business, take ownership of your shortcomings, both things that you don’t enjoy and aspects that you need to learn. These are your small business goals. Your business start-up goals can be to start these projects and then earn enough to outsource these tasks or to learn them throughout the new year in 2020. Either pathway is a great small business goal.

So, what are some of my small business goals?

Small Business Goal 1: Define my Target Audience

I’ve been struggling with defining my target audience since I started learning how to start my money-making blog. While I know what I want to talk about and topics I like to expand talk about, I have a hard time developing a clear niche target audience.

I’ve realized however how vital your target audience is to start your small business.

I’ve been working through CREATE An Intensive Biz Playbook & Planner: Scale Your Online Business, Create Explosive Growth and Build a Brand You Crave. The first section of this planner helps you develop your target audience and define your ideal client.

Not only does CREATE help you define your ideal client but it also questions what to ask about your target audience. By catering to a smaller audience, you have a better chance to appeal to a more loyal customer base than trying to appeal to everyone.

Small Business Goal 2: Promote and Build my Services

I started to promote my small business services before I knew my target audience. I knew what services I wanted to give to my customers but I didn’t know who I was giving my services to.

Over the last few months in my small business start-up, I’ve grown more confident in what I have to offer my audience members and customers.

I had an idea of what I could offer my customers as a graphic designer. I knew what I could do but not how those skills can assist my target audience. Since I was still defining my target audience that made promoting my small business services even more challenging.

Now that I’ve worked through CREATE’s target audience section, I can now build my small business services through CREATE’s services section.

Small Business Goal 3: Pinterest Marketing Strategy

I gain most of my audience views from Pinterest. This isn’t new. Most people seem to gain most of their small business and blog audience from Pinterest, Instagram, and SEO practices.

I’ve learned a lot about Pinterest over the last few months. That being said I’d love to gain access to a Pinterest marketing strategy course through the new year. If I could increase my impressions and engagement with my pins, I could increase my blog traffic immensely.

Currently, I’m manually pinning my content to Pinterest. This isn’t a drawback to me essentially but I would like to be smarter about my content. I think installing Tailwind would be a great way to expand my audience and manage my pins better throughout the week.

So while I’m currently confident in my Pinterest marketing strategy, I think it could improve with the help of a course and Tailwind throughout the new year.

Small Business Goal 4: Blog Editorial Calendar

I have some experience creating a blog editorial calendar, but I’ve also struggled with remaining consistent and planning far enough ahead for my blog.

If you’re anything like me, you might try out CREATE Blog and Editorial Planner: Create Exceptional Content, Get More Done and Smash Through Your Blogging Goals. Not only does CREATE has a business planner, but it also keeps track and plans your entire year of blog editorial content. No matter when you start your blog.

If you struggle creating a blog editorial calendar, I’d also suggest selecting topics for each month within your niche. That way you can plan accordingly with holidays, seasons, and new timeframes for your small businesses calendar.

I hope to follow CREATE’s Editorial Calendar to remain consistent and provide my customers and target audience with quality content on my blog.

Small Business Goal 5: Social Media Marketing

Same with a blog editorial calendar, I have some experience with social media marketing but it’s not my primary forte.

Social media marketing is not as vital as some things within a small business start-up but social media is a great way to appeal to your target audience without spending a lot of money. A great social media marketing plan engages and promote your small business services with your target audience.

The easiest way to create a social media marketing plan for me is to integrate your blog editorial calendar and seasonal and holiday content throughout your social media. Taking your plan in CREATE’s Editorial Calendar will be the biggest advantage when creating your social media marketing strategy. By blending the two, I’m able to focus on the same topics and create everything at once rather than divide them into two marketing strategies.

I tend to focus most of my social media marketing on Instagram with some on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’d like to focus more on Facebook and LinkedIn to broaden my audience but I’d also like to start making Instagram stories and being more consistent throughout the week.

Small Business Goal 6: Email Marketing Building

I think email marketing is something I will also be investing in by buying a course at some point for the new year in 2020.

I like the concept of an email marketing strategy, but I’ve had a lot of challenges in building my email list. I know I’ve been putting more energy into other areas of my small business start-up but I’d like to put more focus on my email marketing strategy so it’s not just an afterthought in my blog editorial content.

I would like to correlate my email marketing strategy along with my blog editorial calendar and social media marketing strategy so I’m able to streamline most of my blog content.

While CREATE doesn’t have a particular section for email marketing strategy, CREATE does have a digital marketing strategy section. I think to incorporate all of the content and marketing strategies will help you devise your digital marketing strategy with your plans throughout the new year in 2020.

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Goals and plans I'm making for my small business start-up for the new year in 2020