PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 11, 2022
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Entrepreneurs were encouraged to set clear and measurable goals in the recent Jamaica Business Development Corporation’s (JBDC) Virtual Biz Zone on Tuesday August 9, 2022. Returning facilitator, Ms. Opal Levy of Sisters’ Ink ended the two-part series on the Entrepreneurial Mind-set by discussing the topic: How to Set Entrepreneurial Goals and Achieve Progress. Ms. Levy explored the need for proper goal setting and practical ways entrepreneurs can achieve their goals.
Ms. Levy said, “The difference between a successful business and a failing business is that the successful one is planning.” She underscored that an important part of planning and goal setting is making goals and objectives measurable. She said, “What gets measured gets done. And entrepreneurs must realise that if they are not able to measure their goals and objectives, their businesses will not see the progress it is capable of.”
She went on to discuss two specific ways goals can be measured by entrepreneurs, which are “lag and lead measurements.” She explained, “Lag measures are those indicators that track the success of important goals such as revenue, profit, quality and customer satisfaction. They are called lag measures because by the time you see them, the performance that drove them has already passed and you can’t do anything to fix them, they are history. While lead measures track the continual activities that drive or lead to lag measures. They predict the success of the lag measure and are influenced directly by them.”
Ms. Levy shared that, “It is important for entrepreneurs to understand the differences between lag and lead measurements as these will help you to make solid decisions as you go along.” She went on to say, “To measure the success of your goals and objectives, you must analyse your key performance indicators and to see if the intended measures were or were not achieved. Then you must measure your past performance and see how far you are from your target. You need to also create a structure, because you need a plan to keep you on track.”
Ms. Levy discussed with the webinar participants the ins and outs of goal setting and she defined entrepreneurial goal setting as “Business professionals creating specific objectives for the future, and these can include short and long term goals. When creating a new business, entrepreneurs must set realistic and achievable goals to help them succeed.”
Referencing a recent study done by Dr. Gail Matthews, Ms. Levy said Dr. Matthews found that those who were successful were persons who wrote down their goals and tracked them every single day. “Goal setting is important because it can help you to track your company’s progress, helps you visualise your thoughts and ideas more clearly and it helps you to make necessary adjustments at every step of the journey,” she added.
The JBDC Virtual Biz Zone webinars are geared toward stimulating entrepreneurs within the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) sector. The webinars are held on Tuesdays at 10:00am via Zoom. Interested persons are encouraged to join by registering at www.jbdc.net. The sessions can also be watched on JBDC’s YouTube channel.
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