How to set attainable business goals and keep them for a profitable 2019

Goal setting is one of the most important activities you can do in your business, regardless of how old your travel business is, where you are located, or what you sell.

Creating goals can help you stay focused, and can prevent your business from becoming stagnant, or left behind.

 Two big factors can help make you more productive:

• Know the importance of carving time out for your goals while prioritizing client needs
• Learn how to hold your boundaries and keep a handle on your schedule when outside factors try to derail them.

Building a better business

Building and maintaining your business doesn't always come from internal agency offerings. There are a number of free and affordable online professional development courses that allow you to update your destination or product training on components like hotels, rail, cruise lines or airlines.

Additional tips to building a better business include:

• Checking out the most “beneficial to your business” conferences and FAMS in 2019, for which you can apply to be a hosted buyer and receive complimentary registration and, in many cases, accommodations and airfare.
• Staying on top of rewards programs or incentives by suppliers to earn yourself some extra money or travel product rewards.
• Network and identify which trade partnerships can be formed with your product suppliers in order to create increased sales and client loyalty.
• Consider a marketing overall—sometimes a new spin on things can breathe life into existing products! River Cruises are a great example of this.

Keeping an open mind and a positive attitude towards learning new ideas is almost always rewarding. While a trade event may not seem exciting, event spaces can be great places to build connections for future business or allow you to network with colleagues who can be great sources of referrals and ways to get a task done for clients.

Additionally, social media might not be your thing, but there's a ton of free training out there on almost every popular platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn). Pick what works best for you and your business, and commit to it. We live in a very digital world so build a great path on the internet highway for travellers to find you!

Take advantage of new opportunities

How is your business currently performing? Is there room for improvement?

Conduct a thorough SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) Analysis in order to better identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business, a ny new product offerings; existing competition; and potential untapped or underserviced areas on the market.

Try these tips for additional success:

• Find new opportunities for networking - If you are not actively networking in your small business, set a goal that gets you in front of more people (aside from your colleagues) and expands your business network.
• If you have not spent time on creating your own brand yet, make it a goal for this year, and boost your credibility at the same time.
• Don't forget about the power of asking your customers for feedback in order to identify what your business can be doing better. 

Once you have some ideas about goals, start setting them in place and take the next step and turn each one into a SMART goal - specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.