Goal Setting

Our family's goal of never having to buy eggs has happily been realized. Egg courtesy of "Onyx" our Black Copper French Maran.

With the freshness of the new year, it's time to take a fresh look at goals for your Barefoot business. Just like reading a road map, or even setting your GPS, you need to know where you are going in order to figure out how to get there - this means setting goals.

Now, I hear some of you sighing, "I'm just not a goal-oriented person." That's okay - that's where your team leader comes in. Oftentimes, we are able to pick up on your goals by what you are saying in email and phone conversations, even if you don't name it a goal as such. After a few emails back and forth, I am usually able to provide an Ambassador with a list of goals and they then let me know if I've understood. From there we can together work on time management, which is absolutely crucial in achieving one's goals.

If you haven't yet, or haven't in a while, print out a copy of the Setting Goals Tip Sheet. This tip sheet is based on the mnemonic known as SMART - goals that are Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic, and Time-frame or Trackable. Our friend jokingly refers to SMART as "Saving Marriages and Reducing Tears" - I like to make it SMARTER by adding Evaluate and Re-evaluate.

Once you've read through the sheet, take time to consider, pray, think through and discuss with your husband, team leader, or whomever you discuss those things with and then write your goals down. Once this is done, find someone to be accountable to and set up an appointment -- I like doing this with team members every two months -- to discuss where you are and where you may need to readjust.

Though each of our Barefoot businesses are unique, the setting of goals is instrumental in focusing our energies and achieving success. In the words of Hans Christian Anderson - "Nothing is too high for a man to reach, but he must climb with care and confidence."

Inventory and Money

While steadily reinvesting some of your Barefoot earnings in your business, don't forget to have some fun. I take my family out for pizza after a successful event or let my children each pick something from the Barefoot catalog.

I'm happy to say that a Barefoot business can be started on a shoestring budget. In fact, when I went to France I found out that none of the leaders there had invested their own money in inventory. So, how did we build our businesses and our inventories?

"Slow and steady wins the race" we hear from the tortoise throughout The Hare and the Tortoise, Fables of La Fontaine as he eventually crosses the finish line in front of the hare. The same goes for your Barefoot business.

I started with a small selection of samples (the equivalent of a Kick Start Bonus) and took orders at every free or low-cost event around. I made it my goal to participate in a few small events a month, reinvesting much of my earnings each time in inventory until I could do those large events (20,000+ visitors) that would only take me away from my family six times a year. This was accomplished in eight months with community events, tiny craft fairs, home events, and daycare fundraisers -- all catalog orders -- and I made leader to boot.

Those large events can put you in front of a wide audience, result in large sales and the opportunity to grow your team more quickly. They also carry higher costs and risks so your homework should be done in advance.

Think through your goals and decide where you want to finish. No matter what, remember: slow and steady wins the race.

Get SMART - Setting Goals

This is our home office. I set up partner tables (IKEA) so I can stay engaged with my children and they don't have to look at mommy's back during my Barefoot time.

Wow, your comments have given us enough to talk about for the next few weeks as we get to know eachother! So far, what we'll be looking at is:

Gaining Confidence.
Inventory and $ for start-up.
Finding out about events.
Tips on making an event successful.
Finding more hours in the day. Hmm, though 24 is all we can get, lets have a look at organizing your home and business in order to make those hours more effective.

So, where should we begin? At the end, of course! Begin at the end to determine what it is you want to achieve. This means setting goals. You'll find in the training section of My Barefoot a document called "Setting Goals." I've also included it in the "Goodies for Your Business" section at the top of the blog for your downloading pleasure.

Strategic planners in the business world have coined a mnemonic known as SMART - goals that are Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic, and Time-frame or Trackable. Our friend jokingly refers to SMART as "Saving Marriages and Reducing Tears" - I like to make it SMARTER by adding Evaluate and Re-evaluate.

Now that you've downloaded and printed this file...you've done that, right...good. Please read over the document carefully. Consider, pray, think through and discuss with your sponsor, husband, or team leader (if you like) and then write your goals down. Once this is done, find someone to be accountable to and set up an appointment -- I like doing this every two months -- to discuss where you are and where you are going.

Setting goals was instrumental in helping me achieve the success that I wanted in my business. When I began as an Ambassador (we were romantically called Stallholders back then) the earning structure was much different. My goals were to replace the income from a part-time job I had, gain enough inventory to do large events (while not using any family finances but money earned from small events), and build a team. I then had to turn these goals into SMART goals and sort-of work backward to figure out what specific steps I would need to take to reach these goals.

Having a good understanding of the Barefoot compensation plan will help you during this process. If you haven't yet, please view this video put together by Laurie M., my sponsor and your up-line, as it will give you a good, do-able starting point.

If you have questions during the goal-making process, be sure to get in touch. If it is general, leave a comment and I'll address it here. If needed, we can set up a time to discuss this in more depth via phone or email.

Everyone have a Happy Independence Day!