How to Be Sure You’ve Positioned Yourself for Entrepreneurial Success.

Goals are a vital cornerstone upon which you build your business as an entrepreneur. Consider them the beacons that light up your path to success, and each time you reach one, you celebrate that moment as a milestone. That’s what this post is about. To highlight the milestones that mark the development of businesses on the rise. If anything, these milestones could act as a guide for the types of goals you need to set for entrepreneurial success.

Milestones and Why They Matter.

Although the two terms have come to be used interchangeably, a milestone is a little different from a goal. A goal is a desired result that you envision and plan to achieve. A milestone, however, is a significant point or event along a journey of growth or development. So goals go hand in hand with milestones, and it actually helps your goal-setting process to know what milestones are common along your journey.

Common Milestones on the Path to Entrepreneurial Success.

• Initial Funding

No matter what type of business you plan to start, you will need capital to get it off the ground. You’ll need resources that could range from equipment to office space. Regardless of your list of essentials, the reality is that you will probably need funding to obtain them. Many people try to save up the funds to start, while others turn to grants and investors for seed capital. Regardless of the path you take to get funding, finally securing it is an important milestone for your business. In that moment, you realize that this is your green light to begin; the okay to finally get down to business.

• Launching the First Product or Service.

With the capital you’ve secured, your next goal should be the successful development and launch of your product or service. It could be a prototype that has just passed testing and is ready for mass production or your newly furnished workspace that’s ready to receive new clients. Either way, the moment in time when you’re ready to share your business with the world is a monumental milestone on your entrepreneurial journey. It’s a decisive point that shapes the nature of what you have to offer the world.

• Achieving Break-Even Point.

Plenty of market research has established that the starting point of most businesses will always be at a financial loss. In the beginning, you will still be working to attract customers, and your process may not be as streamlined or as efficient. The inevitable result of this will be you spending more money to keep everything running until it all falls into that optimal space. That would be the point where you’re getting a sufficient number of customers, or where you are getting as much productivity as possible for the amount of money you spend. The moment when how much you spend and how much you make back from sales are equal will be your break-even point. It’s a notable milestone because it motivates you to know how much you need to work for your business’s profitability. Think of it like a guardrail that helps you know when your business is at stake, and when it’s doing well.

• First 100 Customers or First Revenue Amount.

Business growth means more eyes on your brand and more interest in what you have to offer. In time you will notice that you’ve successfully made a certain number of sales, or reached a certain amount in revenue earned. Whatever number sounds good to you, you should take the time to celebrate it. It could be your first 100 customers or your first $1M in revenue. At that point, it might be time to look towards the next milestone below.

• Expanding Your Team.

One of the immediate effects of having a larger customer base is an increased workload for you. Many businesses start as a one-man operation and eventually turn into a team effort when more hands are needed on deck to maintain a steady supply for growing demand. At this point, you will most likely need more manpower, and expanding your team will be your next big step. An expansion of operations is a commendable milestone for any business as a marker for the positive development that necessitates scaling to meet increased market demand. See it as a sign that you’re on the right track.

• Winning a prestigious award

A business can be considered a success when its impact on society is recognizable enough to attract any sort of accolade. Plenty of businesses get nominated for various awards in celebration of their contribution to overall economic or societal development goals. When this happens to your business, take this as a sign that you’ve come a long way, and that so much more growth and impact is in store for your future.

Conclusion

A milestone is a point in time that you aim to reach through a series of well-set goals. Of course, it isn’t set in stone. The order in which you achieve them isn’t as important as achieving them altogether. The best way to view milestones is as markers indicating that you’re on the path to entrepreneurial success. From there, you can set your goals in a way that drives you towards them. Not sure where to start with setting goals? Check out our recent blog post, #GOALS. How to Set Them For Your Entrepreneurial Success!