Unlock the secrets to effective financial goal-setting with insights from top industry leaders. In this article, an insurance broker shares the SMART framework for financial goals while a founder reveals how to use the AAARRR framework for customer journeys. With a total of thirteen expert insights, readers will gain valuable knowledge on various goal-setting frameworks.
- Apply SMART Framework for Financial Goals
- Utilize Zero-Based Budgeting for Goal Setting
- Implement Scenario Planning for Financial Goals
- Adopt Cash Flow Forecasting
- Visualize Goals with Creative Mind Maps
- Combine OKR Framework with Creative Thinking
- Reverse Engineer Financial Goals
- Set Quarterly Goals and Review Regularly
- Evaluate Past Goals for New Planning
- Focus on Three Key Metrics Quarterly
- Balance Profits with Environmental Impact
- Combine SMART and BHAG for Goals
- Use AAARRR Framework for Customer Journey
Apply SMART Framework for Financial Goals
I’ve learned that setting and achieving financial goals—whether on the field or in business—requires discipline, clear vision, and a framework that drives actionable results.
My approach to financial goal-setting revolves around the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This method keeps objectives focused and achievable while ensuring progress can be tracked effectively.
For my business, one recent financial goal was to increase client retention by 20% within six months. Here’s how I applied the SMART framework:
- Specific: Focus on retaining existing clients through personalized financial plans.
- Measurable: Use monthly client retention rates as the primary metric.
- Achievable: Allocate resources toward improving client communication and creating value-added services.
- Relevant: Retaining clients directly impacts revenue stability and growth.
- Time-bound: Target completion within six months.
To support this framework, I use digital tools like budgeting software and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms to monitor cash flow, track performance metrics, and measure progress against set timelines.
One key to success is regular review and adjustment. I schedule monthly check-ins to evaluate results, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate milestones. This proactive approach ensures financial goals remain aligned with the broader vision for my business.
Whether in football or finance, setting clear goals and committing to the process is what drives long-term success.
Rees Odhiambo
Insurance Broker, ThrivexDNA
Utilize Zero-Based Budgeting for Goal Setting
I practice zero-based budgeting, to goal-setting for my business. This approach is to start with a clean slate period by period and to ask ourselves whether each expense is worth it as we iterate towards the targets we set. Instead of just rolling forward prior year budgets, I create the budget from scratch, focusing on only what is needed and impactful. This makes me focus all over my spend and invest in those areas that really drive growth and dividends.
When starting the process of zero-based budgeting, for instance, I will initially outline our top financial priorities for the year. These can be to increase revenue by a certain percentage, reduce operating costs, or increase resources for marketing and innovation. After these objectives become clear, I take a detailed approach by separating them into actionable steps giving each area a budget that reflects its significance to help accomplish our goals.
This process also necessitates a comprehensive review of every expense, including fixed costs. Asking myself if I really need something or if there is a more cost-effective way of acquiring it has contributed to my successful reduction of unnecessary expenditure. For example, migrating to a more affordable software application or negotiating vendor contracts has released resources that we can now re-invest into higher-value projects.
Alongside zero-based budgeting is the practice of performance tracking with reviews on a monthly basis. I review actual expenses and results versus the budget, so we know the state of our affairs and keep adjusting it accordingly. This constant oversight gives a clear picture of where we are at and keeps the team responsible.
For others wanting to adopt this approach, I would tell them to start small. Test zero-based budgeting on a single department or project and measure the impact. Involve your team in the process to ensure everyone is aligned on priorities and offers input on areas to save costs. This disciplined mindset not only compounds on itself to drive higher profitability over time but also means every dollar spent aligns with the business’s strategic vision. This is an essential component of financial responsibility and long-term stability.
Tyler Bowman
Founder & CEO, Brooks Healing Center
Implement Scenario Planning for Financial Goals
Scenario planning is how I approach setting and achieving financial goals for my business. Getting into this framework has enabled me to come up with best-case, worst-case, and realistic scenarios when I am setting goals and formulating strategies. I want to be prepared for all opportunities, so I come to the business with a plan for whatever happens.
My approach is to establish clear financial goals at the outset (raising revenue, cutting costs, increasing profit margin, etc.) I go on to write three scenarios per goal. In a best-case scenario, we achieve revenue targets due to strong market conditions or successful campaigns, etc. In a worst-case scenario, external threats such as an economic downturn or supply chain disruption could decelerate growth. This realistic scenario strikes a balance between optimism and caution combined with the current trends and data.
For each scenario, I describe actionable measures and resource allocations to reach targets under those circumstances. So, maybe I will cut discretionary spending or spending on other things and put even more emphasis on only the most cost-effective marketing strategies, if I am thinking worst-case. At best I channel more resources into growth opportunities or innovation projects. The realistic scenario is generally the best but being proactive allows flexibility.
It has been an essential tool in helping me make business choices. I am able to pivot quickly, when necessary, and by thinking through alternate outcomes, I am less likely to be blindsided by sudden changes. Scenario planning also aids me in articulating things clearly to my team, it gives us a framework of reference to talk through potential challenges and opportunities.
If you want to adopt scenario planning, I suggest beginning with a comprehensive analysis of historical data and market trends before defining realistic assumptions for each scenario. Include your team in planning so you get a wider breadth of insight and make each plan stronger. Your odds of reaching your financial goals, as well as the overall resilience of your business, are both enhanced by preparing for multiple scenarios. This way, you are preparing to meet challenges while maintaining your focus on growth.
Ryan Hetrick
CEO, Epiphany Wellness
Adopt Cash Flow Forecasting
I favor cash flow forecasting when it comes to creating and meeting financial goals for my company. I routinely run projections for both short-term and long-term on income and expenses to ensure we are hitting both short-term and long-term financial goals. This allows me to stay liquid and avoid stretching the company too far, which is a critical success point for stability and growth.
I analyze the previous financial data and draw patterns in revenue and spending to frame out a useful cash flow forecast. It’s a basis for forecasting future performance. Then, I chunk projections month-over-month or quarter-over-quarter, considering seasonal trends, upcoming investments, and projected shifts in market conditions. This granular perspective enables me to foresee potential roadblocks and invest in resources accordingly.
The most significant advantage that cash flow forecasting offers is the ability to foresee funding shortfalls as much in advance as possible. So, if I see forecasted revenue decline in a given timeframe, I can take preemptive actions of reducing non-capex expenditures or early financing. This avoids making reactive decisions and keeps the business moving forward.
I engage my team in the goal-setting process, sharing targets and discussing how to hit financial goals. In addition to building accountability, this creates an environment of collaboration and innovation toward shared goals.
My recommendation for anyone trying to set and achieve financial goals is to make cash flow forecasting a regular routine. Utilize it as a mechanism to get your financial strategy in line with your business case whether that is scaling up your operations, producing new items, or keeping the lights on. Paying close attention to cash flow and adapting your plan as needed will allow you to deal with challenges more effectively.
Justin McLendon
Lcmhc, Lcas & CEO, New Waters Recovery
Visualize Goals with Creative Mind Maps
I’ve found that visualizing my financial goals through creative mind maps helps me connect the dots between different revenue streams in my media business. After struggling with traditional planning methods, I developed a color-coded system where green represents active projects, yellow for opportunities in the pipeline, and red for areas needing immediate attention—this has helped me prioritize and grow our revenue by 40% last quarter. I now spend 30 minutes every Monday morning reviewing and adjusting these visual goals, which keeps me accountable and helps spot patterns I might have missed otherwise.
Macy Troyer
Owner, Goaldy
Combine OKR Framework with Creative Thinking
When it comes to setting and achieving financial goals, I’m a big fan of combining structured planning with a dash of creative thinking. It’s like mixing a well-rehearsed orchestra with moments of jazz improvisation. One approach I swear by is the OKR framework—Objectives and Key Results. This tool keeps us anchored in our aspirations while ensuring we have concrete steps to measure our success. For instance, if our objective is to expand our client base globally, the key results might include securing partnerships with five new international brands and increasing our active projects by 30% in the next quarter.
I remember when we were gearing up to work with major players like Citibank. We set specific, measurable milestones that included developing tailored pitch strategies and ensuring our team was trained to handle diverse client needs across different time zones. This required a fair share of caffeine-fueled strategy sessions and brainstorming, but it helped us stay focused and aligned.
An essential part of this method is regular check-ins and reviews. If something isn’t working, we’re quick to pivot rather than stubbornly sticking to a plan that’s not delivering. After all, in the fast-paced world of startups, flexibility often trumps rigidity. For anyone setting financial goals, I’d advise using a framework like OKRs to maintain clarity and focus and ensure your team is on the same page. And, of course, never underestimate the power of a well-timed offsite retreat to reignite creativity and motivation-preferably somewhere with good coffee and Wi-Fi!
Niclas Schlopsna
Managing Consultant and CEO, spectup
Reverse Engineer Financial Goals
I like to reverse engineer my financial goals to make sure everything I do lines up to what I want to achieve. This time, we begin with a clear financial goal, revenue, profit margin, cost savings goal, etc., and then we go back to identify the steps needed to achieve that goal.
Say my goal is a certain annual revenue, I split that into monthly, and even weekly targets. Next, I determine how many clients, products, or services I need to deliver those numbers. From there, I look at conversion rates, marketing efforts, and operational capabilities to see what we need to do. For example, if I know I need to onboard 50 clients in order to do it, I can break it down even further and discover how many clients I need and what marketing channels are most effective to generate those leads.
To keep this framework executable, I braid it into my regular business planning and team meetings. Every department knows its part in supporting the big picture. Marketing is concerned with the methods of generating leads, whereas Sales is focused on conversion optimization. Once growth targets are met, operations may be designing processes that enable them to scale.
To help me monitor progress, I maintain a dashboard that brings together key performance indicators (KPIs) related to the financial objectives. This enables me to keep an eye on metrics like sales figures, marketing ROI, and expenses in real time. I regularly review these KPIs to spot trends and adjust strategies if necessary to stay on track.
This reverse-engineering of strategy assures that all elements of the business are aligned toward the same outcome and that resources are deployed appropriately. So if someone wants to implement this approach, I can suggest starting with a very clear financial goal and splitting it into numbers of measurable steps. When daily activities are aligned with long-term objectives, this provides more focus and clarity, making the road to success much clearer and achievable.
Joshua Zeises
CEO & CMO, Paramount Wellness Retreat
Set Quarterly Goals and Review Regularly
This is how I set and achieve my goals: I break them down by quarter and review regularly. This framework helps us stay narrow and gives us enough leeway to react to changing market conditions or unforeseen circumstances. What you need is quarterly goals that align between long-term strategy to value creation with new objectives of business and short-term accountability for achieving those specific goals.
At the beginning of every year, I write down high-level financial goals like revenue growth, profitability or cost optimization. These objectives are subsequently broken down into quarterly targets, rendering them far more actionable. For example: if the goal is to grow revenue 20 percent per year, then I divide this into quarterly checkpoints to see if we’re meeting our numbers. Every quarter, there will be specific initiatives attached to each of these targets like, release a new product, improve marketing ROI, or cut operational inefficiencies.
I perform a detailed review of performance at the end of each quarter. This includes reviewing the bottom line, ensuring targets were hit with key metrics such as revenue, expenses, and cash flow. I also solicit feedback from the team on lessons learned, what worked and what didn’t, and any blockers faced. By taking the collaborative route we look to uncover roadblocks and also determine where enhancements can be made.
For example, we found ourselves in a quarterly review facing automated marketing efficiency that was less efficient than we had imagined it would be. Realizing this quite early on allowed us to recalibrate our approach, focusing and redistributing our resources to channels that actually worked. At the same time, this refinement allowed us to continue making progress against our annual goals without having to wait until year-end to rectify the situation.
If someone wants to take this approach, my recommendation is to stay flexible, and think of quarterly reviews as a reset. Be willing to adapt your approaches based on data and feedback. This also gives you an overall framework to ensure you will continue moving toward the financial goals you want with the ability to quickly adjust as needed. When you break goals down into smaller, more measurable targets and review them regularly, you create a sustainable strategy for achieving long-term success.
Tzvi Heber
CEO & Counselor, Ascendant New York
Evaluate Past Goals for New Planning
Analyze the past year’s financial goals The best thing you can do is take a look at the financial goals you have set in your past and evaluate them. So, have you achieved what you have decided? You can easily get this answer from your evaluation. This evaluation will help you determine which goals you accomplished faster than others and which goals were attainable and which needed to be revised while framing new financial goals.
List down each one of your financial goals. Start with what you want to achieve and outline steps and plans to meet these goals. “Good financial planning is about balancing dreams with discipline,” says MJ DeMarco in his book “The Millionaire Fastlane.” And, be very specific about the numbers you want to see at the end of the year.
Break down your goals into measurable parts to achieve them easily. Bigger goals can feel overwhelming, but they are not impossible when you take one step at a time towards them. The important part is to make each step measurable to see what you’ve accomplished.
Divide your goals. So, here, you can take a list of all your goals and divide them into two categories. This division will help you picture where you need to place your priorities. Short-term goals may ask for quick and immediate action, whereas long-term goals require a strategy of small but steady actions.
Analyze your competitor’s financial performances to gain insights and benchmark your goals. By understanding and analyzing their performances, you will get to know their strengths and weaknesses, and then you can identify your areas for improvement and set targets that position you competitively in the market.
Effective goal-setting framework is: Goals, Signals, Measures (GSM).
We have been following this framework for our business for the last ten years and find it effective because, It involves breaking down goals into smaller, more measurable components. It’s one of the tools that helps organizations track progress toward their goals systematically and consistently.
Janki Bhatt
Founder & Director, at-HiQ
Focus on Three Key Metrics Quarterly
With my background in financial analysis, I’ve learned that setting too many goals can actually hurt your business, so I focus on just three key metrics each quarter—user growth, revenue per user, and customer satisfaction scores. I use a digital dashboard to track these daily, and we have monthly “reality check” meetings where we honestly discuss what’s working and what isn’t, which helps us adjust our strategies before small issues become big problems.
Adam Garcia
Founder, The Stock Dork
Balance Profits with Environmental Impact
Being in sustainable fashion taught me that financial goals need to balance short-term profits with long-term environmental impact—I use a simple spreadsheet tracking both monetary ROI and environmental savings for each product line. I learned to set quarterly micro-goals instead of just annual targets, which helps us stay agile with our eco-friendly materials sourcing and production planning. When starting our business, we created a “sustainability scorecard” that measures financial metrics alongside environmental ones, helping us make better decisions about which products to develop.
Mats Stigzelius
Co-Founder, Good Guys
Combine SMART and BHAG for Goals
Many people use SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), and many people use BHAG goals (big hairy audacious goals). We marry these together, by removing the “achievable” in the SMART method and replacing that with dreaming big. If our goals are achievable, then we won’t stretch ourselves to think outside the box. If our goals are achievable, then we aren’t challenging the norms enough.
However, it is not productive to set a ridiculous goal without having a plan to attack it—so we take that big goal and break it down into small pieces. For example, if we want to reach 150,000 people across all 50 states by the end of 2025, that means we need to do X every month until then.
Crissi Cole
Founder, CEO, Penny Finance
Use AAARRR Framework for Customer Journey
My approach to setting and achieving financial goals revolves around simplicity and focus. Instead of juggling multiple OKRs and KPIs, I use the AAARRR framework (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue) to map the customer journey and identify the most impactful metrics.
By analyzing each step—from the moment a customer lands on the website to becoming a paying user—we can focus on a few north star metrics that drive the most value, especially at the activation and retention stages. This step-by-step approach allows us to pull the right levers for top-line growth.
The framework’s flexibility also means we can prioritize goals based on their significance to the business model, ensuring the team concentrates on what truly moves the needle. This targeted strategy has been instrumental in aligning efforts and driving sustainable revenue and profit growth.
Abhi Godara
Founder & CEO, Venturz
