Why Setting Goals is So Important for Your Business

Setting goals is crucial to your business (and life) success, but many people aren't taking this important step. Many spiritual entrepreneurs, especially, are all about setting Intentions or "being in the flow," but that's a huge reason that they aren't making money or attracting clients. 

According to the ICF (International Coaching Federation), the majority of coaches make only $12,000 a year. That's not nearly enough to live on, especially when prices have more than doubled on houses in many areas in the past 3 years and the cost of eggs is still $7-$8 in some places. 

ZipRecruiter reports that, as of December 2024, the average hourly pay for tarot readers is $19.75, with most wages ranging between $15.62 (25th percentile) and $21.63 (75th percentile). While this sounds like a decent wage to many, it doesn't take into account that many Tarot readers only work 15-20 hours (or sometimes less) a week and pay for expensive systems to run their businesses. 

To increase your revenue, find clients, and create the time and space to travel and have an amazing life, it's important to set goals. 

Why Setting Goals Is So Important

For years, studies have shown that setting goals can improve performance and drive motivation. In fact, over 90% of The Goal Setting Theory studies confirm this positive effect (Hey & Pietruschka, 1998).

According to Zippia: 

• People who set goals are 10 times more likely to be successful.
• Those who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.
• 83% of people don’t set goals for themselves.
• People who set time-bound goals and report progress weekly to peers increase their chance of success by 40%.

The Case for Setting Goals

If you want to be more impactful, more in the flow, and step out of Hustle Culture, setting goals can actually help. While most people focus on the fact that many New Year's Resolutions are forgotten in the first few weeks, the truth goes much deeper. 

In a University of Scranton study in 2022, they found that those who make resolutions are ten times more likely to achieve their goals than those who don’t. Even though more than half of new year’s intentions are forgotten about within the first 1-2 weeks, there are still 46% of people who are successful in pursuing positive changes in their life after making new year’s commitments.

This tells us that deciding to change is always preferable to doing nothing, and that those decisions affect our subconscious and can become part of a longer intention of improving our lives. 

A study in Germany revealed that clear goals significantly increase the likelihood of achieving "flow" at work, which improves performance (Rheinberg et al., 2007).

People who set goals are 14.2 times more likely to feel inspired at work (Bi Worldwide).

Transparency skyrockets, with 98% of companies reporting improved clarity around goals and performance when adopting Objectives and Key Results (OKR Impact Report 2022).

Unfortunately, only 16% of employees clearly understand their company’s priorities and goals (FounderJar). This can be translated directly to solopreneurs and small business owners who are attempting a start-up.

Stay Focused

Research also suggests that setting specific and clear goals helps people focus on what truly matters and avoid distractions, improving resource allocation (Morisano et al., 2010).

Set Big Goals

Research demonstrates that setting challenging but attainable goals can lead to up to 90% better employee performance. These findings highlight how clear, specific, and difficult goals push individuals to focus, persevere, and ultimately achieve more (Locke & Latham, 1981).

According to Forbes, high-level executives are also 91% more likely to step outside their comfort zone in the pursuit of ambitious goals (Forbes, 2021). There is a very strong linear relationship between how high a person ranks in the company and how much they are willing to leave their comfort zone in pursuit of their goals.

A Leadership IQ study also revealed that employees who set difficult, audacious goals report 34% higher job satisfaction compared to those with less challenging objectives (Leadership IQ).

Why People Fail to Reach Their Goals

Many people give up on setting any goals because they fail to reach them. But as shown above, even if you fail to reach a specific goal, you are still making strides towards the outcomes you want. 

Perfectionism is a goal-killer, and learning how to not feel bad when you fail is essential to effective goal setting as well as business success. Many people have fears and distress around perfectionism due to Religious Trauma. According to the Global Center for Religious Research, 33% of Americans identify as suffering from religious trauma (Slade, D., et al, 2023).  

Without urgency, even the best-set goals can falter. Around 70% of people struggle with procrastination, and 94% report that procrastination negatively affects their happiness. A lack of urgency or relevance can significantly hinder progress, productivity, and morale (Leadership IQ).

If you want to get more satisfaction out of your business, set more goas, and reach them, you can order a copy of the Tarot Business Planner here.

References

Hey, K., & Pietruschka, M. (1998). Grundlagen der Arbeit. In Führen durch Ziele (pp. 1-20). Springer.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90(1), 125–152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.90.1.125

Morisano, D., Hirsh, J. B., Peterson, J. B., Pihl, R. O., & Shore, B. M. (2010). Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 255–264. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018478

OKR Impact Report, (2022). doi: https://5074843.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5074843/PDFs/2022-okr-impact-report-en.pdf

Rheinberg, F., Vollmeyer, R., & Engeser, S. (2007). Motivation and action in self-regulated learning. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 323–344). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Slade, D. M., Smell, A., Wilson, E., & Drumsta, R. (2023). Percentage of U.S. Adults Suffering from Religious Trauma: A Sociological Study. Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry, 5(1), 1–28.