Goals are important because they will affect just about everything you do as you plan and operate your business. Goals are not just the destination you're driving toward, they're also the painted white lines that keep you on the road.
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You have a job that pays you $35,000. You hate your job and yearn to leave. You have an idea for a small business that involves servicing a small niche market, and you set a goal of being recognized as the expert in that niche area within five years.
You analyze your idea and discover that while no one else is servicing that market, it's a small market and you're not likely to make more than $25,000 for at least the first three years. But you also discover that because your business is unique and your chances of becoming a recognized expert are good, you'll have much greater income potential after the first three years. Despite the cut in income for three years, you decide the risks are worth it and that you'll start the new business.
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Of course, goals won't just determine whether you start a small business, they'll also play a prominent role in just about every decision you make along the way, from how you structure your business planning to whether you hire employees to how you sell and market your product or services.
Now that you have some idea of what your general goals are, the next step is to make those goals concrete by quantifying them. It's not enough just to say, for example, that you want to change professions or that you want to be your own boss. You'll need to develop specific targets by quantifying your goals.