Setting Smart Goals for Your Craft Business

I think a lot of us makers sort of “fell” into running a business. We didn’t set out to create a crafty empire! We wanted to make something, other people loved what we made and wanted to buy it…and now here we are. So when we makers hear the words “smart goals”…maybe our eyes glaze over a little. But you’re in the business of having a business now, so stick around – this is good stuff!

Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

What are SMART Goals

And are there “dumb goals”? Well, no – more like ineffective goals.

SMART goals are made within a framework. This guidance helps create goals that will be very effective – which is what we want!

The word “smart” actually stands for:

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

ACHIEVABLE

RELEVANT

TIME-BOUND

You want your goals to contain each of these aspects when creating them.

Why create goals in the first place?

I’m sure there are crafters out there who are very happy selling what they can without expectations of more. But, I have to assume that if you’re here reading this post, that you have aspirations of MORE.

For me, I wanted to create a business that would support me and my family. I can be home with my daughter and do the things I love, all while generating an income through my craft.

In order to do that, I needed to set some goals. I knew I needed to make xx amount of money in PROFIT in order to stay home. And to make that much in profit, I needed to make xx amount in REVENUE. 

Setting SMART goals helped me do this, and they can do the same for you.

So what do some SMART goals look like?

Let’s work on some examples so you can see what SMART goals look like. The more you do this, the easier it gets, I promise.

Susan started selling her knit and quilted baby gifts 2 years ago. After giving them away for years, friends urged her to sell them. She uses unique colors and patterns that people really enjoy giving as gifts.

This year, Susan is ready to expand onto the Internet! She wants to set up an Etsy shop and start selling her items online.

Her first set of SMART goals will be geared toward opening the Etsy shop. Here are some goals that she created. Remember, look for the parts that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. 

Oh – one or two of these are NOT SMART goals – see if you can pick them out!

1. Take photos of top ten best selling products. Each product should have 8 total photos, including close up and lifestyle. Have photos ready to upload by February 5th.
2. Create logo and banner for Etsy shop by February 10th.
3. Write some product descriptions to add to posts.
4. Set up shipping policies with all shipping costs and return and refund exchange policies by February 12th.
5. Upload one new product each day, making sure to include all photos and product description. Start uploading on February 15th and complete by February 25th.

So, did you guess which one of these was NOT a SMART goal? If you guessed #3, you are correct. It’s missing specifics (which products), measurement (all of them, some of them?) and was not time-bound.

Here is a better example:

Write a full product description for each of the ten products, explaining materials used, variations available and gift giving ideas. Have all product descriptions in a Google doc ready to upload by February 11th.

So if Susan followed her SMART goals as listed, she would have her new Etsy shop up and running with 10 products in under a month!

If you’re having trouble getting started, try out this nifty smart goal generator and see if it helps.

SMART Goals Just Make Sense

I hope this helps you see how much setting SMART goals can help you grow your craft business. They can not only help you get things done, but they’ll make you a more confident seller!

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If you’ve got “start a new online craft business” as part of your goals for 2023, I invite you to check out my FREE guide Online Selling Must-Haves for Makers. It’s got EVERYTHING you need to know about selling your crafts online. Download the free guide today!