Today’s guest is Andrena Sawyer, president of P.E.R.K. Consulting, an advisory firm for small to mid-sized nonprofits and businesses. Andrena works actively to mobilize and empower others—and that is exactly what she does in this episode. Andrena walks us through how to set better goals for our business, using the SMART formula. But she goes deeper than that, providing brilliant advice on how we should be setting a vision for our business. And she explains why we should focus more time on our business, not just providing services to clients nonstop. DELIBERATE FREELANCER SHOW NOTES Hear how Andrena went from law school to being an entrepreneur. When Andrena launched P.E.R.K. Consulting she still had a full-time job, but she quickly realized her energy was being split. She knew she had to commit full-time to consulting in order to make it work. If we learned anything at all about goal setting, we probably learned a linear approach. But Andrena recommends a circular approach, which starts first with an assessment to see if your goal is even viable. To do that, use the SMART approach to goal setting: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Learn the four steps entrepreneurs should take before they implement their idea. It all starts with vision casting—where you want to be with your business. Create a vision board of what you envision your business will be. As you create and grow your business, you need to focus on all four pillars of business: financial, operational, capacity and customer. Andrena recommends—at minimum—an annual retreat. (She’s speaking my language!) It’s even better, she says, to have a quarterly retreat to focus on your business. I love this comment from Andrena: “A lot of people don’t understand that you have to work ON your business in order to work IN your business effectively.” Andrena outlines the mistakes to avoid when setting your goals. Biz Bite: Prioritize your mental health. Take care of yourself by creating balance. Resources: P.E.R.K. Consulting Andrena’s book, “The Misadventures of a New Entrepreneur: 5 Things They Won’t Teach You in Business School” SMART goals Episode 3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat