Why You Need to Set Non-Monetary Goals

I have stated many times the importance of setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) goals, but I have yet to discuss the importance of setting goals that don’t just relate to money. Setting goals only related to money will stifle your growth and creativity and can lead to burnout vs. success.

MONEY DOES NOT EQUAL SUCCESS

For most artists, more money doesn’t equal success. Yes, we need to make a certain amount to go full-time, cover our expenses, or live comfortably, but there are so many ways to define success. For example, I know an artist who quit her 9-5 job and went full time as an artist to have more time at home with her family. If she set just a monetary goal and worked her butt off to reach that number, then she might miss out on why she became an artist in the first place. Ask yourself, “what does success mean to me?” and figure out which goals will help you get there.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDS ON MORE THAN JUST GROWING YOUR INCOME

Growing a business requires learning how to do things you have never done before. Maybe you mastered your accounting last year, but your website is still sub-par. What if you set a goal to learn how to update your website and made a promise to yourself that you would update it monthly. This would immensely improve your skill-set and ultimately your business.

YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON IMPROVING YOUR CREATIVITY

As artists, we need to constantly develop our creativity. I recommend taking a little time each week to experiment and paint for yourself. You can read more about that here. By relying only on monetary goals, you might pigeon-hole yourself into sticking with one subject matter that you think will sell and miss out on new creative opportunities. I always encourage my coaching clients to pick at least one creative goal to help them develop their skills.

YOUR MONEY CAN’T GROW IF YOU DON’T GROW

If you don’t improve your skills you will not see more money coming in. Invest in your knowledge, creativity, and marketing your business. No matter how impressive your art is, it can always be better. No matter how many followers you have, you can always have more. No matter how well you understand how to run your website, you can always learn more. Set goals that require you to grow and improve. This will keep you excited and motivated.

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE MONEY TO EARN, BUT YOU CAN’T GET BACK TIME

Time is a limited resource. You can always earn more money, but you can’t buy back time. Set goals that give you more time. What skills can you learn to give you back more time? Learn how to automate your email or your social media. Improve your painting ability so you can create faster. Learn how to add inventory quicker. Learn how to optimize your time or stop procrastinating. These are wonderful goals to give you back your most precious resource: TIME. Want to learn more about goal setting? Sign up for our membership where I share weekly videos on all topics related to growing your business. For a more personalized approach, sign up for a 1 hour call where we can go through your specific needs and determine goals that will fit your version of success. For more free tips and tricks follow us on Instagram @theartcoachingclub