In case you hadnt noticed, its January. You mightve been fooled by all the rain into thinking its April, but you certainly wont have missed the messages hitting you from all sides about goal setting and resolutions for the year ahead.

In fact, you might be one of the staggering 78% of people who admit that their big plans and New Year resolutions have already drawn their last breath before the second week of January has begun.

So how can you create business goals that stand a chance of succeeding? This guide from Tangerine Trees will give you 13 painless ways to commit to goals that you can achieve!

1. Honesty is the best policy

Be honest about why your goals have dropped away so quickly. Could it be one of the Three Is that are to blame?

The first I is Insincerity, and as the name suggests, it means the goal we set is not really one we want to achieve. It could be a half-hearted wish, a target set by someone else, or something we know we should do but we have no drive for.

The second I is inconsistency. If for any reason our goal doesnt work to increase our own self-image or were unconvinced of its effect, we can subconsciously sabotage our chances of succeeding.

The third I is imprecision, and is often the slipperiest of the Is. When we communicate decisions, either to ourselves or others, we must first pass through the mental filters that process information. Previous experiences, biases and images are just some of the filters that can distort a message.

2. Think big. Dream big dreams.

Do you have the ability to achieve what you deserve? Of course you do. And participating in a programme like this one shows that you are also keen to expand your knowledge.

But business owners often dont realise that their own limiting beliefs actually hold back the entire company from achieving its potential.

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. So choose to set yourself bigger, better, clearer targets, and communicate them thoroughly to everyone who will be affected. Write them down to get a clear emotional commitment in your mind, and refer to your plans regularly.

In no time, your dreams wont just look achievable, theyll probably be exceeded!

3. Put time aside every single week to test something new on a small scale

If you start to lose momentum in your goal focus, you could miss out on the one strategy that transforms your business.

Always try any new ideas on a small scale to minimise your risk and expenditure, and make a note of the results. If it doesnt work for your business, you can safely put it back in the pile.

But, if it starts to achieve real results for you, see how high you can grow, then launch it on a really big scale.

4. Think it through

All winning teams, sports or otherwise, know they must have a specific goal in mind to work towards. And it is exactly the same with your life as well. 

While the plan must be flexible to allow for opportunities that you are not yet aware of, to have no strategy at all means that youll just bounce from one thing to another.  Choosing a specific target BEFORE you throw the ball will make your success rate go up immensely.  Ask yourself:  What does the end result look like? 

5. Sell something that is at least twice the price of your current highest priced item or service.

How could you offer a more expensive, exclusive or comprehensive version of your current product range? How would you position it? What would it consist of?

There is a significant segment of the population who have access to serious wealth, and some of them could well be within your existing customer base. So target the wealthy segment of your audience or market with something positioned just for them.

Even if the expensive items were only sold to 2 or 3% of your customer base, imagine the impact that would have on your profit margins. And on your customer lifetime value. And on your position as leader of your field.

6.  Sell something people crave

The products and services sold by the majority of businesses are needed by a huge amount of their customers and prospects.

But needing isnt the same as wanting.

Do you find you have to convince your audience that your offering will be beneficial to them? Wouldnt it be great to sell something that people may not need, but they desperately want?

Think for a moment about Borders bookstores. Although their target audience often love books, they dont necessarily want them. But they do want a great coffee and a delicious muffin. So, by teaming up with Starbucks, they can bring customers through the door for a want, and create additional sales from there.

Food and drink are often items that people crave, but there could be