A digression from accountancy

Laura Arbuckle • June 8, 2018

I have a big weekend coming up and I have to admit that I am more than a little nervous about it. On Sunday, my sister and I are going to attempt to swim 5km in Lake Windermere as part of the Great North Swim.

I've done all my training and I've covered the distance in the pool, so I know I'm capable enough to take it on. I've also been swimming in open water a few times, so I'm used to the cold and the feel of swimming in a wetsuit. I've also competed in the Great North Swim before, covering shorter distances so I know what to expect when it's busy at the start of the race. This year I'm swimming 3 times the distance so I'm starting to question myself as to how I'm going to get around the course.

So I've every reason to be nervous and it got me thinking that it's a situation not that dissimilar to starting up my business. I have done all the training and have plenty of experience, so I know I'm capable enough to take on the new challenge, but I am nervous about it all the same.

I'm approaching both situations in the same way, by setting myself smaller goals as stepping stones to a much bigger one and getting advice from people who have been there before.

When I get in the water on Sunday morning, my first goal is just to reach the 100m marker. It's a small step but by the time I get there I will hopefully be feeling warmer and there should be more space around me as people start spreading out so I'll be feeling more comfortable. After that, I'll be aiming to get halfway around the first lap then on to complete it. I could stop for a drink and refuel at this point but I'm hoping to just keep going because once I stop I know it will be much harder to get started again. Then my focus will shift to completing the second lap and then the third. By this stage, I will also start to be looking for other swimmers just ahead of me and trying to pass them, so I'll be readjusting my goals all the time. I'll be in the water for at least 1.5 hours so I may even have time to gaze around at the fabulous scenery.

Without the smaller goals, I would find the whole process too daunting to consider. The same applies to my business. I’ve achieved lots of small (and some larger ones) after almost a year in so I'm starting to look ahead to goals for my second year. By breaking my aim for my business down into smaller chunks, it suddenly seems achievable. It's so important to have manageable goals for your business and to reassess them all the time.

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