How to Set Creative Goals as a Solopreneur in 2025
****This post was first posted over on Substack. Consider joining me there for marketing, ecommerce & freelancing advice straight to your inbox!****
If you’re like me, then you probably struggle with ‘mainstream’ goal-setting tips.
You know the ones: It’s the time of year where our screens will be overwhelmed by “How To Be That Girl” or “Be A Millionaire With Manifestation” or “Start Dropshipping Today” sort-of videos.
Setting goals is more than jotting down new year’s resolutions on a page in your journal.
Your goals have to be set in such a way that you can’t help but accomplish them. Or, at the very least, we can come incredibly close to accomplishing them.
If you’ve ever read a goal-setting blog post, you’ve stumbled across this: Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
But, what exactly are SMART goals? SMART stands for:
Specific — What do you want to do?
Measurable — How will you keep track of it?
Achievable — What makes this goal realistic?
Relevant — How does it relate to your other goals?
Time-Sensitive — When is your deadline to achieve it?
I promise you can outline every single one of your goals to fit the SMART strategy!
Now, let’s put it all into one example — I’ll also include the letter (S.M.A.R.T.) that each snippet from the goal represents.
“I want to write (S) up to 500 words (M) per day (A) so I can become a published indie author (R) by 2025 (T).”
See? This goal ticks all 5 boxes, plus it’s super brief. Let’s dive in.
SPECIFIC — I’m setting out to do one thing: Write. It’s also simple and easy to understand.
MEASURABLE — I’m using the number of words, ie: 500 words, to make sure I’m on track.
ACHIEVABLE — This goal is realistic because I can set aside time every day to write.
RELEVANT — I’ve always wanted to become a self-published author; writing daily brings me closer.
TIME-SENSITIVE — I plan to achieve this by 2025. I can also keep track of it by setting this sort of deadline.
💡 More Examples of Setting SMART Goals
Think it won’t work for you? Think again!
SMART goals can apply across all niches, industries and careers. From income dreams to artsy plans, this strategy allows us to keep ourselves on-track with all of our creative goals. Here are even more examples!
“I want to save (S) $10.00 (M) per paycheck (A) so I can travel to Bali (R) next Summer (T).”
“I want to launch (S) a free digital product (M) in January (A) so my readers can plan their content (R) for the new year (T).”
“I want to outline (S) a 3-book Fantasy series (M) in the next 7 days (A) so I can start rough-drafting the first book (R) by February (T).”
Now that we understand how the goals align with the SMART strategy, we can begin to brainstorm ways to achieve them.
✨ Inching Closer to Ideal
After setting your goals for the year, you may have some goals that look something like this:
Hit 52 weekly posts on the blog.
Send a monthly wrap-up to my email list.
Participate in some monthly Instagram challenge.
From newsletters to blog posts to social media updates, your content calendar helps you to keep tabs on all of the marketing that goes into your online presence. And, for most of us, it’s a lot.
Pretty ain’t it? It’s all yours!
You can access my Google Sheets template here. In only about 2 minutes, I’ll send it to your inbox and you can customize it to fit your style.
Nothing beats consistency… and a content calendar helps with that!
📖 Mal’s Muse
A quick update on my creative pursuits — ie: writing and publishing two novels by Fall 2025.
ICYMI: I‘ll be debuting two novels in late 2025. I’m currently drafting Book 1 while serializing its prequel: A Choose Your Own Adventure-esque story!
Both drafts are due on March 31st and I’m slowly, but surely, making some progress. PROJECT AVERY is currently 9.5 chapters deep, while Chapter 3 of THE VALDIS RECRUIT goes live next Tuesday.
If you’re feeling nosy, slide over to my most recent author newsletter for more!
Reminder: 2025 is your year to thrive as an entrepreneur. Stay tuned for even more resources and advice on building your ideal business!
****This post was first posted over on Substack. To read this post in its entirety—or get first dibs on what I’m writing—consider subscribing over there!****
