7 Goal-Setting Mistakes Keeping Entrepreneurs From Their Goals

Episode published September 19, 2026

So many of us treat goals like arbitrary numbers, pressure, and punishment. I want to make a million dollars. I have to hit 10,000 followers. I need to double my revenue. You get to the end of the year and you’re just trying to figure out what to shoot for so you don’t feel like a loser as an entrepreneur.

After years of planning and goal setting that way, all about the numbers, all about the metrics, I realized something. When I started focusing on what I wanted my life to look like, my business goals actually became connected to that. Goals aren’t supposed to be arbitrary. They’re supposed to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

In this episode I walk through the seven mistakes I see entrepreneurs make over and over when they set goals, and I share where I’ve landed there myself, including a personal example about becoming a grandmother.

Listen to the Episode

Episode Timestamps

00:06 Why goals become arbitrary numbers, pressure, and punishment
01:21 How Envision and the Path to Profits framework grew out of my own goal setting
02:44 Finding the gap between where you are now and where you want to be
05:03 Mistake one: not believing you can actually grow your business and life
06:14 Mistakes two and three: no roadmap, and goals that are never written or made visual
07:38 Mistake four: not knowing your numbers or the cost of a goal
08:06 What it costs to be a present grandparent, and putting it on the calendar
11:22 Mistake five: not creating leverage so you stay in your brilliance
12:30 Mistakes six and seven: delaying action and not looking at your goals daily
16:01 Goals as the way you keep the promises you make to yourself

Key Takeaways

Goals Should Close A Gap, Not Just Chase A Number

The vision is what I want my life to look like and feel like. The goal is the result I’m after that closes the gap between where I am now and where I want to be. When I look at an area like social and fun, I first reflect on where I am now, then identify where I’d like to go, and the gap between those two places becomes the opportunity to actually goal set.

Mindset, A Roadmap, And Writing It Down

The first mistake I see is not believing you can actually grow your business and achieve your dreams. That’s a mindset issue, and I’ve found myself there too. The second mistake is having no roadmap, no clarity about how to actually get to the goal. The third is not getting your goals written and visual, whether that’s a digital vision board in Canva or Pinterest, or a printed poster board. It doesn’t have to be magazines and glue sticks anymore.

Every Goal Has A Cost

When I found out I was going to be a grandmother, I wanted to be a present grandparent even though I don’t live in the same state as my daughter. I decided I wanted to see my grandchildren every four to five weeks, so I put those trips on my calendar first, because what gets scheduled gets done. Then I looked at the actual cost: about $6,500 a year for regular airfare, or around $12,000 if I wanted to fly first class. So many people skip this step entirely, but if the life you’re designing costs money, that number has to get layered into your revenue goals.

Leverage And Looking At Your Goals Every Day

Mistake five is not creating leverage, staying so weighed down with tasks that you never get traction, when learning AI or building support could free you up to stay in your own brilliance. Mistake six is not taking action immediately, when 80% of your time should go to your top five goals. And mistake seven is not looking at your goals daily. I ask clients when’s the last time you did the thing you said you wanted to do, like running four times a week, and so often the answer is they haven’t even looked at the goal in a month.

Goals are actually how you keep the promises that you make to yourself to build the life that you would love.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my business goals are actually connected to the life I want?

I look at where I am now in a specific area of my life, then identify where I’d like to be. The gap between those two places is where I set my goals, so the goal becomes the result I’m after rather than an arbitrary number.

Why haven’t I hit the financial goals I set for my business?

One reason is not knowing your numbers, your personal and business overhead, and the actual cost of the goal you want to hit. Many people never sit down to calculate what a goal would cost, so it never gets connected to the revenue the business needs to produce.

How do I figure out what a personal or lifestyle goal will cost my business?

I take the goal, put it on the calendar first, then go do the research on what it actually costs. When I wanted to visit my grandchildren every four to five weeks, I priced it out at about $6,500 a year for regular airfare and around $12,000 for first class, so I had real numbers to layer into my revenue goals.

Why do I keep losing momentum on goals I set earlier in the year?

A big reason is not looking at your goals every day. If you’re not physically looking at them, outside factors end up dictating your entire day, and you lose the intention and momentum you started with.