Internet Strategies to Improve Farm Business Management - Step 3: Defining Goals and Objectives

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Step 3: Defining Goals and Objectives

Objectives and goals provide the anticipated destinations for your farm business. At this stage in the business planning process, the planner has defined the reason for being in business, the mission, and has identified the starting point via situation analysis. A new venture may establish goals related to opening the business, finding startup capital, or establishing connections with potential customers. An existing business may establish goals to expand operations, launch new enterprises, or simply improve what they are now doing.

In this sense, objectives and goals should be thought of as supporting the overall business. Typical themes are increasing profits or sales, production efficiency, and growing the customer base. Note that “launching a

Objectives and Goals:
What's the Difference?
Goals are general statements about longer-term targets. Objectives, on the other hand are more specific statements that have timeframes for completion. For example, increasing business profits represents an admirable goal. An objective, such as increasing your net income by 20% within one year, provides a more specific, measurable statement as well as a deadline.

website” may not really be a business goal. Rather, it might be best viewed as a strategy to support a goal such as “increasing sales.” If you choose to include the Internet and e-commerce in one or more business strategies, then you need to evaluate them using milestones. Milestones are the metrics used to determine whether or not you have achieved an objective. The Internet is a useful tool you can use to define your goals and objectives as well as to evaluate if the objectives have been met.

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These materials were developed as part of the Southern Rural Development Center’s National e-Commerce Extension Initiative. They are based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Award No. 2005-45064-03212

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Southern Rural Development Center.