Do you remember the 1980s Robin of Sherwood television series? It's the one with the Robin Hood who has that gorgeous hair and striking fey quality that fits so well with the mystical retelling of the legend. One episode in particular comes to mind because it contains a perfect metaphor to illustrate the third step of inspired business planning -- to identify specific objectives and targets related to your business intentions.

In Robin Hood and the Sorcerer, Robin discovers his higher purpose through Herne the Hunter. Robin's intentions as an agent of light are to disable the forces of darkness and help the poor and dispossessed. By entering the Sheriff of Nottingham's archery contest, his objective is to reclaim the silver arrow, a powerful old artefact, for the forces of light. Robin's target is to hit the middle of the bulls-eye, a feat he accomplishes by splitting an apparent winner's arrow in half. And so he wins the silver arrow!

Like Robin Hood, once you've discerned your business's higher purpose and set intentions inspired by this purpose, it will be beneficial to create specific objectives and targets for each intention. Doing so will bring much more clarity and focus to your business-building activities and help you to win your own "silver arrow", whatever that may be.

Becoming a Skilled Archer for Your Business

For some spiritual entrepreneurs, understanding their business purpose and creating intentions are the "easier" steps of the inspired business planning process. Setting objectives and targets seem to be a bit more challenging. This may or may not be the case for you, also.

To facilitate this exercise, it might be helpful to define objectives and targets and distinguish them from intentions. Intentions are the broader goals that will help you fulfil your purpose. Objectives are more narrowly-defined goals that are consistent with your intentions. Targets are the results you're aiming for with each objective (usually quantifiable, but they can also be unquantifiable or measured by a timeline). You may have several or more objectives and targets for each intention.

Here's an example:

Intention: I intend to build heart-centered relationships with my target market.

Objective: Find and engage in opportunities to interact and connect with my target market authentically.

Target: Participate in six online and offline relationship-building opportunities each month.

Objective: Create and deliver an inspiring and valuable "signature presentation" geared to my target market.

Target: Complete two speaking engagements monthly.

Some Questions to Get You Started

The place to start is to revisit your intentions and assess whether or not they cover all the areas of your business you want to include. Some categories you may want to consider are:

- business management and administration;

- business support;

- relationship-building with your target market;

- service and product development;

- promotion; and

- financial well-being.

If you were to create an intention for each of these categories, answering the following questions will lead you to your objectives and targets for each intention:

Business Management and Administration

Objective: What planning, financial and administrative systems do I need to have in place to manage my business with ease and enable it to be sustainable?

Target: What am I aiming to accomplish in these areas and by when?

Business Support

Objective: What kind of support do I need in order to grow my business?

Target: How many people will this involve and what roles will they play?

Relationship-Building With Your Target Market

Objective: What are five different ways that I can build heart-centered relationships with my target market?

Target: For each objective or method, how can I measure my progress?

Service and Product Development

Objective: What services and products can I develop as my "signature" offerings that will meet a need for my target market?

Target: How many clients do I want to have and/or how many products do I want to sell monthly and/or yearly?

Promotion

Objective: What are five different ways I can offer these services and products to my target market with integrity and in ways that feel authentic to me?

Target: For each method, how will I measure its effect?

Financial Well-Being

Objective: What will allow me to have financial flow in my business?

Target: How much will it cost me to operate my business? How much money do I want to attract through my business monthly and annually? How much money do I want to attract through each service and product monthly and annually? How will I price each service and product to meet these targets?

Consider using mind-mapping for this exercise to engage both your left and right brain in the process. Use a large sheet of paper for each intention, and write your intention in a circle in the middle of the paper. Write your objectives for that intention in their own respective circles surrounding the intention circle in the middle and attach them to it with lines (or arrows). Then near each objective circle, write your target for that objective and create a circle around it. Connect each target circle to its corresponding objective circle.

Gaining clarity about the details of your successful business and expressing this clarity on paper is a powerful way to activate the law of attraction. Enjoy this process, and allow it to get you excited about your business! It will help you to see more clearly, so that hitting the bulls-eye becomes a predictable outcome for you every time you shoot your arrow.

Copyright 2008 Mary C. Davis