School is out for the summer or about to be out for some. And I don’t know about you but I am excited. For those of us with school-age children, summer offers us a great freedom from everyday schedules. No more homework, no more school projects to help with, no more practices to race to or games to fit in. Having children in the house keeps you busy for sure and summer offers you the chance to have a reset of sorts. A few months to spend a little extra time together and reconnect. I am looking forward to the pool parties, vacations, sleeping in, beach days, and simply being lazy.

But as entrepreneurs and small business owners, we still need to work and build our businesses. A fun way to do this is to set Summer Goals. Write down 3 things you want to have done before the summer ends. I know 3 doesn’t sound like a lot but it is summer time. So, make them good goals that are meaningful. Make the best use out of your time. Break the goals down into segments so you can make sure each week you are accomplishing something toward reaching your goals. In last week’s Friday’s Focus, 5 simple tips to make your to-do list work for you, Amy provided some great to-do list tips that you should try for your summer goals.

Setting summer goals are not the same as the goals you set in the beginning of the year. They take less time to achieve and then are more focused. Perhaps you want to increase your social media presence. You can consider the many sites available that allow you to start scheduling in advance your posts and tweets across social media platforms.

Lifestyle marketing is a great goal to try for the summer. People feel like they are with you on vacation and it reminds them that you are a REAL person with a family. This type of marketing is my favorite because people start resonating with you and finding commonalities with you as well making connections easier.

Here are a few summer goals ideas for you to consider.

  • Write a weekly blog
  • Post on social media 2 – 3 times per day
  • Get more likes and friends on Facebook
  • Revamp your website (not a total redo)
  • Do a summer photo shoot
  • Start a journal
  • Read a business book
  • Read a personal book
  • Start a yoga class
  • Start writing a book (this may be a big one)
  • Write an e-book for one of your FREEBIES
  • Set up email campaigns
  • Start or revamp your monthly newsletter

Some of these are going to be easy goals and most are simple. If you schedule them right away and break each one down into weekly goals, then into daily goals you will find out by the end of summer you will have achieved them. You can even hire an intern to help you out. There are several college campuses you can use to get an intern. Internships are a great way for college students to get hands-on experience and a great way for you to get some help handling things.

In addition to your 3 summer goals don’t forget to network. Great networking events happen all summer long and even though attendance can be scarce they offer you a great opportunity to work the room and find high-quality contacts. Summer networking meetings often allow for more time to get to know people and work to turn your interactions into powerful connections. These events can also be a great way to get to know certain people within your networking organizations that you haven’t had much time with in the past.

Although summer offers you the opportunity for a lot more freedom you still want to stay on top of things when it comes to following up. Setting weekly and even daily follow up goals can keep you and your business top of mind of all your clients. And remember most people aren’t taking the time to do this during the summer so your efforts will stand out even more.

So, what goals are you going to tackle this summer?

By: Tina Torres, CEO, The Gratitude Specialist