Why aims and objectives differ

Two owners can sell exactly the same product yet want completely different things from their businesses. Aims are the broad goals an owner has for the business. Objectives are the specific, measurable targets used to reach an aim and to check progress. Because people start businesses for different reasons, their aims and objectives differ too.

Money and more than money

Financial aims are about money and financial performance: survival, profit, sales, market share and financial security. Non-financial aims are about rewards that are not money: personal satisfaction, challenge, independence, control and meeting social objectives. Many owners want a mixture of both. Someone who turns a cake-decorating hobby into weekend orders may mainly want personal satisfaction and independence, choosing their own hours, yet still set a sales objective of selling ten cakes a month so the hobby pays for itself.

Why owners set different goals

• Motives and values: one owner pushes for profit or a bigger market share, while another runs the business with a social purpose and reinvests profit in a cause. Some simply want an outlet for a hobby or a special interest.
• Personal circumstances: a parent of young children may aim to stay small and local, serving a limited number of customers, while someone free to travel may aim to sell overseas.
• Type, size and market: a new taxi firm facing four established rivals in the same town may aim for survival first and market share later, whereas a one-person picture-framing workshop may care most about financial security and staying in control. The market and the competition a business faces both shape what seems worth aiming for.

One business can hold several aims at the same time, each backed by its own objectives. A small board-game shop might aim for survival, with an objective of covering its rent each month, and aim for challenge, with an objective of hosting a regional tournament each year. Not every business aims to maximise profit, and recognising that helps you explain the choices an owner actually makes.