Visioning for SMEs defines the action of creating a future plan for a business. The vision of a company guides the owners, investors and employees on the direction of the company, and actions to take in order to move the company forward.

The vision statement of a small business summarises the goals and aspirations of the company, sometimes within a set period.

To set goals for a business, it is advisable to use the SMART approach. This helps to create actionable and realistic plans. Therefore, consider these:

• S - Specific: Your goals should be specific. What exactly do you intend to change or achieve? Your turnover? Your customer service? In these cases, you may decide to organise customer service training for your staff or make a strategy to increase sales and turnover.
• M- Measurable: To understand whether or not the plans are productive, they have to be measurable. Set a time frame or something quantifiable - amount, number, etc.
• A - Achievable: It is better to set targets that are realistic, and can be accomplished within the stated deadline. There is futile to set constantly strategise and set big goals, if there will be no implementation or end result. Make sure that your goals can yield brilliant results with the resources and time available to you.
• R - Relevant: As a business owner, your business or product is contributing to provide a solution to a situation, or to make a problem easy to deal with. Hence, when you set a goal, ensure that it is connected. Be certain that it is part of your big picture, and not abstract. Use your time and resources wisely.
• T - Timely: Write out all your ideas and goals, and set a schedule for each of them. Commit to these, making sure that no aspect is left unattended.

It is important to have SMART goals. When you take this acronym into consideration for your goal setting, you will be clear on your priorities, and stay focused and consistent. It is great to have many ideas, but these ideas are useless if they do not yield positive results.

In summary, when your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely, you can be more productive. Also, your vision statement should be simple, clear and easy to understand. It is your brand. It has to convey the interest of your target customers.