When I started in the network marketing business I was very surprised to see that many people had no idea about goal setting and how to do it the right way. Most people who join a MLM or network marketing company are jumping in with two feet and do not really take the time to set their goals for their business.

When you are working from home and especially when you are starting an internet business, whether on your own or as a distributor of a MLM or any network marketing company, it is critical for your success to set goals properly. Why? Because first, if you do not set precise objectives you are never going to achieve anything. And then, if you set them the wrong way this will prevent you from designing a good plan to achieve them and without a good plan it is very difficult to be successful. This is true for any business by the way.

Here is the method I was using with success in the corporate world and that I would recommend for any network marketing business: set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

S. = Specific
Making money can definitely not be an objective, because it is not specific. A specific goal would be to buy a house in a particular area, to pay for your kid's education, to travel to Europe, to provide for your retirement. These are just some examples.

M. = Measurable
It must be possible to measure a goal, i.e. it should always be quantifiable, in terms of money or other concepts. You might want to make USD 1,000, generate 25 leads, sign up 50 people in your network marketing business, and so on.

A. = Attainable
Your goals have to be realistic so that you can achieve them. Being a newbie in the network marketing industry and setting a goal to make USD 10,000 your first month is definitely not realistic hence not attainable. Another example: generating 100 leads per day might not be achievable if you know that the top producer in your business generates 50.

R. = Relevant
The objectives you set must be directly linked to your business and must make sense. It may be more difficult to find simple examples here, but let's say that you are setting goals for a MLM business with a particular company, and one of your aims is to start developing your own product; well this might be a great idea but is not relevant to your business.

T. = Time-bound
You will always achieve an objective within a time frame so never forget this element. For instance, make USD 1,000 per week, generate 5 leads per day the first month, sign up 3 people per week, reach a six-figure income within a year, buy a house 2 years from now, and so on.

Make sure you take the time to set your objectives properly, review each one and keep it only if it is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. If it's not, you will probably not achieve it.

Once your goals are "S.M.A.R.T. proof", you can safely move to the next step, which is building a solid business plan for your network marketing business.