209. Baking it Down - Half It then Half It

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🤏 Half It then Half It - Make goals small and then smaller.

In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 209 - Half It Then Half It, we cover a topic Heather saw on the Diary of a CEO podcast with Dr. Alok Kanojia on goal setting. 

The concept is pretty basic - set a goal. Then take that goal and half it. Then take that half and half it again. You're now left with only 25% of that goal. And guess what? That 25% is much more doable than the big, massive, overly sized goal you couldn't eat whole. 

Breaking (baking?) goals into edible chunks makes for small bites that we can accomplish to get us to our bigger goal. 25% Goals aren't as fun to tell people about - they get the vibe of, "Okay... and?" And that's what makes them so valuable - because they're not big, they allow us to take small movements forward. 

Sure - we won't get the accolades for announcing some giant goal like, "THIS YEAR, I PLAN TO OPEN STORE FRONT," but the path to opening a store front is long and lonely - I'd rather claim this year to do the thankless foundation work required to get into a brick and mortar rather than make a big announcement with no execution (remember the "No One Likes a Party Planner" podcast episode).

🤏 1. Example - Facebook Lead Gen

Turning Facebook into a lead gen powerhouse is a BIG goal - and one we really like. Facebook can really make some sales for bakers. But let's half that goal:

• 📏 I want to turn community groups into a referral source.

Even better! We narrowed it from "ALL of Facebook," which is a massive task to tackle down to an aspect of Facebook. But per the doc, we can go smaller! Let's half that half.

• 📏 I want to make this one specific group a resource for my bakery business.

There we go - in fact, this will be next week's Podcast topic (turning Local Community Groups into Referral Powerhouses after we teach it at What's Popping Con 2025 on Tuesday).

🤏  2. Example - Brick and Mortar

Most bakers dream of seeing their business logo in bright lights on a building they leased. And who wouldn't?! Talk about a HUGE goal that feels all warm and fuzzy! But brick and mortar dreams aren't built overnight, but rather on consistent "half of a half" goals over time. Let's half that B&M goal:

• 📏 I want to contact a commercial leasing agent to learn more about taking on a B&M lease.

Love it - so much more actionable than "I will open a brick and mortar bakery," but can we half it again? 

• 📏  I'm going to reach out to the Sugar Cookie Marketing group and see if any B&M bakers would take a 15-minute call from me to talk about the "first 6 months" of prep needed to get started on potentially opening a bakery in the future.

Loooove that so much more. That's a "half of a half" goal that will actually teach you something - whether a brick and mortar bakery business is meant for you.

🤏  3. Example - I want to be a social media expert.

As a marketer myself, love this goal - but it's a chunky one. Taking on all of social media is admirable, but that's not going to move a needle because it's too broad. Let's see if we can half it.

• 📏 I want to focus on making my Facebook page a valuable resource for my business. 

Just like the community group goal, LOVE this - it'll be a huge boon to your business goals. But can we go smaller on this halved goal? I bet we can.

• 📏 I will post to my business Facebook page 2x a week to establish a baseline for a posting schedule.

There we go!