Key facts about business aims and objectives:
Aims vs. objectives: Aims are big goals; objectives are measurable steps
Mission statement: Defines a company's vision and values
SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-bound
Common objectives: Survival, sales, profit, growth, image, environment, social responsibility. Objectives evolve and may cause stakeholder conflicts.
What are business aims and objectives?
When starting a business, people often have unstated goals—like simply surviving the first year. Others, like Amazon, set clear, ambitious objectives, such as "make history and have fun."
- Aims → Big-picture goals. Where does the business want to go? Example: "Expand into Europe."
- Objectives → Measurable steps to achieve the aims. Example: "Generate €10 million in sales in Europe over the next 12 months."
What is a mission statement?
A company’s vision and values: helping employees, customers, and suppliers understand what drives the business.
What are business objectives?
Objectives give a business direction and motivation. They act as targets that help measure success.
To be effective, business objectives should be SMART:
S – Specific → Focused on the business, eg a hotel aiming to fill 60% of rooms in October.
M – Measurable → A clear number, e.g. £10,000 in sales in six months.
A – Agreed → Everyone involved is on board.
R – Realistic → Challenging but achievable.
T – Time-bound → A set deadline, eg "by the end of the year."
What is an example of a common business objective?
| Objective | What It means |
|---|---|
| Survival | Most businesses fail early. Surviving 3+ years boosts success chances! |
| Generating sales (Turnover) | Get paying customers — without sales, there’s no business. |
| Profit | Money in (sales) minus money out (costs) = profit. The key goal for most businesses! |
| Growth | Selling more, hiring staff, expanding into new markets. |
| Corporate image | Reputation matters — strong branding builds trust. |
| Concern for the environment | Avoid pollution, follow laws, and meet customer expectations for sustainability. |
| Social responsibility | Some businesses focus on helping others rather than just making money (eg hiring long-term unemployed people). |
Changing objectives over time
A business’s goals evolve due to:
hitting milestones – after surviving year one, the next goal might be profitability
new competition – a rival’s product launch may force a shift in strategy
technological advances – innovations can change product designs and sales tactics
Key takeaway
Business objectives aren’t set in stone—they adapt as the company grows and the market changes
What if there are conflicts with business objectives?
Business objectives are set for a reason: they help provide direction to the business owners / operators, and can help set targets, which the business owners can see how close the firm is getting to these targets.
However, setting these goals can cause conflict between different groups. The different groups of people who are affected by the business are stakeholders. This includes everybody within the business such as owners, managers and employees, but also includes some people outside of the business such as suppliers, banks and even local residents.
Using the table consider how setting an objective can help the business operate better, but can also raise concerns for some people, and can create a moral (or ethical) dilemma for the business owners:
| Objective | Effect on business | Stakeholder conflict | Ethical issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survival Staying in business | Focus on reducing costs and short-term survival strategies. | Employees want job security, but costs may be cut. | Low wages, long hours, less focus on community. |
| Sales (turnover) Getting paying customers | Discounts, heavy advertising, sales targets. | Customers want low prices, but businesses need profit. | Waste from overproduction, stress for employees. |
| Profit Making more money than costs | Cost-cutting, prioritising high-profit products. | Owners want high profits, but workers may want better pay. | Low wages, job losses, harm to environment. |
| Growth Expanding business | Hiring more staff, launching new products. | Employees may struggle with more work, investors want fast results. | Pollution, unfair competition, job insecurity. |
| Corporate Image Building a good reputation | Focus on branding, customer service, sustainability claims. | Costs money to maintain, pressure on staff to look good. | Risk of fake "green" claims, poor worker treatment. |
| Environment Reducing pollution | Switching to sustainable materials, meeting laws. | Customers want eco-friendly but cheap products. | Less pollution, safer workplaces. |
| Social Responsibility Helping the community | Fair wages, hiring disadvantaged workers, charity donations. | Investors may prefer profit over social good. | More equality, but can reduce profits. |
Business aims
Hi guys, my name is Jaap.I'm a carpenter.I work mainly in west Wales and I do all aspects of carpentry work.
An entrepreneur is someone who looks at opportunities and sees a way to do that as a job or employ people and feels passionate about whatever it is that you want to do.
Knowledge of services or products is really important, being able to answer questions that your customer might have, so they know that you know your stuff.
You have to be able to be skilled in your field but you also have to have interpersonal skills, you have to have financial skills, you have to have planning skills and if you combine all of them, then I think you can be a successful entrepreneur.
Often it isn't just the case of quitting your job and starting a business the next day, it's a transition period that happens.
I think the business plan was something that was very good because it gives you a very clear indication whether something is viable and you have to be very honest with that, you have to make sure you do your research, listen to the experience of other people and make sure you are trying to be as realistic as possible. There is no point looking at it through rose-tinted glasses.
We just went and did online research of what's available in the area. Okay, so are there other people doing similar things? Look at what's available, what's popular. Identify the opportunities and go talk to the potential customers, potential clients, potential suppliers and make sure that you kind of set everything up before you start. Equip yourself with as much knowledge as you can.
My main objective was to be able to support myself and my family, to be able to make sure that financially, it would work. I don't employ anybody so I am self-employed. It means that I don't get holiday pay, if I'm sick I don't get paid, so you have to look after yourself.
So you do very simple maths and you then compare that to other figures from other providers and if you feel that you can offer a good or even better service in that area, you know that your figures should be the same, if not better.
Goodbye, hope that helped.
Try the business aims and objectives quiz.
Final check
What does the "A" in SMART objectives stand for, and why is it important?
The "A" in SMART objectives stands for "Agreed." It is important because everyone involved in achieving the objective must be on board, ensuring alignment and commitment across the business.
