How to Run a Profitable Business
Starting a business is one thing, but running it successfully is another.
Small companies usually have one person that oversees all the areas of the business - the business owner – AKA you! When you own a business of that size, you are the one who’s in charge of admin, marketing, project delivery, sales, etc. You’re basically a one-(wo)man show.
And it’s understandable that things are like this, especially at the initial stages of the business. However, as the business begins to grow and the management team expands, things begin to change.
You, the business owner, no longer feel like you’ve got everything under control because while you’re dealing with one area, something might be going on in another.
That’s why it’s crucial that you have your own business dashboard so that you can stay on top of the most important metrics in your business.
You’d be surprised to find out that many small to medium business owners don’t really know their business numbers. When asked about their profit margins or sales, they either don’t actually know them or don’t know if they’re enough - which means that they aren’t sure whether they’d be meeting their business goals at the end of the year.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not asking you to know all the granular details at all times. What I’m referring to is the most common (and useful) metrics for your business. They are your sales, profit margins, expenses overall, future workload and hiring needs.
What I’ve found useful is to also keep a record of lead generation activities/numbers because this, too, can give you a lot of information as to how well you’re doing and if you need to do more or less marketing.
So, when I talk about creating a business dashboard, it’s essentially creating a document with the main information within it. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet where you store all your numbers, and update them. Then, as the business grows – others are inputting this data for you, so that you can make decisions from.
This business dashboard should be tailored to your needs and have the functionality you need it to have. It also needs to be simple enough so all the data in it is clearly visible. And it should be easy to read.
This way, you can be sure that anytime you need to check on your numbers, you can quickly get a good feel for what is going on in your business at that time. In addition, you can easily see whether certain areas have fallen off the wagon and need to be focused on more.
However, it’s not only about creating your business dashboard. It’s also about updating it regularly i.e. revisiting it. Do what works for you in terms of how often to add new information. It’s best to go for weekly or monthly updates. But, you can also choose to have it done daily.
If you ask seasoned business owners about their numbers, they will always be able to tell you their numbers off the top of their head. So, learn from the experienced and the wise, and start working on your business dashboard if you haven’t already.
Once you have it, you’ll notice that you will be able to make more informed decisions, and really feel like you’re the captain of your ship. Only then will you know which direction to steer it in.
If you’d like to learn more, please take a look at my most recent podcast episode on this exact topic:
Click here for the podcast episode.
Click here to watch the video.
Josh ‘Profitable Business Owner’ Stone
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