When I was working for a start-up telecommunications company leading a retail team, we didn’t have any reporting setup in order to see what was happening in the business. My boss gave the task of setting this up to me.
When she said to me: “We need reporting on ALL of this!” It brought up two very different emotions for me.
Excitement and intimidation.
The idea of getting regular reporting was exciting and intimidating leaving me suddenly feeling exposed. You might be feeling the same way.
Maybe you’re thinking, what if I create reports & they say my work isn’t good enough?
Is that how you feel about the numbers in your business? If you do, you’re certainly not alone.
So many business owners are afraid to take the time to look over their numbers because their intuition is telling them that they may not be happy with what they see. They’re afraid that the overall picture might be drearier than anticipated. Do you know how to measure what matters?
Do you feel like you’re not the business person you “should” be because you don’t completely understanding how to interpret your numbers?
In working with hundreds of business owners I have found a startling trend – Their numbers are often a nightmare.
Ask yourself these 7 critical things about your business:
- How much did your business do in sales last year?
- How are you doing compared to last year’s year to date sales?
- Your sales last month, were they up or down over the previous month?
- What’s your gross profit?
- What’s your net profit?
- What are your fixed monthly costs?
- How much, minimum, do you need to make just to break even?
Can you answer those questions easily? How do you feel about them?
It is absolutely crucial that you know how to answer these questions.
If the questions above make you feel a bit squeamish, you’re not alone. Believe it or not, this is the norm, not the exception. I’ve worked with hundreds of people who have never been taught how to track or interpret the numbers in their business. That is like operating your business with a financial blindfold on.
You’ve heard the shocking statistics: Most businesses fail within the first 5 years.
But why?!
Because you are not immersed in the metrics that matter when it comes to measuring success in your business.
Less than 4% of #women earn over $100K a year, even less earn over $1M. Click To TweetWhen you learn to measure what matters in your business, you take back control because the next step becomes clear and obvious to you. It is as though someone turned the lights on and you can clearly see what your reality is and the path to changing it.
Are you ready to take control of your business, boost your earning potential and transform your numbers? You can dive into strategies around money and SO much more with me in my group coaching program, Profit Pods. If you’re interested, you can get more information at https://lisalarter.com/pods
Leave me a comment and let me know how you track your numbers in your business. Is it something that you do regularly, or are you slacking off a bit?
