How to measure and improve business performance

Being a solo business owner, it is often easy to fall into the trap of thinking business performance reviews and key performance indicators (KPIs) don’t apply to you. However, finding ways to measure and improve business performance and then assessing how you are tracking is an important part of running any business, big or small.

In this section you will find practical advice on how to improve business performance including removing barriers to success, learning from a mentor, setting realistic business standards, as well as tips on how to measure your business performance.

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Business performance articles

• Working Smarter

  Mentoring: What I have learnt from my mentor

  Humans are sponges for information and advice, which is what makes mentoring so valuable. A mentor helps us clarify our goals and urges us to follow paths we would not have taken without their encouragement.

  • Published 01 February 08
  • Kate Tribe
  • 7 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Time for a business performance review

  December presents the ideal opportunity to learn and grow by doing a yearly business performace review. A time to reflect, rethink, reread and redesign before the start of a new year.

  • Published 03 December 07
  • Karen Morath
  • 5 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Business performance: Four ways high standards hold you back

  Standards are undoubtedly great to have for good business performance. They provide us with guidance and something to aspire to. But setting too high standards can work against us, counter intuitive as this may seem.

  • Published 30 April 07
  • Paul J. Morris
  • 8 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Removing barriers to success

  Soloists often unconsciously put barriers in the way between them and success. This is typified by what I call the 'feet on the ground' versus 'feet in the ground' situation.

  • Published 17 January 07
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 4 Comments

• Working Smarter

  How to make the most of January

  We are all in planning mode as we begin another year flying solo. These tips will help you to truly embrace the start of a new year.

  • Published 03 January 07
  • Karen Morath
  • 1 Comment

• Working Smarter

  Measures of success for your solo business

  Without the reserved car parking space, the corner office or the large team of staff, what can we use as measures of success? How do we - and those around us - know we are successful?

  • Published 18 December 06
  • Karen Morath
  • 6 Comments

• Working Smarter

  The key to a successful business is not talent

  The one fundamental attribute you need to run a successful business as a soloist is to be good at what you do – good, but not necessarily great.

  • Published 18 September 06
  • Peter Crocker
  • 6 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

  How does breaking the world down into numbers help the soloist? Many accountants talk of KPIs, this is the acronym for Key Performance Indicators, and these are the main indicators you use in your business to identify your strengths and weakness.

  • Published 24 July 06
  • Tony Melvin
  • 3 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Assessing business performance

  This time is ideal for assessing business performance - pondering both how well you've travelled over the past year and how the new year is shaping up.

  • Published 15 December 05
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 4 Comments

• Working Smarter

  Achieving success: Are you doing a Dusty Springfield?

  Much as we love the song, if you want to see your new business achieving success, it's best to avoid too much "wishing and hoping".

  • Published 24 November 05
  • John Raymond
  • 7 Comments