Business performance measurement

Most solo entrepreneurs are "bright idea" junkies who see business performance measurement as tedious and non urgent. Yet wasted time, money and effort can be avoided by learning which bright ideas work and which don't.

The trick is to make measuring in your small business a minimal affair, so you can get beyond the boring bits and start getting excited about how business performance measurement launches your business to higher heights.

Here’s how.

1. Measure as little as possible

Just because you can measure it, just because 'they' measure it, or just because someone said you should measure it, doesn't mean you should measure it! Get a taste of the excitement of seeing your results taking off by focusing on just two or three measures and use those to keep you focused on excelling in those results. Start measuring the one thing that wakes you up at 3am, or that you find you're spending the most time thinking about.

2. Document and delegate the routine for measuring

If you have to fumble around when looking for data, setting up a spreadsheet and trying to remember which report to pull your sales figures or cash flow numbers from, it's going to be all hassle and no hustle. Write down the steps in a checklist or flowchart and delegate them to an assistant. They'll love it and you'll love the gorgeous report they give you each week, which will refocus you on what really matters for your business success!

3. Establish the weekly 'Track, Test & Tune' habit

You'll get super fast and super efficient at measuring and tracking, but only with regular practice. Spend just 15 or 30 minutes a week looking over that lovely report your assistant puts together for you, and make one decision from the insights you get from the data, then act on that decision immediately. Forming this weekly habit will grow your business much faster than randomly jumping on the latest fads.

TAKE ACTION:

Are you measuring and tracking what matters in your small business, regularly? If not, which of the above business performance measurement essentials will make the difference for you?

Stacey Barr is a specialist in performance measurement, helping micro and small business owners to move their business results from where they are, to where they want them to be, using powerful, transformational measures.

02 Nov 09

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4 comments | Add your own

Tracking - my favourite word after statistics. I am a true believer in tracking and stats especially in marketing. Too many people market their business "in the dark" without knowing if it works or not.
Marketing Tracking Basics
* Your websites statistics - who visits, what do they like etc
* Email campaigns - how many people open/read it, what do they like
* Enquiries from a campaign - using a CRM or excel, track where "people heard about you" to see which marketing campaign worked and which didn't. Amanda Griscti from Sydney
Measuring your key performance indicators and then taking appropriate action is smart. It's all too easy ploughing on doing the same as before and not realising that your efforts are going to waste. Robert from London, UK
what a great succinct article... measurements that matter... I implement a very simple weekly measurement system with my clients of no more than 10 critical indicators of the health of their business... and when you implement something simple like that and rigorously apply it... your business can't help but start to look entirely different in weeks or months...try it out you'll be surprised.
roland Roland hanekroot from Potts Point, Sydney
Thanks for the comments everyone! So glad to discover other measure advocates out there! (I even measure my fitness training - heart rate, pace, distance, that kind of stuff. Just love how motivated and focused measures of my goals make me feel!) Stacey Barr from Brisbane | Read my articles

4 comments | Add your own

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