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!
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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?
