Set aside some time each quarter or, at the very least, each year to revisit your dreams and goals. Change them as needed and then look at what you’re doing in your business. Does everything align? Can you tweak or change some things to make this business able to better support what you want to do?
The only way to be sure that the actions you take are getting the results that you want to get is to periodically evaluate by checking the numbers. As you check the numbers, you’ll need to adjust as needed to ensure that everything aligns in the way that you planned. The best way to ensure that this process happens is to schedule it according to your needs.
- Set Goals Properly – Remember that for a goal to be useful, it needs to come with a specific and measurable number and then a way to track that number before, during, and after the period in question. When you keep that in mind about setting goals, it’s going to make tracking easier.
- Set Up Metrics Based on Goals – Once you have a goal, you can then set up your metrics based on that goal. For example, if you want to increase sales by 20% in six months, you should have an exact plan in place to do that as well as to check the numbers. Your goals are timely, so that gives you a clue as to when to check the numbers.
- Know How Much Time You’re Really Devoting – Take some time occasionally to track the time you’re spending on your work. The time spent can give you a good indicator of whether you’re truly being productive in your actions or not.
- Evaluate Your Productivity – To figure out your productivity, one way is to attach a specific revenue number to each activity that you do. For example, if you scheduled 20 emails in a series to go out last month, what do the numbers say now as to how that paid off? You can also just take your revenue and divide it by your hours to find out how much your hourly rate is now and compare it to last time.
- Evaluate Your Sales Revenue – Knowing how much you make but also where it comes from is essential for you to make good plans going forward. You never know where the money is coming from unless you really check. You may think that it doesn’t matter, but why keep selling or wasting your time promoting something that’s just not selling?
- Look at Your Overall Expenses – One thing that can get carried away in any business is expenses. At least yearly, evaluate your expenses to find out if you have anything you can cut without changing your business. For example, did you forget that you signed up for that monthly membership that you never use?
- Know Your Monthly Numbers – Every single month, either take the time to do a profit and loss statement or have your bookkeeper, CPA, or VA create one for you from your accounting software (should take just a couple adjusting entries and a click to get it). Starting the month with last month’s numbers can be motivating.
- Know Your Basic Overhead Costs – Everyone has a break-even number in their business. That is how much you need to make to just keep the business going. For a home business, this should be a lot less than a business with a rented office.
- Check Customer Acquisition Costs and Lifetime Value – Another thing to explore every year is how much it costs you to acquire a new customer and how much each new customer potentially can bring into your business. Knowing this helps you get clear on how much you can spend on advertising. For example, if the LCV is $1200, then spending $20 to acquire them is quite good.
- Are You Living Your Life as You Wish? – Finally, at least yearly, evaluate your personal life to find out if you’re living the life you really want to live. Your life is yours to live as you see fit. If you live it intentionally, you’ll be so much happier and more satisfied.
Naturally, if you have a sale or a product launch, you should look at your numbers before you start, during the campaign, and then after the campaign has ended so that you can attribute the numbers where they go for best results. Otherwise, set up a reasonable schedule to check on all the numbers in your business. If there is a number assigned that changes due to your actions, you should evaluate it on a regular basis.
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