Every Tuesday I post a Business Development tip for entrepreneurs and this one is so critically important! Are you growing your business?
As a successful person developing for profit and non-profit businesses (a sorority , two non-profits, and my 15 year old coaching/consulting business) I have worked with many entrepreneurs who have become a “business owner” often by accident. Accident or not, if you truly want that business to thrive there are things that will help! Every Tuesday I will do a simple tip on video for you. Please feel free to comment and ask questions!
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Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Looking at numbers is not something I like doing, but I know it’s important as I grow my tutoring business. Sometimes the answer to how to make the numbers go up is not always clear and that can be frustrating.
Agreed! Loving what you do keeps the train running, and monitoring your numbers keeps it on the tracks. Maybe that’s why we call it “tracking”.
Yes, numbers are key and keeping up with the processes of managing those numbers is difficult for me. Keeping score has always been tough for me.
As a (former) CPA and corporate accountant in Fortune 50 company for over 20 years, I so resonate with this! Looking at my own business numbers is a bit different, but the general ideas for revenues, expenses, demand and statistics are timeless and applicable to every business. My favorite part was “know your manageable numbers not just the big picture numbers” – great reminder that some of my numbers just aren’t detailed enough!
My eyes tend to glaze over when I see numbers, and I am realizing I have limiting beliefs about this aspect of business development. I get ideas like, “This isn’t for me” and “my business isn’t big enough to warrant this.” I do have Google Analytics but I haven’t explored all the information you can get. Time to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone in this matter.
Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com
Personal-Professional Balance Through Writing
2ND ATTEMPT to leave a message – first has disappeared
Oh yeah. Business 101. Got this one ages ago when first hired as a telemarketer. Really had to know how many calls I needed to make to get the result I wanted.
It’s easy to keep successfully doing what works and pull a fair wage for a fair product/service out of the world. A true Entrepreneur is someone who has a big desire to create the future
Numbers are not my favorite thing, but since working in the business with my husband, we have been looking at, evaluating, interpreting, agonizing over or rejoicing over numbers each and every day! And amazingly, I have actually come to enjoy paying attention to the numbers and setting goals, tracking progress, etc., I think because it helps me feel more grounded and focused on what we are doing and why. And of course, when the numbers are good, there is deep satisfaction. When the numbers are not so good it also helps us refocus our attention on what we need to do to change that. It’s so good that you are helping everyone to recognize how important the numbers are — important enough to get some help if the whole process seems scary!
Yes, you have said that before. I track them sporadically and when I see your videos or a blog you write, I am reminded to check them again.
Julieanne Case
Always from the heart!
Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| Reconnective Art
http://thereconnectivehighway.com
I agree totally. I check my numbers often and I do all the things you suggest except for the goal setting. That is something I need to do ..set goals using the info from all the tracking
I hate the numbers part of being in business but you are right. How do you know if you’re on the right road to where you’re going if you don’t check the map occasionally. I don’t like maps so I got myself a GPS, also known as a business coach. That’s because I know I need help with this and I know if I’m going to succeed, this is one area I need to conquer.
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://susan-berland.com
I agree with this so much. I have a not-so-secret geeky thing for the numbers. All of them. I like nurturing and caring for them, each in their own little spreadsheets. Bring them on!
uughhhhh …. you just hit me in the gut. I get as far as seeing how many I need to get where I want to go … but fail (LB) on breaking that down further AND (this is the BIG one for me) setting goals for the steps it takes to make those happen along the way!
Tracking my SoMe numbers though .. and they are growing. Just gotta take it one step further .. which I why you’ll be hearing from me about a talk for new goals and the breakdown of HOW to get there as well.
Yvonne Elm Hall
http://www.yvonneelmhall.com
(kick in the butt… again) We have a sample income generator from our company that shows us numbers, but I need to sit down and look at them and internalize them. I have an accountability coach that is forcing me to look at my numbers as far as talking to new people and getting decisions, but I need to set aside time to check my analytics, the realistic sales numbers, etc.
I just spoke with my brother on this last night. He was telling me to look at the weekly sales instead of daily sales because it fluctuates so much and that weekly should give me an idea of what I am doing and to push it up to where I want to be is to just keep adding more items to my stores. He really said retail is all a numbers game and I have to check my competitors to see what they are selling the exact same item and to see where I am at. But I do have a general idea about where I am at, and where I want to go. I’m in the ugly stages of growing and trying to manage 5 online stores, so once I consolidate and do taxes, I will know what I need to change. Does that make sense or answer the questions.
What you say is very important, I realize that and working on knowing my numbers.
god, I SO need to take this one to heart. I got stuck trying to look at my google analytics #s because it was not showing in the way I understood it to show. I am picking up again where I fell off, dusting myself off and will start some kind of doc to track this stuff again. You keep me keepin’ on, Ann. Thank you