Why you should measure everything

Employ plan do check act cycles in your business and track everything.

Back in my engineering days before becoming a business owner, I was trained to measure and track everything I did. The philosophy was that if you have the data you can make good decisions for continuous and never ending improvement.

"How will this help to make my business more valuable and more saleable?" you ask.

Exactly the same principle applies to growing a business and making it more profitable, more valuable and very saleable. I do a deep dive into this in my 'in person' workshops in Perth. Check out my next workshop by clicking the button below.

First you start with the end in mind and create a VISION AND A GOAL of what the business will look like when it is finished (or running perfectly). Next, create a STRATEGY to achieve your targets or goals. Once you know where you are going set some waypoints for the track that will get you there. These waypoints are often Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or targets.

Now you have a PLAN, decide who is going to do what in the plan and assign roles and responsibilities to DO (execute) the plan. Execute, because the most common reason business owners don't achieve their goals is their FTI - FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT. Get the balance right between developing your strategy and executing it. This diagram shows the importance of getting the balance right.

Agree how success will be measured and set up a review process to CHECK that strategies and the plan is on track. This part - the measurement - is crucial. If you can't measure something then how can you improve it. Track everything and collect the right data. Without correct data you are most likely to make assumptions.

Having collected good data and checked the results of your actions so far, it's now time to ACT on the results. Modify the plan and strategies if necessary and keep repeating the cycle on a regular time period. Get someone like myself to work with you to keep you motivated and focuused.

Make these plan-do-check-act cycles the heartbeat of your business. Buyers love to see these systems and processes in a business.

FEQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT CYCLES

Q: How frequently should I complete a cycle?
A: It depends upon the business. I know reail and hospitality businesses that go around the cycle daily. If your business is very transactional, like retail and hospitality then the cycle will be quite short. Daily or at least weekly. If your business is a service business then the cycle will be longer - weekly of monthly.

Q: How do I know what is the right data to collect and measure?
A: When you start these cycles, Track everything and over time it will become obvious which is the right data. We are drowning in tools these days that collect data. In the online world they are often called "analytics" or "insights". Learn to read and understand the data and then you can make impactful decisions that will enable you to grow your business, improve profit and thereby increase it's sale value and make it attract buyers.

When you have been collecting and analysing the data for a longer period of time, you will learn which is the most valuable data for your business. Refine your process, data collection and analytics as you go on.

Q: Why use an external coach or mentor?
A: Apparently a fish can't see water. I believe that as business owners we often can't see things in front of our eyes! That's where an external coach or mentor can ask the hard questions and get you clear on the real facts about your business and not the "assumed facts".

HOW TO GET STARTED

"For things to change, first YOU must change". And for you to change it all starts with changing your thinking. Changing your thinking requires NEW INPUT to the brain and a change of paradigms. How do you get new input? Come along to one of my workshops.

Remember that in the business ready for sale world, increasing the profit also increases the ROI (multiplier). This means that you get double the benefit from growing the business and increasing the profit. It means more money for the business owner as well, of course and so it is a win all round.

Want to know if your business is saleable, what it's worth in today's market and how to increase its value and saleability?

Then check out my next available workshop or schedule a call with me.