Imagine you are flying over the Pacific Ocean and the captain comes on the PA system. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that all our instruments are out. I have no idea where we are headed, how much fuel we have or what height we are at. The good news is, we’re making great time!”
Scary? Just a bit.
Trouble is many tradies run their businesses like this. No real idea of where they are going, whether they are heading into danger, but never-the-less they remain eternally optimistic. As the business grows the casual attitude becomes more serious and you lie awake at night wondering how you are going to make payroll next week and whether clients are going to come through with those promised progress payments. You wouldn’t fly a plane like that, so why run your business like that?
What is needed is a dashboard of measures to show you how you are “flying” and if you need to make any course adjustments. Gross profit rate, forward revenue, customer satisfaction, field efficiency, sales conversion rate, liquidity, etc, etc. Not a huge list, but a range of relevant and up-to-date figures that give you a snap-shot of where you are at and also how you are trending over time With this knowledge you will increase your feelings of confidence and control and be able to support your decisions with some objective measures.
No more flying by the seat of your pants.
So, what are the key areas of your business that you would like to have more up to the minute information on? Put some measuring processes in place and then get in the habit of looking at the numbers on a regular basis so you can better control your business and therefore your life. Need help to do this? Give me a call or email me at andy@tradescoach.co.nz
Andy Burrows – The Trades Coach