How To Keep Track Of Your Business Growth

4 Things You Need To Keep Track of your Business Growth!

"The real measure of a healthy and growing business is how large your profit margins are"

Your business is going great! Or so you think! After all you’re making sales, you’re getting jobs and are acquiring new customers. But how well is your business really doing? In my experience, a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners simply look at the surface of things when considering the health and success of their businesses.

So how do we keep track of real progress and what metrics do we use to measure our business’ growth?

Here are 4 of some of the first things every business owner needs to track in order to see business growth:

1. Sales:

Though it cannot be looked at in isolation, this is perhaps the first place to begin. Start by keeping good records of how much you are generating in sales. Data is everything, so take it a step further by keeping track of who is buying, what they are buying, when and how often they are buying. This data will help you track growth, plan and will give you a good understanding of your customers’ buying habits. Your year-on-year performance shows a strong indication of whether or not your business is seeing healthy growth.

2. Profit Margins:

This is simply what is left over after you have covered the cost of goods as well as any other costs and overheads the business may have - It is your actual profit. Your sales don't really mean much if your profit margins are not considerable. A lot of business owners don't understand that REVENUE DOES NOT EQUAL PROFIT. So while you may be raking in millions in sales, the real measure of a healthy and growing business is how large your profit margins are. Your costs may vary, you need to keep track of your margins and stay on top of your progress.

3. Customer Feedback:

What are people saying about you? Good news spreads considerably, but bad news?!! Bad news spreads like wild fire! You absolutely want to avoid the latter in order to chart an upward growth trajectory. You want to get customer feedback and make changes where necessary. Without customers, there are no sales and without sales there is no growth.

Google yourself and your organization often so you can be sure that there isn't a thread about your products or services on Nairaland!!

4. Employee Morale:

You aren’t always going to be in front of every sale, it’s why you employ trusted hands to fill the gap. However, their state of mind is directly proportional to your sales. Employers need to be cognizant of this and ensure that staff morale is up! Pay your staff adequately, train them, reward them for good behavior, be kind and encouraging and let them know they are appreciated. Healthy employees make for a healthy business! And a healthy business leads to business growth! Utilize these four tips and watch your business grow beyond your imagination! The ultimate Startup guide, The Startup Star is designed to be an interactive workbook that you can have by your side throughout every startup decision-making process, guiding and validating your choices. It is available on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Bambooks, Lulu.

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