Knowing Your Business & Your Numbers

The answer to that question applies to everyone running a business and it’s probably the biggest gap in knowledge I come across in my business consulting work.

This might seem like basic business knowledge but it’s surprising how few, can answer the following questions (or in detail):

• Where does your business come from?
• Who is your biggest customer? How much do they buy & what do they buy?
• What are your costs?
• Which product or service brings in the biggest revenue & biggest profit margin?

When those questions are answered, look at resource allocation:

• Are you investing enough time or money on the areas that make you money?
• Are you spreading yourself too thin?

If you discover you’re spending too much time or money on an area that’s not essential to your business, don’t. You need to step away, spend less and say no!

Focus on your profit centre and keep on top of information essential to your business. If you don’t know where you’re at, how can you see where you need to go?