Before we consider measuring business success, we should determine what success looks like to you. We can use Key Performance Indicators to give us an overview, but first we should establish what is significant. For sure, profit is a fundamental KPI, but we might also consider:

• New customers.
• Quote to order ratio.
• Web site analysis.
• A new car.
• A Special holiday.
• Business expansion or sustainable growth.

So, once we have determined what is important to the individual we can set about measuring and recording our performance. When we track our KPI’s, each month, we can react to internal initiatives and external influences. What was the effect of the last advertising campaign? Has a change in bank rates affected your profit? Has local politics influenced your market-place?

KPI’s enable us to evaluate essential measurements, react quickly to negative trends and understand what a successful business looks like. If we don’t know what success looks like, how will we know when we have arrived.