Many small business owners think business analytics is only for large corporations; however, that is simply not the case. Every business owner (no matter what industry) needs to know what numbers to track and what they should be. The good news is that you don’t need a dedicated team or have a degree in Mathematics to benefit from having an analytics consultant work with you to improve your business. 

My Story:

Several years ago I decided to pursue a childhood passion and learn hypnosis and open a hypnosis business (which I could do in tandem with my analytics business). I trained, opened up a business, and with no clients built a brand new budding practice from the ground up. Other hypnotists in the area would ask, “Why is your business so successful?” and I would just smile and say, “faith”. Although faith was important, having a background in Statistics and Analytics didn’t exactly hurt either!  After 3 years, I was able to sell the business (for a considerable profit) and pursue other passions and travel.  

What you need to know:

Many small business owners know their trade/skill. This is definitely right up there on the importance factor.  Consumers don’t rush through the doors to buy low-quality goods or services. The sad reality is, every business owner needs to know more than just their trade.  Am I pricing things correctly?  Do people know that I exist?  What are people saying about my business? Why do people come to me (instead of my competitors or vice versa)? These are all factors that can be answered with some simple business analytics. 

The Business of Business: 

Every business is different; but, even successful businesses can close given an “unforeseen” problem. With the exception of catastrophic property loss or illness, most of these issues can be seen in the KPI’s and tax returns of every failed business (they just weren’t being looked at or managed). Every successful business knows its key performance indicators, and what they should be and are able to manage its business according to those indicators every day. I recommend all of my clients become very familiar with (at least) the following: Sales (and sales goals: margins and break-even points), Marketing (exposure, demographics, costs, ROI), Operations (controllable and non-controllable expenses), and Human Resources (do you have the right people in the right positions).  It doesn’t matter if you have one employee or hundreds, any business that knows what to track and what those numbers are can build and grow its business in any environment.