News & Observer reporter Virginia Bridges askedsmall-business owners how often they look at their bottom line and how
that information affects how they run their business. Here?s what they
said:
??I look at my bottom line at least monthly. This
gives me an idea as to the percentage of time I need to devote to
marketing, networking and business development,? said Peter Metzner,
president of Dynamic Change, a leadership and team development firm in
Chapel Hill, N.C. ?If my pipeline is full and I neglect business
development, I usually will see the impact within the next quarter.?
??I can pretty well track the financials in my head,?
said Tom Stevens, founder of Think Leadership Ideas, an executive
coaching and leadership development firm in Hillsborough, N.C. ?I make
myself a financial report each month and review progress on revenue
targets every week. It inspires or terrifies me, depending on how I?m
doing. Either way, the weekly review provides motivation and focus.?
??Some of the critical numbers in your business are
leading indicators, like hits to a website or calls to prospective
customers, which need to occur before the lagging indicators, likes
sales, happen,? said Jim Jubelirer, owner of Jubelirer Results Group, a
business coaching and leadership development firm in Chapel Hill. ?It is
important to look at leading indicators on an ongoing basis, even
daily, in order to get the bottom-line results you want each month..?
??We review our cash balance (checkbook) and cash
flow forecast (money coming in and bills we need to pay) every week. ?
We monitor our income and expense statement monthly. This way, analysis
tells whether we are on track to meet our goals; whether we need to find
new clients or work harder with existing ones; and whether we need to
slow our spending until our cash position improves,? said Earl Hadden,
business mentor and coach at the Small Business Success Project in
Chapel Hill.
Source: MCT Information Services
