Know Your NumbersÂ
Know Your Business
Who Are You?
Good Decisions Happen When You Have The Facts
You created a business because you are talented at something other people need or desire. Maybe you wanted to make a difference. Or you saw something others could not see, or a problem you could help solve. You may have even started a business because you desired more freedom.
​
You probably didn’t start your business because you loved analyzing the numbers. But like most business owners, you’ve likely figured out that if you don’t know the numbers, it can be hard to make the decisions that not only affect the health of your business, but have a real impact on you personally:
​
-
How much should/can I pay myself and the people that work with me?
-
How do I plan for the ups and downs in revenue? Create more consistency?
-
Am I profitable enough? What grows my profits? What drains my profits?
-
Am I pricing my services or products correctly?
-
Where does all the money go? How do I keep more of the money I make?
-
What investments can I afford to make? What staff can I afford to hire?
-
What risks can I afford to take? And if I take the risk, how do I manage my money wisely?
-
What should I be expecting next month? Next Quarter? Next Year?
Noah Martin
Business & Decision Making Analyst and Advisor
This is where I come in. I help business owners know and understand their numbers so they can make good decisions for their business, and for themselves.
​
Working with numbers for over twenty years, analyzing both the data and the bigger story, running my own businesses, and helping others make sense out of the numbers, I’ve learned a lot about what data really matters to help entrepreneurs make wise choices. And it’s more than your P/L and accounts receivable can tell you. I’ve written more about what I’ve seen and what I do.
When you don’t know your numbers, there a few common mistakes business owners make:
​
Paying too much for services or spending more than you can afford
Over-Spending
Number 01
For fear you don’t or won’t have enough
Not Investing in Things You Need
Number 02
Not keeping enough to cover expenses and ebbs
Number 03
Under-Reserving
Not reserving enough to cover your taxes
Tax
Debt
Number 04
Taking on a project you don’t have the capacity for
Over-Expanding
Number 05
Incurring lots of little expenses that add up to big drains on your profit
Expense Creep & Expense Leaks
Number 06
Trying to do it all yourself
Number 07
Over-Working
Trying to give away more work than you can afford to have others do
Under-Working
Number 08
Taking on more work than you bill the client for
Number 09
Under-Charging
Focusing on too many things that don’t support financial growth or sustainability in the short and mid-term, or only focusing on the short-term need
Choosing the Wrong Priority