Want to make money like the big businesses? Every top company in the world, from Amazon to Shopify, tracks their metrics meticulously. If you’re serious about being an entrepreneur and growing your business, you can’t afford to miss this article. Discover how tracking can mean the difference between thriving in profit or facing bankruptcy. Your business’s success depends on it!
Why Tracking Matters
Tracking isn’t just for the big guys like Amazon and Shopify—it’s essential for every business, no matter the size. Whether you’re running a side hustle, a startup, or a growing enterprise, tracking the right metrics can be the key to your success.
What You’ll Learn
In this article, we’ll explore why tracking is so important, the specific metrics you need to monitor, and how tracking can help you make more money, avoid costly mistakes, and ensure your business thrives. We’ll share real-life examples and case studies to show you how effective tracking works in the real world.
Imagine the Possibilities
Imagine knowing exactly what works and what doesn’t in your business. Picture being able to make informed decisions based on solid data rather than guesswork. That’s what tracking can do for you, and by the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how to implement it.
Who Is This Article For?
This article is for anyone who wants to start up or grow a business. My channel and website are designed to help people within the side hustle and reselling community, as that’s where I have three decades of experience. But honestly, this advice is transferable to any business and will help anyone who wants to understand how to grow and, hopefully, one day get rich. Or maybe you’re struggling to turn a profit—this article will give you the tools to find out why. If you want to know more about me, check out my website www.antiquesarena.com. I am sharing my best practices to help you grow and build.
The Basics of Tracking
Tracking in business means keeping a record of important activities and numbers. It helps you see what’s happening in your business, like how much you’re selling or spending. You can use simple tools like Excel or Google Sheets to start tracking. Tracking helps you make better decisions, find trends, and measure success.
Tracking Stock
Depending on what type of business you have, if you sell products, it makes no difference if you’re buying and selling brand new items or sourcing items from a car boot sale. Tracking stock will allow you to see what inventory you have. If you are stock-heavy on something, you can choose not to buy any more of that product.
It’s a little harder if you are in the reselling world as we buy from opportunity, but here is a case study from my own website. I keep a record of everything I buy. For example, I found that any time I bought taxidermy, it would have a negative impact on the rest of the site. If I feature taxidermy, I lose subscribers, get fewer viewers, and see reduced traffic to my website, resulting in fewer sales. So now, no matter how much it is, I walk past it.
A good example could be this: If you are selling media, like console games, and you find PS4 games are selling very fast but Xbox games are not, you can focus on more PS4 games. Only buy Xbox games when they come in at a price so cheap that you don’t mind sitting on them.
The upshot is you can make informed decisions. If something isn’t selling or is costing you business, or if something is selling well, you can adjust your business model accordingly.
It’s the same if you find some products are selling for the full asking price, but others are always sold on an offer. You can ask yourself if you are making enough profit. This stock management tracking gives you a roadmap of what your buyers want and also what they don’t.
Interactive Element:
Have you tracked your stock before? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them? Share your experiences in the Contact Us section of this website.
Tracking Services
Not everyone offers services, but if you want to grow, eventually you’ll want to consider adding them. Tracking services is just as important as tracking products because it helps you understand which services are valuable to your customers and which might need improvement.
For example, in my business, I offer several services, including:
- Mentorship Service: Providing guidance and advice to new resellers.
- House Clearance Service: Helping clients clear out their homes, often sourcing items for resale.
- Advertising Service: Assisting other businesses in promoting their products.
- Product Identification Service: Helping clients identify and appraise unique items.
Tracking these services allows me to see how each one is performing. During my quarterly review, I analyze the data to determine which services are underperforming and which are exceeding expectations. Based on this information, I can make informed decisions to adjust my business model accordingly.
For instance, if I notice that the mentorship service is in high demand but the house clearance service is not generating as much interest, I might consider:
- Adjusting Prices: Increasing the price of the mentorship service due to its high demand or offering discounts on the house clearance service to attract more clients.
- Tweaking the Services: Enhancing the mentorship program with additional resources or modifying the house clearance service to better meet customer needs.
- Marketing Focus: Shifting my marketing efforts towards promoting the more successful services to maximize profitability.
By tracking services, you can ensure that you are meeting customer needs effectively and optimizing your offerings for better business growth. This data-driven approach helps you stay flexible and responsive to market demands, ensuring that your business continues to grow and succeed.
There is always this too: If you find one service is outperforming by any hopes or expectations, then you may want to focus solely on this service, ten x the effort and time given to this service, and therefore ten x the profits.
Tracking Costs and Expenses
Tracking costs and expenses is the most important metric for any business and requires the most attention to detail and monitoring. This is because your turnover, or total revenue, forms the budget from which all other expenses must be paid. Here’s what you need to track:
- Premises Costs: This includes rent, insurance, rates, and other expenses related to your physical location.
- Platform Costs: If you’re selling on a platform like eBay, there will be multiple fees, or maybe you have a website that comes with hosting costs.
- Stock Costs: The money spent on purchasing inventory.
- Payroll: Salaries and wages for employees.
- Advertising: Costs associated with marketing and promoting your business.
- General Expenses: Other miscellaneous costs that your business incurs.
By closely tracking turnover and expenses, you can manage cash flow effectively and ensure you maintain profitability. Here are some key actions to take:
- Monitor Regularly: Review your financials daily or weekly to catch any issues early. This allows you to make quick adjustments as needed.
- Adjust Spending: If turnover is down, consider pausing the purchase of new stock. Focus on selling existing inventory before investing in more.
- Evaluate Advertising: If your ads are not improving your cost to acquire customers (CAC), switch to free advertising methods or content marketing to save on ad spend.
- Track Postage: Monitor the percentage of items that arrive on time and check for lost or damaged parcels. If your current courier isn’t meeting your standards, consider investing in a better service to enhance the customer experience, which can increase customer loyalty and lifetime value.
For example, by tracking these expenses, you may find that your advertising on a particular platform isn’t yielding the desired results. In response, you could reduce or eliminate that spend and focus on creating engaging content to attract customers organically. Similarly, if your turnover is lower than expected, you might decide to delay new stock purchases until your current inventory moves.
Tracking these metrics allows you to make informed decisions, ensure that you stay within your budget, and take corrective actions swiftly. This vigilant approach helps maintain a healthy cash flow and ensures that your business remains in the black.
By implementing these practices, you can safeguard your business’s financial health and position it for sustained success.
Summary and Takeaways
To recap, tracking stock helps you manage inventory efficiently, tracking services ensures you’re meeting customer needs, and tracking costs and expenses helps maintain profitability. Regular reviews and adjustments are key to successful tracking.
Final Call to Action
Start tracking your business metrics today to make informed decisions and drive your business towards success. If you found this article helpful, please share your tracking experiences in the comments. Check out my website at www.antiquesarena.com for more tips and best practices. Thanks for reading!
