Small Business Dashboard

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at the Small Business Dashboard - an instrument panel on which business owners set their focus. While each business owner looks at unique aspects of his or her company, there are certain items that apply to every single business owner - regardless of what type of business it is.

These are the crucial items on the Small Business Dashboard I use with my clients - as well as my own business.

• Revenue
• Sales
• Costs / Expenses
• Staff / Staffing
• Profit / Loss
• Long-term goals of the business (5+ years)
• Short-term goals of the business (30 days - 1 year)
• Mid-range goals of the business (2 - 5 years)
• Marketing Plan
• Business Plan
• Client / Customer Base
• Economic forecasts
• Target market trends
• Business trends
• Industry news and trends
• Worth of the business
• Growth options
• When to sell or close (retirement considerations)

Each business owner determines the specific gauges on the dashboard and how often they are monitored. I design dashboards for each business owner with whom I work - so I can provide them with the best tools for growing and managing their businesses. This is a powerful tool that creates a baseline for our coaching partnership and sets the stage for crafting the best goals to get the best possible results.

If you'd like to know more about how I work with business owners, please contact me directly for a collaborative interview.