The 3 Metrics That Predict Business Success
The only numbers you need to track weekly
Forget the 47 KPIs some consultant sold you. There are only 3 metrics that truly predict business success. Master these, and everything else falls into place.
The 3 Metrics That Matter
Metric #1: Net Profit Margin
Not revenue. Not gross profit. NET profit after ALL expenses including your time.
Target: 15-25% for service businesses
If you're under 15%, you have a revenue problem or an expense problem (usually both). Fix pricing or cut costs ruthlessly.
Metric #2: Owner Hours Per Week
Your working hours should DECREASE as revenue increases. If they're not, you're building a job, not a business.
Target: Under 40 hours/week by $1.5M revenue
Every hour over 50/week = systems you haven't built yet.
Metric #3: Revenue Per Employee
Total revenue divided by total employees (including you). Measures team productivity and leverage.
Target: $150K-250K per employee for service businesses
Under $150K? You're overstaffed or underpriced. Over $250K? You could probably hire more people and grow faster.
Review these three metrics every Monday. Everything else—client count, project pipeline, close rates—are just inputs to these three outputs.
Ready to transform your business with these strategies?