We’re in our 4th and final part of The Business Reboot series. Today is all about tying everything from the past few weeks together and discuss all things data, decision making, and being a creative CEO.
Are you using data to make informed and aligned decisions in your business? In today’s episode, we’re diving into how you can make data-driven decisions that improve your business, along with what types of data you should consider tracking!
This is part 4 of the four-part Business Reboot series:
Part 1 | Assess & Reflect: Setting the Foundation
Part 2 | Building Your Strategic Roadmap
Part 3 | 3 Ways to Boost Your Visibility
Listen to this episode now:
Search for episode 106 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!
Data Informs Decisions for Success
Your ability to make aligned decisions for your creative business and for your life is one of the most important things you will ever do as an entrepreneur.
Maybe you’re asking…
- Why does it matter what the numbers say?
- What exactly should I be tracking?
- Where can I keep track of my business numbers?
- How often should I revisit the numbers?
As someone who used to hate looking into data for their business, it’s ironic that it’s the first thing I look at when making decisions now! As a 10+ year entrepreneur, I’ve learned the value of this. I want to make sure that I’m making informed decisions that align not only with my business, but also what’s working for me in this season of my life.
3 Things to Weigh as You Make Aligned Business Decisions
Every entrepreneur’s time is different and we want to make data-driven decisions, balanced with the realities of our lives and our energy levels. Treat it like a 3 legged stool balanced on time, income, and energy. No one area can take priority while keeping balance—you need all 3 pieces of information to truly step into a confident decision, whether big or small.
- Your time is limited, and you likely have set a cap on the number of hours you allow your business to take up.
- Your income is another element of this balancing act, but as you can see it’s not the primary and singular element when we make decisions. Something may make you a good amount of money, but be taking up so much time that it is not something you can keep doing or scale in the future.
- Your energy/interest level in what you’re doing is the third leg of the stool. When deciding the direction to take your business, even in the small decisions, start to ask “how do I feel after doing this type of activity?” Do you feel energized? Drained? What’s something you do that gives you more energy? Are there things you know you want to do less of because they completely suck your excitement and creative energy away?
When you’re able to consider all of these three areas, you’ll find that you’re able to make decisions that keep a wider picture in mind.
Understanding Your Numbers
Now that you have the formula, it’s important to understand your numbers. Numbers keep you honest in what’s happening in your business. But what should you be tracking?
What do you want to grow? Track that.
Here are a few ideas of what you could track based on your goals:
- What do you want to grow? Track that.
- Do you want to grow your website visitors?
- Do you want to grow you instagram?
- Do you want to grow the number of podcasts you speak on?
- What do you wish to grow?
Where is a good place I track all of this?
There are so many tools out there for tracking data, including Google sheets, Trello, Asana or Notion. I personally use a combination of Google sheets and Notion, but use what works for you (that you’ll actually look at).
I personally track my data on a monthly basis, but I recommend tracking on a quarterly basis at a minimum.
If you’re just getting started on tracking data, I’ve created a free Notion template to help guide you and also walk you through data tracking. This will give you some ideas of things you can track in your business and also the questions I like to run through each month to review and reflect like we talked about in part 1 of the series.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Part 1 | Assess & Reflect: Setting the Foundation
Part 2 | Building Your Strategic Roadmap
Part 3 | 3 Ways to Boost Your Visibility
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Coach with Joy: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
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