Momentum Series: Measuring Your Metrics

Hey there Evolutionary Entrepreneurs! You’re reading my 2x weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips on business, mindset, and creating leverage so you can build a profitable coaching business doing what you love and sharing your dharma.

Welcome to the weekly Deep Dive!

Is it just me or did this year go like this:

• January

• February

• March

• April

• May

• Jun-Jul-Aug

• December 😂

If it felt like that for you too then it’s a good time now to plan out for your 2024 so you can go into January with absolute clarity and unstoppable energy.

The best way I’ve found to do this… to design your system for momentum.

Today, we’re wrapping up with the final part of the Momentum Series.

If you missed Parts 1-4, you can go back and read them here.

It’s been a fun series to share and today I’m going to end it with a hard truth.

If you know me, you’ll know I like sharing hard truths that most entrepreneurs are avoiding.

Why?

As Leland Val Van De Wall put it - “The degree to which a person can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth he can accept about himself without running away.”

Face and accept the hard truth you’re avoiding and find the wisdom to grow both your business and personal life.

Today At A Glance:

• The Truth Of Metrics

• Understanding Metrics

• How To Start Measuring Your Metrics

• Foundational Things To Measure

The Truth Of Metrics

Over the last 4 parts of the Momentum Series, we have:

• Identified what creates Noise, Pressure, and prevents Momentum

• Installed processes to eliminate the noise and pressure

• Got clear on Outcomes from long term vision to short term goals

• Create a strategic and actionable plan to achieve the outcomes

• Redesigned our personal operating system for momentum

The final part is measuring our metrics to keep the momentum going.

The tricky part is that metrics can be uncomfortable for many entrepreneurs. Some track too much of it and get overwhelmed by the pressure. Most avoid it and don’t track at all.

But here’s the thing: you can’t grow your business profitably, predictably, and sustainably without measuring your metrics.

The same is true for anything you want to achieve in your life.

Want to grow or improve anything, you have to measure the metrics behind it.

Why?

Metrics create Awareness and Attribution.

• The worst place to be - not making progress and not knowing why

• The second worst place to be - making progress and not knowing why

• The best place to be - making progress and knowing what to keep doing

• The second best place - not making progress but knowing what to improve

Attribution is knowing where you’re at and why you’re where you are at.

Most entrepreneurs assume they have a sales or marketing problem when in fact they have a metrics problem.

They aren’t measuring their metrics so they don’t know which part of the value process is not performing and what to improve. Is it your lead gen? Is it your conversion rate? Is it a capacity issue? Is it a team member’s performance issue?

Most entrepreneurs also assume they have a productivity problem when in fact they have a metrics problem.

They aren’t measuring their metrics so they don’t know which part of their operating system needs to be improved. Is it time management? Is it calendar management? Is it bandwidth? Is it poor project management? Or is it just poor sleep and lack of movement?

Understanding metrics and how to better measure them will change everything in your life.

Understanding Metrics

There are two types of Metrics:

• Lagging metrics - measures the result or outcome

• Leading metrics - measures the activity that creates the results or outcome

You need both.

Most entrepreneurs make the mistake of measuring only their lagging metrics:

• Revenue

• Net Profit

• ROI

• Body weight

• Personal income

• Relationship status

• Happiness

Lagging metrics will tell you where you’re at but they won’t tell you how you got here and what needs to improve to change the results.

Leading metrics are where the magic is at. They can be:

• Number of cold outreaches done

• Sales conversion rate

• Cost per lead or acquisition

• Days you worked out

• Steps you’ve taken

• Money you invested per month

• Date nights you’ve done

• Hours worked per week

• Hours of sleep per night

They’re predictive measurements that signal future results of lagging metrics.

Measuring your leading metrics will give you the attribution and awareness of what to improve and how to keep momentum going toward your outcomes.

How To Start Measuring Your Metrics

Looking at the outcomes you’ve mapped out and the strategic plan you’ve created in the previous parts of this momentum series.

You want to look at what metrics you need to track and measure to keep the momentum going.

Step 1: Identify the metrics to measure

• List out the Lagging Metrics associated with your Outcomes

• Pick one and work backward

• Identify the Leading Metrics that contribute to that Lagging Metric

• Then identify the repeating tasks that drive those Leading Metrics

These repeating tasks are the ones you want to optimize to do better and more efficiently.

Sometimes that means automating them and building systems around them. Sometimes that means hiring or training the person responsible to do them better.

For example:

• Outcome = Grow business to $20k per month

• Lagging Metric = Monthly Recurring Revenue

• Leading Metrics

  • New Membership Signups

  • Webinar Signups

  • Lead Magnet Opt-ins

  • Outreach DMs per day

• Repeating Tasks

  • Send 20 outbound DMs per day

  • Send 20 inbound DMs per day

  • Follow up with all DM conversations

  • Offer free lead magnet

  • Promote webinar to leads twice a week

  • Do a monthly webinar

  • Sell membership program on webinar

  • Follow up with webinar attendees

Another example:

• Outcome = Build a deeper relationship with my partner

• Lagging Metric = Relationship Satisfaction Score

• Leading Metrics

  • of Date Nights

  • of Relationship Check-ins

  • Hours of quality time spent per day

• Repeating Tasks

  • Schedule weekly date nights

  • Do weekly relationship check-ins

  • Schedule 3 hours of quality time per day

Step 2: Create a dashboard where you’re tracking both your Lagging and Leading Metrics

Once you’re clear on the metrics you’re tracking, put it into a dashboard to track daily, weekly or monthly.

You can keep it simple and track your metrics in a spreadsheet.

I like to have my metrics in tools like my Business OS and Personal OS where I can track all my leading and lagging metrics:

And then create visual dashboards to quickly see where I’m at each week and month:

Want cool dashboards like this to track your metrics?

I’ll be sharing them in my private community. Get on the waitlist to join here.

Step 3: Automate the tracking of your metrics

Updating your metrics each month, week, or even day can be time-consuming.

Automate the process of tracking and updating your metrics dashboard. There are two ways:

• Automating with tools and software (I use Airtable and Zapier)

• Delegating to someone on your team (I delegate to my admin assistant)

Using a combination of automating with tools and delegating to my team, I have quick and easy visibility over my metrics at all times.

This allows me to make data-driven decisions to move my business forward.

Step 4: Create a routine and process for reviewing your metrics and making data-driven decisions

If you completed Parts 1-4 of the Momentum Series, you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate of Weekly Planning and Daily Planning for momentum.

During my weekly planning sessions, I’ll pull up my metrics dashboard to review them.

I’ll look at my lagging metrics that are off target, then look at the leading metrics to find out why they’re off target.

Once I’m clear on which leading metrics are disrupting momentum and growth, I’ll look at the repeating tasks to see what can be improved.

If they’re tasks I’ve delegated to someone on my team, I’ll reach out and explore with them how we can optimize the process to improve the leading metrics.

Improving the leading metrics will usually always lead to improving the lagging metrics, which puts me closer to achieving my desired outcomes.

This is the way you predictably and sustainably grow your business (or anything in your life).

It’s a boring and methodical approach. But having clear metrics gives me clarity on what needs to be done to create momentum.

Foundational Things To Measure

On top of using this approach to measure the metrics that lead to your desired outcomes, there are two essential things you should be measuring as an entrepreneur:

• Business Cash Flow

• Personal Cash Flow

When working with entrepreneurs, one of the first few things I like to dive into are these 2 areas.

Are they tracking and measuring these? How are they doing it?

I believe that NOT measuring these 2 things is the biggest bottleneck to growth.

Your purpose as an entrepreneur is simple:

• Build and grow your business profitably

• Create financial and time freedom for yourself

• Build generational wealth

Of course, there’s making an impact as well. This is your dharma, your calling, your purpose.

But that can only be done at scale when you have leverage. Create leverage in order to create impact.

You can’t do that unless you’re measuring the metrics that allow you to build a profitable business that creates freedom and generational wealth.

Let’s dive into each one at a high level.

Measuring your Business Cash Flow

This is about measuring the fundamental metrics of your business to make sure you’re growing profitably and sustainably.

You want to be measuring your P&L (profit and loss) each month. Metrics like:

• Revenue

• Expenses

• Profit Margin

• Taxes

• Net Profit

• Cash on hand

What you’re optimizing for is profitability and cash on hand (leverage for growth).

Measuring your Personal Cash Flow

Same way you’re measuring the P&L of your business, you want to be tracking your personal income and expenses. Metrics like:

• Income

• Expenses

• Taxes

• Liabilities

• Assets

• Cash on hand

What you’re optimizing for is cash on hand and cash-flowing assets (leverage for generational wealth)

When you understand that your goal is to become an asset, not a liability. You start to measure and optimize the metrics that lead to that outcome.

Here’s a free P&L Template you can use to start tracking your cash flow in your business and life.

If you want the Personal OS and Business OS tools to track and automate all this, come join my private community.

I hope by now you’re realizing the power of measuring your metrics and how it can help you maintain your momentum toward your outcomes and goals.

It was fun putting together this 5-part Momentum Series for you. If you enjoyed it, please:

1. Implement the exercises so you can keep winning in your business and life

2. Share it with your friends so they too can keep winning

Lots more on building a business that creates freedom, impact, and generational wealth coming your way in 2024.

I’m stoked and I hope you are too.

Onwards!

Your Pal,

Colin