Making split-second evaluations of a business

The other day a local business was put up for sale. The owner posted a few details about the business including their gross sales numbers.

Even without knowing everything else it was easy to figure out that their sales were too low.

Over the years of running my own business and talking about other businesses, it seems I've gotten an intuitive grasp of what a healthy business should look like.

While this one wasn't horrible, it wasn't operating at a scale where it would make sense as an investment.

Maybe if someone wanted to own a full-time job or if they could plan some growth or expansion, but as it stands now the ROI just isn't there.

That got me thinking.

You, as the owner, should know your own numbers just as well, hopefully even better.

If a competitor was suddenly put up for sale, you should be able to evaluate their business in under five minutes to decide if it would make sense to start a negotiation with them or if it was a bad deal.

You should still get further details and due diligence, but an upfront go/no-go decision should be almost a gut response.

If you don't know your numbers like that or you're having a difficult time finding which numbers really matter, Repeat Customer Insights might help. It includes half a dozen of the most important metrics around repeat customers and gives you the tactical advice you need to improve each one.

You can install it from the Shopify App Store

What are your numbers telling you?

Eric Davis