KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
You're not sure if scaling is working. Revenue is up, but are you more efficient? Is the new hire paying off? KPIs (key performance indicators) are the metrics that matter most for your business: revenue, margin, churn, client acquisition cost, hours you spend on delivery vs. strategy. Track these so you're not flying blind. Without numbers, you're guessing.
Same business, with and without KPIs. Without: "Things feel busy." You don't know if 2x clients meant 2x your hours or 1.2x. With KPIs: you track revenue per hour of your time, margin by service type, and maybe LTV:CAC ratio. You can see if the productized offer is more efficient than the custom one, or if the hire actually freed capacity. KPIs turn scaling from hope into evidence.
The metrics that matter. Track them so you know what's actually changing.
What to track
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Revenue and margin. Total revenue, gross margin by service or client type. Are you making money on each engagement? Cost analysis and job costing feed this.
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Your time vs. system capacity. Hours you spend on delivery vs. strategy vs. ops. If delivery is still 80% of your time after a hire, the leverage isn't working yet. Track toward a target (e.g. you're in 30% delivery, 70% strategy and growth).
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Acquisition and retention. CAC (cost to acquire a client), churn rate, lifetime value. These tell you if growth is sustainable or if you're leaking clients.