A crucial factor in business planning is measuring the growth of your small business. This allows you to prepare budgets, allocate resources, set further goals, and prepare for the future. Here are some indicators of business growth that help you determine how your business is progressing currently and in times to come.

Demand

A number of factors indicate demand for your products or services. For instance, check out if your sales team is operating at peak capacity with as many leads as they can handle and as many closed deals as your account managers can handle. Related to this, measure the turnover rate of your inventory. Another indication of demand accompanying business growth is the rate at which your loyal customer base is growing. In-store comment cards and online surveys help you get useful feedback from your customers. Often enthusiastic clients create organic demand for expansion, and the positive response from customers draws interested outside investors.

Profit

The amount of profit your company earns is an excellent indicator of business growth. To measure profit, make use of income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements to find out your net income. This is a calculation of your total revenue minus necessary expenses such as inventory, supplies, equipment, and employee salaries. A healthy profit margin is industry-dependent, so compare your company’s profit margin with the average of similar businesses in your area to assess your business growth. If your revenues are high but profits are stagnant, look into ways that you can cut expenses to increase profits.

Personnel

The number of employees that work for your company is an indicator of business growth. Although it’s expensive to take on additional personnel, if you need to continually expand your workforce to keep up with consumer demand, you can have confidence that your business is growing. Be sure that the people you hire appreciate your mission, values, and company culture.

For more advice on how to assess the business growth of your company, look to Dhanani Funding.