Quote of the Week

"Play long-term games with long-term people."

~Naval Ravikant

This Week’s Tip

The 6 Business Metrics That Actually Matter (If You Want to Make Real Money)

Too many entrepreneurs confuse activity with progress. They’re working all day but have no idea what’s working. Why? Because they don’t track the right numbers. Or worse—they track too many and drown in dashboards that don’t move the needle.

Let me make it simple: if you want to grow your business, you need clarity. And clarity comes from numbers. Specific ones.

Here are the metrics that actually matter:

1. Cash in Bank

I know, it sounds obvious—but you’d be surprised. A ton of entrepreneurs are making sales, spending on ads, hiring people…and have no idea how much cash they actually have. Not revenue. Not profit. Cash. In. The. Bank.

Because when the cash runs out, the game ends. Period.

2. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) or Monthly Sales

This is your business heartbeat. It tells you whether you're growing or flatlining. Recurring businesses track MRR. If you're transactional, track total monthly sales. Watch the trend. Going up? Great. Going down? Time to dig.

3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

How much does it cost to get a new customer? This is crucial because it tells you if your marketing and sales efforts are sustainable. If you spend $200 to acquire a customer who only spends $100…bad news, my friend. That’s not a business. That’s a slow death.

4. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

How much money does the average customer bring in over time? LTV is the long game. The higher your LTV, the more you can afford to spend to acquire a customer. High LTV = more options, more margin, more growth.

5. Churn Rate (For Subscriptions or Retainers)

If you’re in any kind of recurring model—coaching, SaaS, services—you must track churn. How many people are canceling each month? Because if you're pouring water into a bucket full of holes, you're never going to fill it. Plug the leaks.

6. Profit Margin

Revenue is sexy. Profit is freedom. You don’t get to keep revenue. What you keep is profit. If your gross margin is weak, your business is fragile. If your net margin is weak, your lifestyle will suffer—even if the business looks “big” from the outside.

BONUS: Track Daily Leads and Sales

This is your short-term feedback loop. Every single day, you should know:

• How many leads came in?
  

• How many sales were made?

If you’re not getting leads, you have a marketing problem. If you're not closing them, it’s a sales problem. Diagnose. Fix. Repeat.

5 Action Items to Take Right Now:

1. Open a spreadsheet and list all 6 metrics above—add a column for weekly and monthly tracking.
   

2. Connect your bank account to a bookkeeping app (QuickBooks, Xero) so you can track actual cash.
   

3. Calculate your CAC and LTV—even if it's rough. Knowing something is better than nothing.
   

4. Set a recurring calendar reminder every Friday to review these numbers—discipline = clarity.
   

5. Pick one weak metric and build a plan to improve it over the next 30 days.

This Week’s Resource

Investors don’t fund ideas. They fund plans.

You’ve got a great idea. Now let’s make it real.

Whether you’re pitching investors or applying for funding, you need a business plan that’s clear, credible, and compelling.

With PlanPros.ai, you can build that plan in minutes, not weeks.

Here’s how it works:

1. Answer 20 guided questions about your business

2. Our AI instantly builds your complete business plan

3. Get lender-ready projections — no spreadsheets required

4. Customize everything to match your goals

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Serious about launching? Then it's time to get serious about planning.

You've got the vision. We’ve got the blueprint.

Trivia

Question: Which company’s motto is “Don’t be evil”?

Answer: Google — Lesson: Ethics in business can become part of the brand story.

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