Lift Your Business Higher: The Importance of Key Performance indicators (Kpis)

I grew up playing sports in Omaha. I dabbled in several, but soccer was my main thing. I played for a club team growing up and later for my high school. I can’t remember a time during my childhood when we weren’t either getting ready for a tournament, heading off to practice, or getting a critique from my coach, who also happened to be my dad, on the finer points of my game.

Soccer was a huge part of my life. I had a great time, and I even had a few opportunities to play college soccer. But after more than twelve years of eating, sleeping, and breathing the game, I was ready to try something new.

That’s when a college friend introduced me to powerlifting. The goal is simple: lift the heaviest possible weight for a single rep in three movements: the squat, bench press, and deadlift. My years of soccer training gave me a great base, and I dove in headfirst. It brought back the sense of progress I had missed since leaving soccer behind.

Now, lifting as much weight as your body can possibly move isn’t just about brute strength, it’s incredibly technical. To succeed, you need to approach your training with a scientific mindset. Over time, I realized that I could usually predict my performance based on a handful of signals. If certain boxes were checked, I knew I was about to have a great day. If not, I knew it might be a struggle.

One of the biggest indicators? Skipped workouts.

If I was recovering well and consistently showing up for my training sessions without needing to take unplanned days off, I was probably on track for a strong performance. If I started missing sessions, whether due to fatigue, soreness, or just burnout, I took that as a red flag. It didn’t guarantee a bad outcome, but more often than not, it told the story before I even attempted my first lift at the meet.

Looking back, through time and a knee surgery, that’s when I first came to appreciate the value of KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators.

KPIs have been used in business for years. When I first started in logistics, there were probably three dozen I needed to learn, track, and explain. But at their core, KPIs are actually very simple: a KPI is a number that, if you hit it consistently, will likely lead to the result you want.

Take my powerlifting example. I knew that if I skipped no more than five workouts in the month leading up to a meet, I was in good shape. If I had four or fewer missed sessions? I felt like I was about to lift the gym to the moon! If I skipped more than five? Ouch. I might as well have called in sick because a great performance probably wasn’t happening.

Now, let’s tie this concept back to your business. Let me start by asking: what are YOUR key performance indicators? What are the numbers that, if your business hits them this month, will lead to the outcome you want?

One I’d like to suggest: your gross profit margin.

In plain terms, gross profit margin shows how much you keep from every dollar after covering direct costs.

You’d be surprised how often, when we break down individual products or services, some are big winners (high margin), and others, well, let’s just say they might fall more into the “charity” category (low or even negative margin).

Here’s an easy example of how this could be playing out: Let’s say you run a boutique beauty salon. One of your high-margin services might be eyebrow waxing. Quick, repeatable services that take just 20 minutes, require minimal inventory, and something you can charge a fair price for. These appointments are scheduled easily and bring in great profit for the time and materials involved. On the flip side, a low-margin service might be a color correction appointment that runs over three hours, burns through inventory, and barely breaks even. The eyebrow waxing helps pay your bills; the color correction might actually be costing you money.

One of the fastest ways to improve your bottom line is to get crystal clear on your gross profit margin by individual service. Use that information to adjust pricing, control costs, and focus your marketing on what really pays well. In this example, you’d want to promote those high-margin brow services and maybe even bundle them into packages. But for the color correction work? You’ve got to ask yourself: is it priced high enough to be worth your time? If not, why keep offering a service that’s so labor-intensive and inventory-draining you’re basically paying for someone to sit in your chair?

If your goal is to run a profitable business, and I know it is, gross profit margin is one KPI that absolutely deserves your attention.

Now, there are a ton of other KPIs you can use to help grow your business, some more specific to your business than others. But no matter what kind of business you’re running, one thing is non-negotiable: clean financial records and tight books. Without accurate financials, figuring out which KPIs actually matter is tough or maybe even impossible.

But if you can get your books to the point where you can read the story they’re telling, where the numbers clearly point you toward profitability, you’re well on your way to becoming a savvy, KPI-focused business owner.

Whether you’re trying to hit a new personal best in the gym or take home more money at the end of the month, the formula is the same: show up, stay consistent, and let the right numbers guide your progress.

Turns out, the same thing that helped me squat 350 pounds, deadlift 435, and bench press 225 can help you earn more money. Just pay attention to the numbers that matter! 

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