You're in business for the long haul, probably. Ten, 20, even 30 years. One New England dry cleaner recently sold his business after 42 years. That's a long time. Unfortunately, memory is short. So keep track of your performance on a yearly basis. Over the years, it will help you see where you have been and, more importantly, where you are going. What kind of figures should you keep? Well, annual sales, for one thing. Nothing tells you how your business is progressing like sales. But that isn't the only story. Keep track of number of employees; break it down by full-time and part-time. Employing 10 full-timers is a lot different than two full-timers and eight part-timers. The total hours in these two situations is vastly different. Poundage is another helpful figure. How many pounds your shop produces states a lot about your plant efficiency.
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