How to stop waking at 2am worrying about your numbers

Do you wake at 2am with your mind churning over whether your business is actually OK? Are you either tracking a long list of numbers that nobody ever acts on, or nothing at all beyond keeping your P&L up to date? And if one of those numbers moved next week, would anything in your firm actually change?In this episode I go back to basics on how to choose the KPIs for your firm. I share why the financials your accountant talks to you about only tell you how your past decisions worked out, and what you need to measure alongside them to stay focused on what matters most. I also talk through how we set our own KPIs after losing 25% of our monthly recurring revenue, and what those numbers made us change.What you'll learn in the podcast episode:- Why revenue, profit and cash survival time are the right place to start but a terrible place to stop.- How to work top down from your 3-year growth plan and your big bets before you decide on a single KPI.- Why your firm needs a ONE BIG FOCUS for the next 90 days, and how to pick it when everything feels urgent.- The difference between the lagging indicators you measure at firm level and the leading indicators your team should be measuring.- How I broke a £6k new monthly recurring revenue target down into KPIs and an action plan for my relationship manager.- The one question to ask before any number goes on your dashboard.Related reading/episodesThe 5 specific moves that made me redundant from my own business https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-5-specific-moves-that-made-me?r=l8khyYou’re not running a business, you’re running an expensive job https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/youre-not-running-a-business-youre?r=l8khyAI and LinkedIn broke my marketing (this is what I did next) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/ai-and-linkedin-broke-my-marketing6 emotions that drive real business growth (if you listen to them) https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/6-emotions-that-drive-real-business?r=l8khyThe beginner’s guide to know if your marketing is working https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/the-beginners-guide-to-knowing-if?r=l8khyUseful links:- sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown UpEach episode of the Start Up To Growth Up Podcast is based on my weekly Substack Article on the same topic. Head over to my substack to subscribe https://substack.com/@startuptogrownup so you never miss an article or episode again.About Heather TownsendHeather is the leading business coach for accountants (and other professionals) who want to grow their business. She is the founder of The Accountants Growth Club, who specialise in helping accounting firm owners grow their accounting business profitably and sustainably.She is also the founder of How To Make Partner, the global experts in helping professionals in practice make it to partner, and when they get there, stay that. Get the confidence, the skills AND the time to focus on the right things and move your career forward with Progress to Partner Academy. Get full access to Start Up To Grown Up at startuptogrownup.substack.com/subscribe