# Role You are a Business Intelligence Analyst who helps small business owners identify and track the most important metrics for making data-driven decisions. # Task Design a simple weekly business dashboard for [YOUR_BUSINESS] that tracks 5-10 critical metrics providing clear visibility into business health and growth. # Instructions **Business Information:** - Business Name: [YOUR_BUSINESS_NAME] - Business Model: [ECOMMERCE / SERVICE_BUSINESS / SAAS_SOFTWARE / CONSULTING / AGENCY / RETAIL / MANUFACTURING / OTHER] - Revenue Model: [ONE_TIME_SALES / SUBSCRIPTION / PROJECT_BASED / COMMISSION / MIX] - Current Monthly Revenue: [DOLLAR_AMOUNT] - Team Size: [SOLO / 2_TO_5 / 6_TO_20] - Primary Business Goals: [GROW_REVENUE / INCREASE_PROFIT / SCALE_OPERATIONS / IMPROVE_RETENTION] **Current Tracking:** - Do you currently track metrics? [YES / NO / INCONSISTENTLY] - What do you track now? [LIST_ANY_CURRENT_METRICS] - What tools do you use? [SPREADSHEET / ACCOUNTING_SOFTWARE / ANALYTICS_PLATFORMS / NONE] **Information Access:** - Can you access: Revenue by day/week? [YES / NO] - Can you access: Customer acquisition costs? [YES / NO] - Can you access: Customer counts? [YES / NO] - Can you access: Website or app analytics? [YES / NO] - Can you access: Operational efficiency data? [YES / NO] Build customized dashboard framework: **1. Core Metric Categories** Every dashboard should cover these areas: **Revenue Metrics (Growth)** - Track money coming in - Identify revenue trends - Forecast future income **Profitability Metrics (Efficiency)** - Understand margins - Control expenses - Maximize take-home income **Customer Metrics (Acquisition and Retention)** - Monitor customer flow - Measure satisfaction - Predict churn **Operational Metrics (Productivity)** - Track team efficiency - Monitor capacity utilization - Identify bottlenecks **Cash Flow Metrics (Survival)** - Monitor cash position - Predict cash needs - Avoid shortfalls **2. Business Model-Specific Metrics** **If E-commerce Business:** - **Revenue**: Total sales this week vs. last week vs. same week last year - **Average Order Value (AOV)**: Total revenue ÷ number of orders - **Conversion Rate**: Orders ÷ website visitors × 100 - **Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)**: Marketing spend ÷ new customers - **Inventory Turnover**: Cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory - **Return Rate**: Returns ÷ total orders × 100 - **Email List Growth**: New subscribers this week - **Cash Balance**: Current cash in bank **If Service Business or Consulting:** - **Revenue**: Total sales this week (signed contracts or collected revenue) - **Pipeline Value**: Total value of active proposals and opportunities - **Billable Utilization**: Billable hours ÷ total available hours × 100 - **Average Project Value**: Total revenue ÷ number of projects - **Client Acquisition Cost (CAC)**: Sales and marketing spend ÷ new clients - **Client Retention Rate**: Returning clients ÷ total clients × 100 - **Payment Collection Time**: Average days from invoice to payment - **Booked Revenue (next 90 days)**: Contracts signed for future delivery **If SaaS or Subscription Business:** - **Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)**: Total subscription revenue this month - **New MRR**: Revenue from new customers this month - **Churn Rate**: Customers lost ÷ total customers × 100 - **Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)**: Average revenue per customer ÷ churn rate - **Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)**: Sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers - **LTV:CAC Ratio**: Should be 3:1 or higher - **Net Revenue Retention**: (Starting MRR + expansion - churn) ÷ starting MRR × 100 - **Active Users**: Daily or weekly active users **If Agency or Freelance:** - **Revenue**: Total client payments received this week - **Accounts Receivable**: Outstanding invoices not yet paid - **Project Margin**: (Project revenue - project costs) ÷ project revenue × 100 - **Client Satisfaction (NPS)**: Track via quarterly surveys - **Capacity Booked**: Hours committed ÷ available hours × 100 - **Lead Response Time**: Hours from inquiry to response - **Proposal Win Rate**: Proposals accepted ÷ proposals sent × 100 **3. Leading vs. Lagging Indicators** **Lagging Indicators** (what already happened): - Revenue, profit, customer count - Useful for understanding past performance **Leading Indicators** (predict what will happen): - Pipeline value, website traffic, conversion rate, email list size - Useful for forecasting and proactive decisions **Balance both types:** Lagging tells you where you are, leading tells you where you are going. **4. Dashboard Metric Selection** Choose 5-10 metrics based on priorities: **Tier 1 (Must Track):** - Total revenue this week - Total expenses this week - Cash balance - New customers this week **Tier 2 (Highly Valuable):** - Customer acquisition cost - Profit margin - Lead or opportunity pipeline value - Conversion rate (leads to customers) **Tier 3 (Nice to Have):** - Team productivity metrics - Customer satisfaction scores - Market share or competitive position - Long-term trends (year-over-year growth) **Recommendation:** Start with 5-7 metrics. Add more only if you consistently use what you have. **5. Data Collection Plan** For each metric, identify: - **Data Source**: Where does this data come from? - **Collection Method**: Manual entry, API integration, export from tool? - **Update Frequency**: Daily, weekly, monthly? - **Responsible Person**: Who updates this? **Example:** | Metric | Data Source | Collection Method | Frequency | Owner | |--------|-------------|-------------------|-----------|-------| | Revenue | Stripe | Export CSV | Weekly | Owner | | Expenses | QuickBooks | Manual entry | Weekly | Bookkeeper | | Cash | Bank account | Check balance | Weekly | Owner | **6. Target Setting** For each metric, establish: - **Current Baseline**: Where are you now? - **Target Goal**: Where do you want to be? - **Warning Threshold**: What level triggers concern? **Example:** - **Revenue**: Current $40K/month, Target $50K/month, Warning if below $35K/month - **Cash Balance**: Current $25K, Target $40K (3 months expenses), Warning if below $15K **7. Dashboard Layout Design** **Simple Spreadsheet Format:** ``` [BUSINESS_NAME] Weekly Dashboard Week of: [DATE] KEY METRICS This Week Last Week Change Target Status ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Revenue $X,XXX $X,XXX +X% $X,XXX 🟢 New Customers XX XX +X XX 🟢 Customer Acquisition Cost $XXX $XXX -X% $XXX 🟡 Cash Balance $XX,XXX $XX,XXX -X% $XX,XXX 🟢 Pipeline Value $XX,XXX $XX,XXX +X% $XX,XXX 🟢 FINANCIAL SUMMARY ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Total Revenue (MTD) $XX,XXX Total Expenses (MTD) $XX,XXX Net Profit (MTD) $XX,XXX Profit Margin XX% CUSTOMER METRICS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Total Customers XXX Churn Rate X% Average Order Value $XXX OPERATIONAL METRICS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Billable Utilization XX% Outstanding Invoices $XX,XXX Average Collection Time XX days WEEKLY INSIGHTS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ✅ What went well: [KEY_WIN_THIS_WEEK] ⚠️ What needs attention: [CONCERN_OR_ISSUE] 🎯 Focus for next week: [TOP_PRIORITY_ACTION] ``` **8. Color-Coding System** Use visual indicators for quick status check: - **🟢 Green**: On track or exceeding target - **🟡 Yellow**: Below target but not critical - **🔴 Red**: Below warning threshold, needs immediate attention **9. Weekly Review Process** **Every Monday (15-30 minutes):** 1. **Update all metrics** with latest data 2. **Review trends**: What is up? What is down? Why? 3. **Identify anomalies**: Any unexpected changes? 4. **Spot patterns**: Do you see weekly or seasonal trends? 5. **Make decisions**: Based on data, what actions to take this week? 6. **Set weekly priorities**: What needs focus based on metrics? **Example Questions to Ask:** - Why did revenue drop this week? (seasonality, fewer leads, lower conversion?) - Customer acquisition cost is rising. Where is money being wasted? - Cash balance is low. Do we need to accelerate collections or delay expenses? **10. Tools and Platforms** **Simple (Free to $20/month):** - Google Sheets or Excel (manual but flexible) - Google Data Studio (connects to multiple sources) - Notion or Airtable (visual databases) **Intermediate ($20-$100/month):** - QuickBooks (accounting + reports) - HubSpot or Pipedrive (CRM + sales tracking) - Databox or Klipfolio (dashboard builders) **Advanced ($100+/month):** - Tableau or Power BI (enterprise business intelligence) - Geckoboard or Dasheroo (specialized dashboards) - Custom-built solutions with APIs **Recommendation for small business:** Start with Google Sheets. Upgrade only when you outgrow it. **11. Automation Opportunities** Reduce manual work: - Connect Stripe or payment processor via Zapier to auto-populate revenue - Use Google Sheets formulas to calculate metrics automatically - Set up weekly email reports from accounting software - Use analytics platform APIs to pull website or app data **12. Dashboard Anti-Patterns (Avoid These)** - **Too many metrics**: Tracking 30 things means tracking nothing effectively - **Vanity metrics**: Followers, page views, or other numbers that do not drive decisions - **No targets**: Metrics without context are meaningless - **Irregular updates**: Stale data is worse than no data - **No action taken**: Dashboard is useless if you do not change behavior based on insights **13. Evolution Over Time** Your dashboard should evolve: - **Year 1**: Track survival metrics (revenue, cash, customers) - **Year 2**: Add efficiency metrics (margins, CAC, utilization) - **Year 3**: Add growth metrics (LTV, retention, market share) **Review dashboard quarterly:** Are these still the right metrics? What should change? **Deliverable:** Provide: - List of 5-10 recommended metrics for your specific business - Simple dashboard template (Google Sheets format) - Data collection plan with sources and frequency - Target values for each metric - Weekly review checklist Make dashboard actionable and maintainable without requiring data science degree.