If getting more done each day in your horse business is one of your goals, then you should read this.
Increasing productivity in your business is no easy job. You know from experience that projects are endless and hours in the day to complete them are limited. One of the ways your business productivity is measured is by how well you and your employees use the limited resource of time to get things done. Measuring how you use time is the first step toward increasing your productivity.
Time is the king of measuring methods. It’s easy to monitor. You can count seconds, minutes and hours on your watch; you can count days, weeks and months on your calendar. But, time is not a good measuring system when used alone. There are no standards to apply to chart progress. When you reference goals to time, you then have a system for measuring your progress.
As an example, if you have a riding lesson program, measure your marketing program’s effectiveness by the number of inquiries you get per month about your program. As you try different strategies, your measurement of the results helps identify the best places to spend marketing dollars. With no measuring system in place, no decisions get made regarding the best marketing practices for your business.
If you have a business goal to ride and train 4 horses each working day, a training log or calendar kept in the barn becomes your weekly measuring device. As you record the daily training sessions, this record of progress becomes your monitor of success or evidence of neglected commitment.
If your employees are responsible for completing the mucking of stalls by 10:00 AM each day, then a chart of “on time” completion days posted on the wall will keep the help focused on the 10:00 A.M. goal, not the morning coffee break.
Other ideas for measurements for your horse business:
- Monthly bills in the mail by the 3rd day of each month
- Numbers of stalls occupied by paying boarders each month
- Lessons given per month
- Number of lessons by horse each month
- Hours spent each week working on the business opposed to in the business.
- Delinquent account receivable dollars each month
- Number of prospects contacted per month
- Number of quarterly press releases about: you, your horses, boarders, students including show results
The goal is to begin measuring business progress on an active basis. Without measurement, improvements in productivity inch into miles away and hours tick into months away.
So get measuring to get things done!
If you don’t start soon, I’ll whack your knuckles with your own ruler, another way to use measurement to get things done.