Calculate How Much You're Making

Do you really know how much money you're making on your vending route? I'm not just talking about the spread between the cost of goods and their selling price. I'm asking if you've taken the time to calculate exactly how much you're making per hour (after ALL your expenses).

If you are tracking your business via accouting software (like QuickBooks or Quicken) then the answer is easy. If you track it using some other electronic method (or even manually) then the answer may take a couple extra minutes - but still worth your time. Take the "Profit" number from one of your P/L statement - I recommend you use at least a quarterly or semi-annual reporting period. Once you have this number divide the amount of time you spent in your business by it. The answer you get may surprise you - hopefully for the better.

Do you even track your business? If not, then my first question is, "Why not?" How can you be expected to make intelligent decisions if you do not even know "where you stand"? So this week's assignment is for you to review exactly how much you are making. If you have no way of knowing then first you need to start tracking your business.