Why Ratios Trump Uncooked Numbers in Enterprise Well being | by Shirley Bao, Ph.D. | Sep, 2024

Understanding ratios is essential to unlocking deeper insights into your enterprise’s well being and driving smarter decision-making

Picture by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Think about you’re a farmer with two apple orchards. In the future, you resolve to depend the apples in every orchard. Orchard A has 1,000 apples, whereas Orchard B has solely 500. At first look, it looks as if Orchard A is the clear winner. However what if I advised you that Orchard A has 10,000 bushes, whereas Orchard B has solely 500? Instantly, Orchard B doesn’t look so dangerous, does it?

That is the ability of proportions. In enterprise, as in farming, uncooked numbers will be deceiving. To really perceive the well being of your enterprise, it is advisable take a look at proportions.

You might be in all probability taking a look at absolute numbers daily, e.g. your enterprise has made $10K in income this week. There are 250 clients who positioned orders right this moment, whereas it was 200 yesterday and 100 on the identical day final week and so on.

Proportions, alternatively, are just like the advantageous print. They won’t be as instantly eye-catching as absolute numbers, however they supply a extra correct image of your enterprise’s well being.

Take revenue margin, for instance. This can be a proportion that compares your revenue to your income. A excessive revenue margin signifies…