Episode 29: Analyze Your Business Numbers with Dashboards
Harnessing the Power of Dashboards to Analyze Business Numbers
A successful business is one that can use data to make informed decisions. With a dashboard, you can track performance and see trends, patterns, and potential.
Today, I nerd out with a fellow metrics and measurement lover as we talk about how dashboards give you insight into all areas of your business.
Resources:
Metrics Mastery: 10 pack of dashboard templates
Connect with Carolyn on Instagram
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Podcast Transcript:
Kiva Slade 0:01
Hello and welcome to collab with Kiva. I'm your host Kiva, Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing themed office chair. I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay at home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry business owner, and now the owner of a service based business. Whether your journey has been a straight line, or full of zigs and zags. Join me and my guest as we share insights, hope and lessons learned from our female entrepreneurship journeys. Made the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat. Let's dive in. Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of collab with Kiva. I'm excited today because my guest, Carolyn O'Brien, we have a few things in common. We are also both certified OB PMS. And we also have a thing for numbers. So this is going to be a really exciting conversation. Carolyn is the owner of your marketing measured. Carolyn has learned almost 15 years ago that numbers are a game changer. Showing entrepreneurs the power of data has been her passion since the onset, can I get an amen? Carolyn shows entrepreneurs how to measure their marketing in order to maximize their revenue. You never need to be afraid of numbers. Again, you can see what is working and build on it immediately. Her goal is to make metrics span. And yes, it is possible, and to help business owners understand that looking at the numbers in the business is the only way to continue to grow in scale. So welcome to the show, Carolyn.
Carolyn O'Brien 2:00
Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Kiva Slade 2:04
I am so excited to dive into this. So this is like hot topic, I think right now. But our like economies continue to grow. And she's Digital's online businesses continue, there's so much here to unpack. So let's just back up some dough. Tell us more about your journey from working in corporate to this journey of now being an entrepreneur.
Carolyn O'Brien 2:25
Yeah, so my background in corporate was in, you know, advertising technology and software as a service companies. And so I was working in New York City for almost a decade. And working with software and tech companies. And then I ended up moving out to Denver, Colorado. And so that was kind of like a big lifestyle change. And I also was like, still working in corporate, but I was working remotely. So I had like East Coast work hours. And I had like all of this extra time in the afternoon. And kind of like my, my goal always has been to like start my own business. Like I've always wanted to work for myself. I just had no idea like how to make it happen. And so when I moved, I was like, you know, this seems like the right opportunity and the right time to be able to try something. So where do we go? We go to Google. And I was like, How do I work for myself? How do I start a business? What do I do? And that's actually when I found out this whole like online business manager online course world, which I like, never knew even existed. And I was looking at the online business manager role and certification. And I realized, hey, like a lot of the skills that I have in corporate, I can totally use and essentially just get my own clients that way. So I decided to dive in, take the certification, which was really my first intro to this whole space. I got certified and started working with clients that way. And then, you know, have made a couple of like pivots and shifts along the way as I've been in the industry for a couple of years now. But really just taking the skills I had in corporate and realizing like, oh, I can make my own money doing this with my own clients rather than working with clients through a corporation.
Kiva Slade 4:10
Oh my gosh, I love all of that. I love it's like yeah, what are we all go for information Google. So how to figure that out? And I didn't realize that you were in Denver. My husband has been to Aurora, Colorado and he just wears it is the most beautiful place and I have a girlfriend who lives in Castle Rock. Okay, so yeah, they both just really rave about how beautiful it is out there. So I'm sure that and load was there was a shift of New York to Denver in terms of lifestyle, but just like in you weren't everything so congested either. You love New York City's awesome. So now let's talk more about metrics and specifically dashboards. How do you use those to help business owners and support other professionals?
Carolyn O'Brien 4:57
Yeah, so the the whole way I started with dashboards because I was working with these six and seven figure course creators. And some of them were in different spots, looking at numbers and data is I had one client who was tracking numbers, but they weren't really being looked at like they really were sitting in a Google sheet. And that was it. And then another client was like, scared of numbers and hated math and was like, totally that creative, not type A, and was like, I don't even know what to do I see money coming in. So I think that's good enough. And I kind of realized, like, if we're not looking at the numbers, then like, we're not getting any information. Like we're not making smart decisions. And so I came across Google Data Studio, like Googled something again, and was like, How do I create dashboards, because I really felt it was in my role as the online business manager to like, help manage this for them and like help show them the numbers in a way that they could understand. So I found Data Studio, and I just started building these dashboards. And I realized at that point, like, probably, honestly, a year or so later, that like, not everyone knew about Data Studio knew about dashboards, or was really taking advantage of it. So that's kind of like how I shifted into the dashboard space and started doing that for more clients. And my whole kind of goal was to make it easily understandable for these clients, and a way for them to build and make decisions based on the data. Because there's so much data available online and in the online marketing and digital marketing space. And if you're not using it, you're really like at a disadvantage. And so I am not like a total total numbers person, right? Like, I'm not an accountant. I'm not like a financial person. But I understand the power of numbers when it comes to marketing. And that's kind of the area that I love to play in is how can we improve upon marketing efforts based on the numbers and what they show you? And so that's kind of like my whole philosophy is like, you know, don't come to me if you need like a bookkeeper or an accountant or anything like that. You shouldn't be tracking those numbers. Absolutely. But I love kind of like the marketing efforts and like, is the funnel working? You know, what's the customer journey? What improvements and optimizations can be made?
Kiva Slade 7:21
Oh, my gosh, I love that. I was like, Don't come to me for your taxes. Because that is so not the numbers. I'm talking about. That yeah, that's so very true. And I think there was a book I was reading by him to reek Ryman, who says, like, analytics is two thirds of marketing, you know, and I think that's something that's often skipped in the process, because we're like, Hey, you gotta get that message out there. We gotta be talking to the people and everything. And, you know, you're right, Google Analytics will probably give you more numbers and you want to shake a stick at but are all of them the numbers you actually need to focus on in order to make good decisions in your business. So I am curious, though, when you work with clients, have you ever come across those have once you've even given them the data, that they're just still like, let's just plow straight ahead with the way that we're rowing, even though the numbers clearly indicate a change, of course, is needed?
Carolyn O'Brien 8:15
Yeah. So I think I try to build a habit in with my clients that like, every single Monday or Tuesday, beginning of the week, we're like looking at certain dashboards to figure out like, what's going on. And I'm not the type of person who like, you know, I look at numbers, for the most part on a weekly basis, I think daily is like, sometimes too much, unless you're in the middle of a launch, or like you made a big change. And so even if numbers look like down for a week, I'm also not one to be like, we need to change it immediately, you know, because like, things change so fast, and so quickly in the online space. And so what I tend to do is make notes on the dashboard, like written notes, so that we can like keep track of trends and dates, and then basically, like, have a deadline of like, okay, two weeks, we kind of gave this a shot, it's not working, let's go ahead and like try to change something else. And the way I try to set up dashboards is not only can you see kind of like, big picture, what's going on, but then trends over time, because if we're missing that trends over time piece, then you're not looking at it in a context. And one of the things you had said earlier that just reminded me is like there used to be this old saying and advertising like 50% of marketing works. You just don't know what 50% And now I mean, I'm sure you feel the same way. It's like, we can kind of figure out like almost 100% of like, what's working, what's not working, because every single step along the journey we have a number for and we can kind of figure out where are people dropping off or like if something is going wrong?
Kiva Slade 9:52
Yeah, most definitely. I love that. You just don't wish 50% Oh my goodness. Okay, so how do business owners or so For professionals, excuse me get started and how did they implement dashboards? Like, what's the process, I guess, to work with you in that?
Carolyn O'Brien 10:07
Yeah. So, um, it depends kind of on on where you're at. So I've worked with business owners who are literally starting from scratch, which is kind of fun, because I can build everything with them from the ground up. And then everything's really, really clean right from the very beginning. So that's always nice. And then I've also worked with business owners who actually were doing a good job of like tracking numbers, but they just weren't doing a good job of analyzing and making decisions based on it. Because when numbers are sitting in a Google sheet, or an Excel Doc, I mean, even for me, who looks at numbers every day, like hundreds of rows of data, I like my brain can't process that, like I write visually, right? So it's really understanding, like where the business is at in terms of their like data tracking and collection, what their goals are, and then coming up with a plan for you know, what dashboards they may need. So I think, you know, you and I can probably agree, there's a couple of dashboards that like everyone should have in this space. And then depending on the business, there may be like a couple other dashboards that are really important for that business, you know, like, if a business does sales calls, and that's their primary way to close sales, then like, probably having a dashboard with that information is like top priority, or podcast, right? Like, I've done podcast dashboards before, which are great if you have a podcast, but not so great if you don't have one. So it's really understanding what the goals of the business are, and then how we can come up with dashboards that support that. And then every dashboard is a little bit different, like I tend to use a framework of how to get started or where to start. But some people and some business owners and CEOs want to see more information than others, right. And some may have a director of operations or an OPM who has like a separate dashboard for themselves. And so it's really working with the business owner to understand their particular business, and then helping them determine the dashboards, they need to support that.
Kiva Slade 12:05
Love that. So for someone who's listening, it says, Wow, this sounds really fascinating. And I have lots of numbers in some sheets and Docs, where you know, how many dashboards for, let's just say, a beginner, a business that's been in business that has some data that they've been tracking, but they haven't actually done anything with it in there in the online space about how many dashboards on average, would they be looking at, and I realized there'll be some specific ones. But if they could just have a number to start with, and say, wow, it would be really cool if I had four. So what would be that number?
Carolyn O'Brien 12:43
So yeah, my like, kind of like core package, or like the starter package that I work with people on has four. So I call the first two like revenue and leads. And that's really just like big picture, what's happening in the business? What are the sales, what's the revenue, how many leads are coming in refunds. And then there's two versions of that. So I like to have a weekly version to like, look at items from last week. But then also like a monthly quarterly version. So you can see over the trend of a year, like how am I performing month over month. And I think if you don't have that monthly version, you're kind of missing out because you're only seeing things from like a shorter term perspective. And I think you need to see both. And then the other two dashboards I like to include is email marketing, because that's typically like one of the marketing efforts most people have. And then sometimes I'll add in, you know, if social media is very, very important for our business, we can like throw some social media metrics on that email one, and then a KPI dashboard. So if they don't have KPIs or goal set, like helping them set in based on current performance, and just setting up a dashboard to kind of like track where they are, and then just helping them figure out what those goals are. So those are the four that I typically start with.
Kiva Slade 13:58
Yeah, I love that. And I think that just helps people kind of put it in their head as to Oh, okay, you can see what that is. And I love that you actually offer them support in setting up those KPIs because there are things that can be tracked. And they might want to have those things tracked. But I've never actually, in some cases taken the time to figure out like, oh, wait, that's something actually that is trackable. Wow, who didn't know that? So, absolutely. Love that. So another question, though, is as it relates to the setup, do you set them up with Google Analytics? Do you do that as well? So talk us through what how that looks like?
Carolyn O'Brien 14:34
Yeah, so one of the coolest things about Data Studio is the direct integration with Google Analytics, right, like Google products work really well together. So for a lot of data, I do tend to use Google Sheets to connect to data studio, but I've been doing Google Analytics more because there's so much data right and, and it takes a little bit of like combing through to understand like, what data do I want to pull in from Google Analytics. But yeah, I will help clients get set up because it's actually easier than you think. Right? Like, it kind of sounds like it's this big, scary thing. But there's a ton of support articles online to set up your Google Analytics. And then the connection to Data Studio is almost instantaneous. And so I've been able to kind of pull in some really cool things for clients using their Google Analytics. And that just makes the dashboard even more powerful, because it's a real time integration. So I love Google Sheets integrations, because it's fully customizable. And you can make it whatever you want. And then on the flip side, Google Analytics, it's real time. So you can have a dashboard that's updated instantaneously, as Google Analytics data is being tracked.
Kiva Slade 15:46
Awesome. Love that. So do you think there's a point where you have too many dashboards?
Carolyn O'Brien 15:51
Yes. There definitely is. The whole thing is like, there's there's too much data, right? Like in too much data is almost as bad as like not having enough data. And so I always try to ask myself, what questions am I trying to answer using these dashboards? And if I feel like they're getting too overwhelming, I kind of go back to that, and say, you know, where, what am I trying to answer with these dashboards? Like, what questions do I want to have solved by using this data. And then the other thing is, you can always add on more dashboards, right. So just start somewhere to have information, and then you can kind of build on from there. And the dashboards change, too, right? Like businesses in this online space, adjust. There's new products, there's new offers that change price points, they change funnels. And so you know, knowing the flexibility of the dashboards and knowing that you can change them over time, hopefully helps people feel like a little bit more comfortable, like I don't have to get everything done right away and have it all set up immediately.
Kiva Slade 17:01
Right? It's definitely a process, everyone is mad, she's like, pop it out of the box, it's more like Ikea furniture, it's gonna take you a little bit of time. It's not just something you can like a pop up tent or something. And it's like, boom, it's done. No, this is this is gonna take a little bit of work.
Carolyn O'Brien 17:21
At the studio has a learning curve, right? Like, there's things like I essentially, like taught it to myself. And at first, like, it's can be a little frustrating for people if you don't have any background on it. So I always like to include like a Data Studio one on one training video and like a back end walkthrough video with clients. So like, they have that information. And they don't feel like oh, I can't make any change to this without, you know, contacting someone else or getting help, right? I want to try to empower them. Like once the dashboards are set up, like give you enough information to make a change here or there as your business evolves.
Kiva Slade 18:00
Love that. Yeah, because it changes, like our space changes constantly, it feels like, and there just might be something that was working for you two weeks ago, that just no longer feels like the way you want to run your business. And yes, to be able to still keep that data and have access to it and be able to change it without feeling like I'm handcuffed and can't do anything else. Like yeah, no one wants to have that feeling. So I love that. Okay, so I'd love to know more. Because everyone if you're listening, and you're like, Okay, I need this in my life. Okay. Um, tell us more about what it is that you offer, and how people can have like, at least get started with this to start looking at those numbers.
Carolyn O'Brien 18:40
Yeah, so I work with both business owners who maybe have courses or coaching programs, but then also service providers like OEMs and DEOs. And I love working with the OEMs and DEOs. Because, you know, I understand them a lot, right? Like, we're kind of in the same boat. And so for some people, even in that space, like numbers, or metrics, or dashboards just don't resonate, as well. And so I love being able to support them, and help bring this to their clients. And so I kind of work with both sets of people. But I do custom dashboards, which is, you know, essentially, we sit down and strategize and I understand your business and determine, you know, what, dashboards are best. And then I also have like, a dashboard, template pack. And so there's, you know, 10 dashboards that you can get started with immediately, there's corresponding data collection sheets included, and that's for more the person who's DIY and who wants to take the time to set it up themselves, but just wants like a quickstart. Right, they want a shortcut. And that was originally made for the OEMs and DEOs because I know Data Studio like the initial setup is the longest and so you know, I thought like if I can make a shortcut for people, it hopefully will be a game changer. And so that's called metrics mastery. And the whole goal is just to save people time, and to give them a way to get the setup and in a lot shorter time than it would if you were starting from scratch.
Kiva Slade 20:12
Right? She's taken out there googling for you people, okay? I love that two metrics, Master moves. That's a tongue twister, mastery. Love that. So it's a just a whole package of dashboard templates, which I think is super, super helpful. Just literally short circuiting that process because there is definitely a learning curve with you know, any platform that we start to engage in, but definitely with Data Studio and the different connection. So in the fact that you include spreadsheets as well, just to kind of help them get that going again. So that's awesome. So Okay, where can people find more about Carolyn and your marketing measured?
Carolyn O'Brien 20:55
Yeah, so metrics success.com has all of the information. So it has a bunch of free resources that has information on the services, and it has information on the course as well.
Kiva Slade 21:06
Okay, awesome. So everyone, those notes will definitely be empty, those links will be in the show notes. And so I'm so excited, because I think that as we just continue to grow, and I think we all like and last time I checked, no one has like a money tree growing outside. So we need to be smarter about the things that we you know, obviously how we use the money that's in our business, how we use the money that comes into our business, and be able to make those wise decisions so that we can continue to not only for those that are service providers to serve those clients while but also have like a really solid business foundation that exists as well, and decisions that are made based on data. So this has been so exciting. I love talking and like basically nerding out with someone else who likes to talk about these things, I don't get to have these conversations often.
Carolyn O'Brien 21:56
Most people avoid the conversations right?
Kiva Slade 21:59
Completely that are there like a start to get the glazed over look like, stay with me, just just hold on a little bit.
Carolyn O'Brien 22:07
The dashboards look pretty, I promise.
Kiva Slade 22:12
It's like, it'll be very pretty, trust me, and it's gonna be informative. So I'm absolutely loving the fact that we could talk about this and just really get this in the hands of for business owners, because it is totally critical for just that success and that longevity. And we can start to break up those statistics for how long small businesses last and everything of that sort. And we can give them more of a boost as they can last a lot longer and have much more of an impact. So thank you so much, Carolyn, for joining us today. Again, everybody. All of the links will be in the show notes. Make sure you get some dashboards in your life. And I will talk to you next time on collab with Kiva. Thanks.
Carolyn O'Brien 22:52
Thank you.
Kiva Slade 22:55
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of collabs. With Kiva, each of us has a different path. And I hope that this episode gave you some takeaway that has left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course, your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciate it. You're a small business owner, ready to start making data driven decisions in your business. And you know that without the data, you're really just guessing, make sure to visit my website, the 516 collaborative.com. And let's schedule a time to talk to make sure that you can harness the power of data in your business. I'll see you next time. Bye
Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.
Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.