📝 How to Measure Your Business Success: Output Units vs. Time
Starting a business is a daunting task, and it's easy to get lost in the weeds. Many entrepreneurs find themselves working tirelessly, yet not seeing the results they expected. This is a common problem, and it's often due to a misunderstanding of how to measure success. In this article, we'll explore the difference between measuring success in output units versus time, and how to use this knowledge to increase your productivity and achieve your goals.
📈 Output Units: The Key to Measuring Success
The traditional way of measuring success is by time. You work for an hour, and you get paid for it. However, this method doesn't take into account the quality or quantity of work produced. Instead, we should be measuring success in output units. Output units are the amount of work produced, regardless of how long it takes to produce it.
For example, let's say you're starting an Etsy shop. You spend an hour creating a product listing, and it generates one sale. The next day, you spend two hours creating a product listing, and it generates two sales. While you spent more time on the second listing, you produced more output units, which resulted in more sales. By measuring success in output units, you can accurately assess where your business is based on the productive output, not how long you spent working on it.
📊 How to Increase Your Output Units
To increase your output units, you need to implement a system. A system holds you accountable, makes your tasks repeatable, and allows you to improve the quality of your work. Without a system, you'll find yourself working harder, not smarter.
First, a system holds you accountable to completing the actual work. If you have a predefined set of tasks to complete each day that will produce your outputs, then showing up to complete that checklist of tasks becomes a habit. This also makes it much easier to analyze each step of the process to make it a little bit more efficient and make your life easier overall.
Second, a system makes your tasks repeatable. This means that every day, your tasks should look somewhat similar to the day before, so that you can easily predict your output units, regardless of their quality. Repeatability allows you to sit down whenever you have the time and work on the tasks that move you along the path closer to higher quality and more output.
Finally, a system allows you to improve the quality of your work. Within the system, you're able to adjust one or two variables at a time to get different types of a very similar output. For example, if you're making t-shirts, you can adjust the idea, the font, the color, the mockup, and slowly test to see what works better than others.
🤔 Why Measuring Success in Time is a Mistake
Measuring success in time is a mistake because it doesn't take into account the quality or quantity of work produced. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you work for 50 hours, you'll get paid for 50 hours. However, time doesn't care if you take 1 hour or 10,000 hours to complete a task. The total output of work has to be the same.
This is why it's important to flip the measuring stick over and see on the back side that it says units. By doing this, you can stop worrying about how long it's going to take and focus on increasing your outputs. The more output you do, the closer you get to your goal.
📈 Applying Output Units to Your Business
To apply output units to your business, you need to figure out what your output units should be. This can be done by comparing your stats to someone else's. For example, if it usually takes 500 videos to reach a million subscribers, then why would you compare yourself when you've only made 69 videos? Your output units are significantly lower.
Once you know what your output units should be, you need to implement a system to increase them. This means holding yourself accountable, making your tasks repeatable, and improving the quality of your work. By doing this, you'll be able to increase your output units and achieve your goals.
🎉 Conclusion
Measuring success in output units versus time is a game-changer. By focusing on the amount of work produced, regardless of how long it takes to produce it, you can increase your productivity and achieve your goals. Implementing a system is key to increasing your output units, and it will hold you accountable, make your tasks repeatable, and improve the quality of your work. So, stop measuring success in time and start measuring it in output units.
