How is your Analytics?

For most of us at this time of year we are a little bit analytical. We are thinking about the year that was and about the year to come. We have the year in review on TV about sports, about the News, and on just about any topic we can think of. We ourselves think about the last year, our weight and the pounds we’ve gained or about our smoking habit etc. and we make resolutions about what we hope to do in the New Year. But for many of us trying to analyze our business is not easy. We know we should do it but it just isn’t natural. For others it is easy and that is all they want to think about and it is hard for them to think about the future. That is life we are all different.
Some of us try to use software to do the work for us but software alone won’t do it, no matter how good it is. Software is only as good as the information that is put into it and then what comes out isn’t going to change anything unless we interpret it and then make the changes that are needed.
So how are your analytics? No I’m not talking about the software I’m talking about you. Have you taken or do you plan to take some time to evaluate what you did last year and set new goals for 2008? The easy path and I tend to take it at times and make excuses of “I’m too busy” is to just keep doing the same old same old. Someone once said that the definition of a fool is “someone who keeps doing the same thing and expecting different results”.
As I think about really my first year trying to make money on the internet through our two outdoor furniture stores “Teaks n More” and “Outdoor Cedars” I feel like I have come a long way. Yet I realize there is so much to learn and put into practice yet. I am not discouraged, (though I would like it to be easier) the old saying is still true “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither will our business. I am actually looking forward to this coming year. I enjoy learning. I enjoy the road of discovery and if I wasn’t working at this I would find some other hill to climb. See that is why I find it harder to do the analytics, I am always looking to the new. That is one of the things that I have discovered. I have been bouncing from new to new too much and need to work on doing better with what I am presently trying to do.
Next time I will think about setting some goals for 2008.
Till next time.