Measure it, manage it – business milestones to success

Michelle McVeigh • January 23, 2024

“If you can measure it, you can manage it.”  – Robert Kaplan

Running a healthy small business is no mean feat, and business owners have certainly had some challenges thrown at them over the past few years.

However, small businesses are renown for being agile, resilient, and proactive. If you are working hard to achieve the success you aspire to, now might be a good time to have a think about what success means to you and how you can measure it.

After all, how can you achieve your goals if you don’t have a clear idea of what success looks like and a way to measure how your business is performing in relation to achieving your business goals?

How do you define success?

Success can be something that’s very hard to quantify and your definition of what makes a successful business will generally be quite different to someone else’s. Every small business owner will have their own individual idea of what success means to them based on their values and objectives for the business.

Common measures of success

Surprisingly, while financial measures are most commonly used to measure business success, business owners often look to ‘softer’ measures, which often relate back to why they went into business in the first place. Many small business owners are motivated strongly by the desire to provide quality goods and/or services and running a business that is a good place to work – both for the owner and the employees.

This is reflected in a report conducted by National Australia Bank which found that only 11 per cent of participants ranked large turnover as a measure of success. i  One in 3 (32%) rated high profits as an important measure but this was well behind other things such as good financial management (58%), positive word of mouth (56%), productive staff (49%) and happy staff (45%).

Crunching the numbers

That’s not to say that tracking the financial health of your business is not important. Clearly, it’s critical, and there are many metrics that can be used to determine what financial shape your company is in.

The most common measure to track how your business is tracking financially is profitability. While it’s possible for companies to survive for a time without being profitable, operating on the goodwill of creditors and investors, to prosper, a company must eventually attain and maintain profitability. It’s a good measure of how successful your company is.

It’s important to acknowledge that no single metric will provide you with the full picture of your company’s financial and health. There are many financial metrics you can use to track your businesses’ health and progress. Metrics you may wish to look at are liquidity which measures a firm’s ability to ride out short-term difficult patches, and solvency which informs how readily longer-term debt can be supported. Companies can have high debt but still perform well if they have used their debt to purchase assets such as equipment or other companies so calculating your debt compared to your assets can be of benefit.

Coming back to your, unique goals

Given that there are so many aspects of business success you can monitor, it comes back to how you define success. That means working out what you want to achieve, what business success means to you and then coming up with the financial and nonfinancial drivers of that objective.

The next step once you have come up with your drivers is to determine how best to assess these. For example, if one of your main objectives is customers who are pleased with your products or services, customer satisfaction surveys will be a good tool to determine how you are tracking and where there is room for improvement. Or if your focus is on improving your turnover, you can look at measures to track your sales volumes, lead conversions and other matrix that support revenue.

You must also regularly re-evaluate your metrics, as well as your business goals as these change over time.

Whatever you want to achieve in your business we wish you a successful 2024.

Do you know how your super is performing?

By Nikki Ashurst • November 2, 2026
Many Australians don't know how their super fund has performed or what it invests in. Are you one of them? Here's what to check and why it matters. Do you know how your super fund performed over the last two years? Many Australians don’t and are working towards their financial future without fully understanding one of their most important assets and without a clear plan for how their super may support them in retirement. That's not surprising, as many people view super as something that should run quietly in the background while they're busy with careers, families and everything else that life throws at them. But when you’re not sure what’s happening behind your balance, it’s harder to know whether you’re on track, whether your current approach reflects your goals or what opportunities might be available to help you make the most of what you’ve built so far. Your super isn't sitting in an account, it's invested Super is invested by a fund on your behalf across a mix of assets, with those investments working to grow your balance over time. Those include: Shares Ownership in Australian and international publicly listed companies. Their value can rise and fall, sometimes substantially over short periods but shares can provide capital growth over the long term. Property and infrastructure Real assets like office buildings, shopping centres, airports and energy networks. They can produce income and don't always behave in the same way as share markets, helping diversify investment holdings. Fixed interest and bonds Lending to governments and companies in return for interest. They can provide regular income and be steadier than shares, although returns and risk vary depending on the investment. Cash Generally, the most stable and lowest risk investment type. It can provide stability and faster access to money but typically offers lower longer term return potential. The investment option you choose determines the mix of assets held in your super based on your risk appetite. Most super funds offer options from conservative to high growth. If you’re young, a growth option with a higher exposure to growth assets like shares could offer higher returns over time – but it also comes with higher risk. As retirement nears, you might want to consider a more conservative approach with more defensive assets, like bonds for example to protect your savings. If you've never made a choice, you're probably in your fund's default option, which is designed to suit a broad membership. It’s worth knowing whether the mix you're in matches your circumstances and goals, including how far you are from retirement. Why performance alone is not a true comparison If you're thinking about how your super compares, returns are often where people start. The trouble is that a return figure means nothing without context: What it's being compared to Growth and conservative options invest differently and with different levels of risk. Compare like with like or the comparison may not be genuine. The comparison period A single year can be heavily influenced by short term market conditions. Super is measured in decades, so five, seven and ten year returns tell you far more about whether a fund is consistently doing its job, albeit not a predictor of future performance. Fees and tax Published returns should reflect investment fees, costs and tax but administration fees may be charged separately from your balance. Two funds quoting the same return can leave you in meaningfully different places once all fees are accounted for. Then there are the things that returns can't show you at all. For example, what insurance is attached to your account and what it's costing you, whether the fund offers guidance, tools and advice or simply sends a statement once a year. Another consideration maybe the level of support available when you need it. When comparing funds, it's worth looking at the full picture, including performance, fees, investment options, retirement support and member benefits. What today’s decisions mean tomorrow To understand how your super stacks up, start here: Find your investment option It's on your annual statement and in your online account. Look at what's in it Your fund publishes the asset allocation (shares, cash etc.) for each investment option. Check the long-term return for that option Focus on five and ten year returns, not just last year and compare them with equivalent options. Understand the total cost Add together administration fees, investment fees and insurance premiums as an annual dollar figure. Comparing super is about working out which option will perform best for you. Before you jump in, it’s worth understanding what's behind the numbers so you can make decisions based on more than a headline return. Knowing where you stand is the first step A super balance tells you where you are today. Understanding how your super is invested, how it compares and whether it's aligned with your goals helps show whether you're heading in the right direction. Source: MLC The information in this article does not take into account your objectives, needs and circumstances. We recommend that you obtain investment and taxation advice specific to your investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs before making any investment decision or acting on any of the information contained in this document. Subject to law, Capstone Financial Planning nor their directors, employees or authorised representatives gives any representation or warranty as to the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the information; or accepts any responsibility for any person acting, or refraining from acting, on the basis of the information contained in this document. Principal Wealth Management Pty Ltd trading as BMO Financial Solutions ABN 53 109 336 601 is a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR 277821) of Capstone Financial Planning Pty Ltd ABN 24 093 733 969 Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No. 223135.

The SMSF landscape is changing

By Jude Schofield • October 7, 2026
More Australians are choosing to take direct control of their retirement savings by establishing a self-managed super fund (SMSF) and according to the SMSF Association, Aussies now see their super as an important part of building and managing their overall wealth.