A few key metrics can measure business success. Among them include lead generation and conversion, customer retention, and employee satisfaction. But perhaps the most important performance metric, and most important of them all, is getting a return on investment or ROI.
Investopedia defines ROI as a profitability metric that evaluates an investment’s amount of return in connection to its costs. In other words, computing for the ROI gives an entrepreneur or an investor solid proof that a business is thriving or not. But keeping a positive ROI at the end of each month is not an easy task.
In fact, only 40% of small businesses in the United States are profitable, while 30% of them break even. The rest just simply bleed cash.
There are ways that a business owner can achieve a positive ROI right from the start. Entrepreneur and real estate investor Graham Michael Byers has proven this after establishing his second business, the DB Media.
In this article, Byers shares five tips on how he and his business partner Dante achieve this daily.
Do What You’re Good At
Graham Michael Byers says that when starting a business, one must always do what they’re good at.
“Following your passion is great,” says Byers, “but pursuing things you are good at will be much more beneficial.”
Byers said that an entrepreneur will only gain positive ROI if he or she does what they’re good at.
Take it from Byers himself. He initially worked at a software company in San Francisco while managing his first company on the side. It was not until he saw his potential, skill, and passion for the business that he became a full-time entrepreneur.
Start Online
Both of Byers’s successful businesses are purely based online. This is another great way to keep a positive ROI because it eliminates unnecessary overhead costs like rent and utilities.
Without a brick-and-mortar office, Byers was also able to relocate quite easily to Puerto Rico, where he spends his time and energy managing his businesses and living life to the fullest.
Invest in Marketing
As the proud owner of a creative agency, Byers knows that investing properly in marketing can positively impact any business. For Byers, this means using direct response advertising to push their companies’ growth instead of relying on traditional marketing. This means using Facebook, Google, and other native ad platforms to connect with customers.
“We’ve earned millions of dollars as a two-man team just by leveraging direct response internet marketing,” says Byers.
Seek Undervalued Deals
Seeking undervalued deals is one of the oldest tricks in the book of doing business, but it still works.
This is especially true for Byers’s third business in the property space. Using his marketing skills, Byers ensures that he obtains undervalued deals, which benefit both his company and his clients.
Repeat What Works
As they say, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. When one finds the most profitable way to do business, there’s no need to change it. Unless, of course, it no longer works.
Graham Michael Byers employs the same tactics whenever he works for a specific brand. He has a proven way of doing business and it has helped him scale multiple businesses. He simply plans on repeating these same steps for his future ventures.
Start Early, Start Now
Byers has one last piece of advice for anyone looking to increase their ROI and grow their business, and that’s to stop overthinking things.
“You need to get started as soon as possible,” says Byers. “You’re going to fail many times; that’s why it’s important to start now and get them out of the way.”
