How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time 🐘
Every day, I track what I list: number of items, total expected sales value, and my average sales price per order and number of orders. This gives me a simple scoreboard that tells me whether I am actually moving toward my goals, instead of guessing based on how today feels. Sales go up and down all the time, but my decisions are not allowed to swing with them. When sales are slow, I look at the data: Has my listing volume dropped? Has my average sales price changed? Am I still building pipeline even if the cash has not arrived yet? When things are going great, the same data stops me from getting lazy or overconfident. I am not a fan of corporate buzzwords, but having my own “KPI’s” has become non‑negotiable. For me it is as simple as: listings created, total listed value, average sales price, weekly revenue, and sell‑through rate. Those few numbers tell me if today was a win and what I need to adjust tomorrow. From my data and sell through rate I know that I can expect to sell 12 percent of my inventory each year. Now I’m focusing on replacing the slow, low value vintage items with high price industrial automation items when my stock sells. This is where being a small business owner is a massive, underrated advantage. Big companies also talk about being data‑driven and agile, but their decisions have to pass through layers of meetings and approvals. I can look at yesterday’s numbers and change today’s behaviour immediately: raise or lower listing targets, shift to higher‑value items, or double down on what is working. “Slow and steady wins the race” is not about moving slowly. It is about picking a pace you can sustain for years and using data to stay on course. One listing at a time, one small decision at a time, the elephant gets eaten.