Comparing to last month's sales is despairing
Hello, this is mk.
I'm in my seventh year of selling coffee beans while working as a company employee. Today, I'd like to talk about how to look at sales figures. When sales drop in a given month, it's easy to get discouraged, but I realized that my way of comparing them was wrong from the start, so I'd like to share that.
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Even if you compare it to last month, the conditions are too different
When sales drop, the first thing we do is compare them to the previous month. But when you think about it, the conditions for last month and this month are completely different. June of this year wasn't that hot and there were many cool days, but once July hit, summer arrived all at once. It's natural for coffee demand to drop when temperatures rise, so comparing them on the same playing field is meaningless.
Seasons, temperatures, events, and the things that happened that month. If you line up numbers produced under completely different conditions and get happy or sad about whether they went up or down, you won't be able to keep your sanity. That's why I stopped comparing things to the previous month altogether.
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Fluctuations are natural
Another thing to understand is that there will always be fluctuations in sales. Just as stock prices go up and down every day, your own business will naturally fluctuate as well. Yet, when you're running it yourself, you start to feel like it should be stable.
A drop of a few tens of thousands of yen compared to last month is just within the range of normal fluctuation. If you worry about every little thing, there's no end to it, and if you're going to get depressed over it, it might be better not to look at the monthly numbers at all. As sales grow, the range of fluctuation also increases, making it even more necessary to have a mindset that doesn't get swayed by ups and downs.
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What you should look at is the annual graph
So, how should you look at it? I think looking at it on an annual basis is best. If you line up several years of data and put them into a graph, you can see seasonal trends and clearly see that you are growing compared to last year. You'll be able to look at it and say, 'Sales are down this month, but they are definitely higher than the same month last year.'
I also recommend comparing yourself to who you were three years ago. In three years, people grow properly, and in my case, my coffee sales are completely different from what they were three years ago. I'm now exceeding the sales amount from back then just in profit alone. Thinking about it that way makes me feel like I can keep working hard.
If I keep going for a few more years like this, the day might come when my current sales amount becomes my profit. If that happens, making a living solely from coffee won't be a dream. That kind of convenient way of looking at things is actually the most correct way. Take a bird's-eye view of the whole, compare things under the same conditions, and calmly do what needs to be done. I think that's all there is to it.
See you later.