There was an article about evaluating the qualifications of teachers around the turn of the 20th century that caught my attention. The writer related some of the questions that were used when evaluating candidates for teaching positions in public schools. Here is one of the questions used to assess a potential teacher’s ability in mathematics about 125 years ago:

Suppose I pay 3 31/48 cents per bushel for carting my wheat to the mill, the miller takes 1/16 of a cent for grinding, it takes 4 1/2 bushels of wheat to make a barrel of flour, I pay 25 cents each for barrels and $1.25 per barrel for carrying the flour to market where my agent sells 60 barrels for $367.50, out of which he takes 25 cents per barrel for his services. What do I receive per bushel for my wheat?

It sounds like a bit of a brain teaser, and I’m sure some of you are wondering, “What the heck does this have to do with my service business in 2024?”

The article got me thinking about how well we really understand the profitability of our business. You’ve probably gone through the process of putting together a business plan for 2024. If so, then in many cases, one of your areas of focus is on improving profitability. When doing so, here are some of the questions you should have considered:

1. How do we know it’s possible to increase our profits?
2. What benchmarks or standards are we using to determine what our profitability could be?
3. How have we gone about assessing where the opportunities for improvement lie?
4. Do we understand our profitability by service or product line to the point that we can determine whether some parts of our business are profitable and may be subsidizing others that are not?
5. How much improvement is possible, and what should our targets in specific areas be for 2024?
6. Have we done enough of a deep dive to know which cost items offer the most potential and are the areas where we should focus our efforts?

Chances are good that even if you considered some of these questions, you probably didn’t consider all of them. You may be wondering where you should even start. Allow me to offer some suggestions:

• Start with the cost of sales (COGS) items that represent the biggest portion of your revenue: Direct labor is typically the largest single cost item. Subcontracting — an alternative to using in-house labor — may also be significant. Materials and vehicles, along with all related costs like maintenance, fuel, and insurance, likely round out the top four.
• Identify industry benchmarks for total COGS and targets for the above four items (expressed as a percent of total revenue) based on the lines of service you offer.
• Compare your performance to the benchmarks and see where the gaps are the largest.
• For your overhead or fixed expenses, start with the total amount, again expressed as a percentage of total revenue. If the answer is greater than 30%, there is opportunity to either shrink your fixed costs or you may have an organizational structure that is scaled to support a higher level of revenue.

As revenue grows, if you maintain the same number of overhead staff — owners, managers, accountants, salespeople, etc. — the total cost of these positions will represent a smaller percentage of your total revenue.

A note of caution: Be careful not to misinterpret what I am saying. Do not think that you can simply “grow your way” to profitability. You must manage both your COGS and overhead costs at all times.

• Marketing is an overhead cost that is critical to maintain. This is one where some “inverse logic” applies. In times of reduced profitability, do not give in to the temptation to cut investments in sales or marketing. While doing so might result in a short-term boost in profits, it will likely derail your ability to grow your business in the longer term.

Typically, the total of all sales and marketing costs — including sales reps, their expenses, website maintenance, advertising, printing, and costs for other marketing materials and event sponsorships — should total 7-10% of total revenue. Smaller, startup businesses that are experiencing rapid growth will likely have a higher spend. Larger, well-established companies may get that percentage down to 5-7% of revenue.

The above questions and guidance are all relevant in a “normal” year under “normal” conditions. When an event like a global pandemic wreaks havoc with your business, you’ll need to consider any impact it may have — positive or negative — and whether it will be short-term in nature or likely permanent. Do your best to determine these answers and make decisions about where your business is headed, where to focus, what to stop doing, and where new opportunities may offer more promise for profitable growth.

It is critical to understand our markets and our customers, what they want and how they want it, how it all has an impact on our organization’s ability to adapt, refocus, and retrain, and where the best opportunities are for sustained profitable growth. Those who spend time analyzing and understanding these wants and impacts will be the ones to seize the day.

By the way, I believe the farmer in the 1900-era math question receives $ 0.935 per bushel for their wheat.