Tuesday, November 03, 2026
The spreadsheet's been updated four times and nothing new has changed in three weeks. Here's why waiting for certainty is the real growth-killer, not the risk itself.
Before you spend on finding new customers, count how often your existing ones buy. Many owners assume customers buy monthly when they buy four times a year. In Kevin D'Ambros-Smith's Know Your Numbers training, lifting that from four to six is "like getting 50% more customers without doing any extra work." This guide gives you the three numbers and a 30-day test.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth sells the Know Your Numbers training, so Kevin is not neutral. The arithmetic below is free and needs only last year's sales report. Updated 5 November 2026. Written for owners in New Zealand and the United States.
This is one part of a bigger question: why has my business stopped growing? Start there if you are not sure whether frequency is your weak link.
Take the last 12 months. Kevin's worked example uses round numbers so the maths is easy to follow:
Six purchases at $200 is $1,200 per customer instead of $800. Using Kevin's $1.2 million goal as the example: at $800 a customer you need 1,500 customers to get there. At $1,200 you need 1,000. The same goal needs a third fewer customers, and they are the customers who already know you. That is simple arithmetic on training numbers, not a forecast for your business.
Kevin's point in the training is the same one he makes about every number: it is easier to win 1,500 customers than 6,000 separate sales, and easier still to ask 1,000 customers to come back twice more a year.
The US Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, based on the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, says: "Reaching customers and growing sales was the most commonly reported operational challenge." Most owners respond by trying to reach more strangers. Reach matters, but a customer you have already reached costs less to ask again. Check how often yours buy before you buy more attention.
Pick one number to watch. Kevin tells of a mountain bike park mechanic who was given a single KPI: greet 50 customers a day and offer a free bike check. About one bike in ten needed work, and daily revenue reached the $500 target. His line: "you've got to feed in people at the top to have the revenue pop at the bottom." Choose the action that feeds your number, then do it every day.
Divide average customer value by average sales value. Average customer value is 12 months of revenue divided by the customers who bought in that time. Average sales value is the same revenue divided by the number of sales.
Usually, because they already know and trust you, but your own numbers decide. Compare what it costs you to win a customer with what it costs to contact an existing one, then see which moves your revenue most.
Then frequency is not your lever, and reach or conversion is more likely the weak link. The eight-link check will tell you which.
Not sure which number to start with? Related reading: break a business constraint in 14 days without new spend and how to know every week whether you are making money. A 30-minute conversation will tell you which of your numbers is the real constraint.
Sources (checked 5 November 2026): Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms (United States; 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, published 3 March 2026). The worked example and the bike park story are from Kevin D'Ambros-Smith's Know Your Numbers training. Last updated 5 November 2026.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Your accountant, a podcast, a mastermind group and a mate all just told you something different about your business. Here's how to audit that noise and consolidate around one voice that actually knows your numbers.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Every new hire without a system takes twice as long to become productive, and you end up re-explaining the same things forever. The 90-Day Ramp Map fixes that in four steps.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Your best salesperson might be the one quietly eating your margin. Here's how to audit and rebuild your commission structure so it rewards the sales that actually grow your business.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most SME owners quietly go quiet on marketing right when customers are buying the most. Here's the simple plan to hold your ground through Nov-Jan without burning out your team or your budget.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
That pricing review, that org chart, that product line nobody will kill — they're not neutral. Learn how to spot and pay down the strategic debt quietly taxing every decision you make.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most business owners survive the slow season and wait for trading to pick up. The ones who grow fastest use the quiet to fix last peak's bottlenecks, cross-train their teams, and renegotiate supplier terms.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
When coaching starts feeling comfortable, most owners think they've outgrown their coach. Usually they've just outgrown the scope. Here's how the Scope Reset Conversation keeps a great coaching relationship producing great results.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
At five people, the founder is the system. At twelve, that system breaks. The Ten-Employee Wall is a predictable structural failure — and here's the Systems Reset framework that gets you through it.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
January is the hardest month to sell in — and the work that prevents the January gap needed to start in September. Here's the 90-Day Pipeline Bridge framework that fills the gap before it opens.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Category managers at major retailers are making their Q1 2027 ranging decisions right now. Most FMCG founders find out too late. Here's the Buyer-Ready Proof Pack framework that gets you into the conversation.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Most businesses plan for Q4 in January — after it's already over. The owners who consistently outperform their peers write their Q4 plan in September, while there's still time to act on what they find.
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
A new survey shows the average small business owner is running five jobs at once — and burning 200+ hours a year proving it. Here's the two-hat framework that gets your time back within 90 days.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
New 2026 consumer data shows most shoppers are value-seekers, not bargain hunters — yet 95% still rate brand trust as important. Here's the six-point test your FMCG brand must pass to earn the sale without discounting.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
New 2026 grocery data shows branded FMCG products are being promoted twice as often as private label — and still losing share and loyalty. Kevin D'Ambros-Smith on why discounting harder is the wrong fix, and what pricing architecture looks like instead.
Monday, September 07, 2026
A 2026 Fed survey of 6,525 small businesses found owner confidence at a 6-year low — while actual revenue, employment and profitability held steady. Why the gap, not the economy, is the real risk for SME and FMCG owners.