In his classic book Good to Great, Jim Collins undertakes a similar quest for one number that would indicate business health. He proposes a hypothetical ratio in which profit is always the numerator, then explores several alternatives for a denominator to plug into the “profit per x” equation.
Among these alternatives are several that, with slight modifications, would work well for remodelers as indicators for specific aspects of their companies. Changing Collins' profit per employee to profit per field employee, for example, would lead to an indicator for productivity, and would also provide feedback on the accuracy of estimating and the completeness of the sales package. Swapping Collins' profit per brand for profit per job type would help identify a company's niche. Changing profit per customer into profit per returning client would help to measure the strength of a company's client base.
