Data Analytics Mentoring for Business Owners: Learn the Skills to Understand Your Numbers

If you run a business and your numbers feel alien to you. You might have a spreadsheet you keep tabs on to track different costs, orders, customer feedback, etc but to you, you are doing it just for the sake of it. Maybe because you were told you should be doing it.

You could be in a bigger business and you’re in a meeting discussing financials. One person is saying revenue is up and points to their spreadsheet. Another says it’s flat and looks at their phone. Reports could be taking days to put together, then the meeting becomes an argument about which version is right, and the decision you actually needed to make gets pushed back again.

This post is for business owners and managers who want to understand their data without turning into a full-time analyst, and without hiring a whole data team just to answer basic questions.

It’s also for businesses who want to build the habit of looking at numbers properly, so decisions are quicker and based on what is actually happening in your business. How cool is that?

That’s what GrifflePop Analytics mentoring is for.

If you want the broad definition of the space first, here’s my plain-English intro to what business intelligence actually means. If you’re already at the “our reports keep mismatching” stage, you’ll recognise a lot in fixing common reporting mistakes.

What most businesses get wrong about “using data”

There’s a common belief that if you want to “use data”, you need dashboards, tools, and someone technical to build it all.

Sometimes you do. Quite often, the first issue is simpler.

Businesses find themselves struggling because the basics are not written down and agreed. What counts as a lead. What counts as revenue. What date you use for reporting. Whether refunds are included. Whether labour time is tracked properly. Which system is the source of truth (Source of Truth or Single Source of Truth is a Business Intelligence terminology that describes where the most reliable and accurate data is stored, regardless of where it is stored – everything should be built from that).

When those basics aren’t nailed down, you end up with reporting that looks official but falls apart the moment someone asks a reasonable question. People stop trusting it. Then you end up back where you started, running the business by gut feel and hoping the bank balance keeps up.

The fix is not “more reporting”! What you need to do is take hold of the reigns and really know what is going on and not outsource it to others.

And that’s where mentoring comes in.

What mentoring is, in GrifflePop Analytics terms

Mentoring is not me disappearing for three weeks and coming back with a dashboard you don’t understand or taking your data, producing my own spreadsheets and there we go.

It’s also not a course where you sit through generic slides and forget it all by Friday.

Mentoring is working with you, or your team, on your real business numbers. We take what you already have, even if it’s messy, and we get it into a shape you can use. Along the way you learn how to spot issues, ask better questions, and do the basics yourself.

Sometimes we use spreadsheets. Sometimes we use Power BI. Sometimes we don’t need either at first. The point is not the tool. The point is building a simple reporting setup that helps you run the business.

If you’re unsure where analytics sits compared to bookkeeping and accounting, this is a useful reference: bookkeeper vs accountant vs data analyst.

Who this is for

This mentoring is for business owners and managers who recognise themselves in at least one of these:

You want to use numbers properly, but you don’t know where to start.
You have reports, but you don’t fully trust them.
Different people have different totals for the same thing.
You rely on one person to “do the reporting”, and it’s a risk.
You want to be able to look at the figures and understand what’s going on without needing someone to translate it.
You want your team to stop arguing about the numbers and start acting on them.

This also suits businesses that are growing out of the “everything in my head” stage. More customers, more tools, more staff, more moving parts. At that point the business needs a simple rhythm for checking the health of things.

If you’re still working out what you should track, start with what a small business should actually track and then compare it to essential SME KPIs. Mentoring is what turns those ideas into a set of numbers that actually fit your business.

What mentoring looks like in practice

Here’s the part most sites keep vague on what is included. I’d rather be specific and hopefully it will give you a taste of what is involved.

Mentoring normally runs as a short series of sessions, with small bits of “homework” (back to school vibes) in between that take a sensible amount of time. Don’t worry about this turning into a second job or another responbility to take on. It’s about building a habit that will improve the business and how it operates. Think of it like having a Personal Trainer for your business health! Help you get your business in shape.

Session 1: What decisions are you trying to make?

We start with decisions, not dashboards. That’s the key part. Without the right decision or question, building something for the sake of it will not be a good use of time.

Examples:

Are we actually making money on this type of work?
Where is the profit going?
Why is cash tight even when we’re busy?
Which customers or products cause the most hassle?
Are we improving month to month or just surviving?

If you can’t name the decision, reporting becomes background info that gets looked at and ignored. If you can name it, reporting becomes useful.

Session 2: What numbers matter for those decisions?

This is where most businesses either track too much, not enough or track the wrong things entirely.

We narrow it down to a small set. Not a massive KPI list. A handful of numbers you’ll actually check weekly or monthly.

If cash has been stressful, profitable but no cash is a useful companion read because it explains why “busy” and “broke” can happen together.

Session 3: Definitions workshop (the boring bit that stops arguments)

This is the most valuable part for most businesses.

We write simple one-sentence definitions for the key numbers.

Revenue means what, exactly?
A lead is what, exactly?
A job is “complete” when, exactly?
Refunds and discounts are treated how?
Which date do you report by?

These definitions are what prevent the “finance vs sales vs spreadsheet” argument. When definitions are clear, people stop debating and start deciding.

Session 4: Build your reporting rhythm (so it sticks)

This is where mentoring is different from “here’s a dashboard”.

We build a simple habit:

what you look at weekly
what you look at monthly
who checks what
what happens when a number looks off

This format can come in many ways from a simple scorecard, to an Excel spreadsheet, to a Power BI Dashboard. That’s a business choice on what you feel you want and I can help you with the pros and cons of each step.

If you’re unsure whether dashboards are even the right format, do I need a dashboard? helps you make that call without wasting time.

Session 5: Do your first review together

This is where confidence builds.

We go through your numbers like you would in a real meeting. We focus on:

what changed
why it changed
what you’re doing next

And we deal with the messy bits calmly. “This number looks wrong” becomes “let’s check the definition and source” rather than “the whole report is useless”.

This mindset shift is what makes all the difference. You begin to see the problems with data and know what needs to be done. Again, this does not necessary mean the technical side of things. That’s where people like myself can come in and create solutions. Mentoring is about changing the mindset of yourself or your team so you know what is actually happening first.

Session 6: Make it sustainable without me

The end goal is simple: you don’t need me to keep the basics running.

You leave with:

clear definitions
a simple reporting template
a routine your team can repeat
a checklist for spotting common problems
and the confidence to ask the right questions

That’s mentoring.

What you’ll have at the end (tangible outputs)

You should finish with practical stuff you can use and not a vague inspiration that will be forgetten about in a week.

Most businesses come away with:

a one-page “definitions sheet” for your key numbers
a small KPI set that matches your decisions
a weekly and monthly reporting rhythm
a simple template (usually spreadsheet-based to start, unless you already have something else)
a plan for ownership so reporting doesn’t live in one person’s head

If you’re currently living in spreadsheets, that’s fine. The goal is not to shame spreadsheets. The goal is to stop spreadsheet chaos. This post explains that difference clearly: small business spreadsheets.

What mentoring is not (so you don’t buy the wrong thing)

Mentoring is not:

a big technical build
a full reporting system created in isolation
a magic fix for broken bookkeeping
a way to avoid making decisions about what you actually want to measure

If what you really need is someone to build a full reporting setup for you end to end, that’s a different service. Mentoring can still be part of it, but it needs calling what it is so expectations are clear.

Common misconceptions mentoring clears up quickly

“We need more KPIs”

Most businesses need fewer KPIs and clearer definitions.

“We need a dashboard”

Maybe, but often you need a reporting habit first. Dashboards sit on top of that. They don’t replace it.

“Our data is too messy so there’s no point”

Messy data is normal. Progress comes from cleaning only what matters for the decisions you’re making. Honestly, I have seen so many businesses trying to find the perfect data and thinking that every other business does. In all my years, I have never seen it save for the perfect training courses. In the real world, even big businesses like Google with end up with messy data. It’s why they have big data teams. Don’t chase the perfect.

FAQs

Do I need a special tool for mentoring?
No. We start with what you already use. Tools come later, once the basics are clear.

Is this just for bigger businesses?
No. It’s about complexity, not size. Even a solo business owner can benefit from this.

Will you teach me to do this myself?
Yes. That’s the point. You’ll still have support, but you’ll be more capable by the end, not more dependent.

What if our numbers are wrong right now?
Then we find out why. It’s usually definitions, missing data, duplicates, or manual processes that introduce errors.

Next Steps

If any of this resonates with you or you want to ask more questions to see if this would be a fit for you or your business then head over to the contact page and send me a message.