Peerview Data Insights

As December winds down, reflection always seems to be the natural step to closing out another year. As we reflect this winter, we want to say how thankful we are for each of you this year. We want to thank all the accounting firms, lenders and individual companies that have subscribed since our launch. Things have been going extremely well and we have loved getting your feedback! Secondly, I want to share some of what we’ve learned on the journey so far:

As the new year approaches, it is smart to take a look at what experts are saying upcoming trends will be when it comes to business practices and new technologies. We came across this article from MarTech and had to share because in it, author Bonnie Crater makes the case that following data "best practices" will help you get better insights:

It’s the classic scene that has been played out in countless sitcoms, cartoons, and movies. Two opponents stand squarely across from each other, a dramatic tension builds, then each party moves for their weapons and the quickest draw wins with a bang. In the tension we feel as we watch and wait to see who will pull their gun faster we understand the travesty that it would be for one to realize that they had brought the wrong weapon to this standoff.

You wouldn’t play darts with a blindfold on and expect to hit your target every time, would you? We didn’t think so. So why are you operating your business without first making yourself aware of what your targets are or should be, and by how much you are missing them?

We wanted to pass along this article from Fast Company on what they predict to be some major issues that companies will have to address in 2018. The year of 2017 indeed brought to light many issues and developing new "norms" of office culture and our general culture as a whole. That being said, 2018 is bound to bring a few (dozen) conversations and meetings to the work place about how your company will be dealing with some of these issues and developments in a way that is appropriate and represents your company's values well, as Fast Company's Lydia Dishman describes. 

This article hooked me with the headline. Why? Because I'm a millennial. I work at a start up. Most of the employees here at Peerview Data are millennials. On the flip side of this, when I used to do freelance work I worked for a center whose main goal was to help entrepreneurs in the area thrive by aiding them in their business plans and so on. I've been a part of both sides: the blossoming entrepreneurs and the thriving start ups. 

FOMO: otherwise known as the “Fear of Missing Out”, often used to describe the feeling when you hear that your friends are hanging out without you or when New Years Eve rolls around (again) and you realize that you forgot to plan anything fun to do (again) and watch enviously as your news feed floods with photos of everyone you know and their cousin having the time of their lives while you sit on your couch.

Though FOMO is usually attributed as a side effect of browsing through any form of social media, let’s talk about how FOMO can (and should!) be affecting your business.

Every year like clockwork, the middle of December comes around and every publication and media portal in existence switches from their usual subject matter to a cliché list of the best and worst of the year (be that fashion, politics, or baby names), as well as at least three feature pieces on how to make, keep, or choose a resolution for the new year. There is a crazy obsession with “reinventing” oneself with the new year. A new beginning awaits. New year, new you!

As a general rule of life, we like to think that the idea of “Keeping up with the Joneses” is overrated. Move at your own pace, stick to your brand, and define success by your own terms.

When I was in grade school I was a coloring fanatic. If there was a piece of paper within arms reach, I was undoubtedly scribbling to my heart's content. My weakness was the 24 packs of skinny markers that held what seemed like every color under the sun. I remember ripping into the package and finding that perfect shade of yellow, blue, or pink and using it to color everything. Hours passed like seconds as I drew, swooped, and scrawled my way through countless pages of notebook paper. 

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Indy is one of the fastest growing cities for tech. Even in our building at The Union 525 alone we are surrounded from the floors above us to the doors around us by tech start ups. 

Barnard Marr, author of Data Strategy has a good article in Forbes about linked data, specifically how “Sharing and understanding data is undoubtedly an essential part of the process when it comes to using Big Data and analytics to make the world a better place. Fire fighting is just one of the thousands of fields where Big Data can clearly make a difference." 

Just Think: What Amazon Could Do To The Pharmacy Business. Are drug reviews and algorithm-based suggestions for further purchases on the way?

Key Financial Indicator reports are now available through Peerview Data. This analysis will help you track the vital signs of your company’s financial performance. Compare this year’s numbers to the years before, and easily access how your numbers change year after year.

When it comes to your company or your clients' company performances, how do you monitor the areas of your business that need tending to? How do you even gauge what those areas really are?

1. Leverage my client data. (Not sell it, but use it to help my clients, and by extension, help myself.)
2. Look for ways to interact with my clients so I could prove value.
3. Expand beyond tax and audit to offer more proactive consultative services so I could add value.