21 Hats Podcast Dashboard: Tracking the Entrepreneurial Economy
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Dec 5, 2025 Brandon Gray, a partner at CRI Simple Numbers and a business profitability consultant, delves into the current state of the entrepreneurial economy. He highlights a troubling performance trend among smaller businesses, contrasting it with Wall Street metrics. Brandon discusses critical financial metrics, the divide between thriving large firms and struggling smaller ones, and offers actionable advice for owners to adapt their strategies. He cautions that without significant economic catalysts, the outlook for 2026 may remain dim.
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Wall Street Masks Main Street Reality
- Wall Street performance can mask Main Street struggles for owner-operated firms.
- Brandon Gray says a divided economy means headlines don't reflect small-business reality.
Sanitize Data Before Benchmarking
- Clean and standardize financial data before benchmarking to remove distortions.
- Brandon Gray advises adjusting for owner pay and consistent account bucketing to make comparisons meaningful.
Prefer Gross Margin Over Revenue
- Gross margin (excluding labor) reveals true comparability across business types.
- Brandon Gray prefers gross margin and labor efficiency over raw revenue as performance indicators.