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"My father always told me that if the door count was rising, you can take almost any kind of risk with your business, but if your door count is falling, you are in trouble," Kasputes said. Kasputes' attention to monthly financial reports was key to his store's profitability, and his door count was part of the monthly analysis he did to ensure that profit.

After some analyzing, Kasputes found an explanation for his falling door count: When nearby L.L. Bean expanded parking behind its store and moved its primary entrance to a side street, its customers stopped exploring the end of Main Street that Kasputes' store was on. As he considered relocation, a company made an offer for his online business — a good one, he knew, because of his attention to monthly financials. Faced with the option of an expensive move, he chose to make a profitable sale and eventually closed the store. "I loved my little store, but I had to lead with my head and not my heart," said Kasputes.

Maine Small Business Development Center certified business counselor Brian Burwell echoed Kasputes' sentiment about putting profitability above sentimentality. "Anyone can be in business. The trick is to make money at it," he said. Burwell points to Kasputes as an example of a small business owner whose attention to numbers and trends can either cap losses or turn a profit.

"Unfortunately many small businesses don't know if they are making money until the end of the year when they get their taxes done," said Burwell. "Even when they are getting monthly financials, often they are using an out-of-house bookkeeper or accountant, so there are delays in getting timely information."

Burwell warns against using a standard template to track business, since tracking needs vary for different businesses. A manufacturer, for example, is more concerned with tracking sales of certain products, while restaurants and service providers have a need to measure less tangible things.

Publications by the Risk Management Association are a good tool to help companies develop financial benchmarks, according to Burwell. The RMA, a nonprofit membership group founded in 1914 to collect such data for commercial loan officers, provides averages by industry for gross margins, profit as a percent of sales, and other helpful figures.

Kasputes, now director of the Maine SBDC Lewiston/Auburn Service Center at Androscoggin Council of Governments, uses his own business experience as a backdrop when he counsels clients. One myth he works to dispel is that a small business shouldn't expect a profit until the fifth year of business.

"That myth allows people to accept continuous losses or makes them think they don't have to react when they see a loss shaping up," Kasputes said. "It's reasonable to expect a small business to cover all costs — with the exception of the owner's salary in year one, and by year two, the owner should be getting some kind of compensation." It all comes down to business owners keeping on top of the numbers.

While collecting monthly data is essential, Burwell admits that it's easier to determine whether you're making or losing money than it is to addressing a loss. However, keeping on top of data will help business owners identify problems and potential solutions more quickly. The ultimate goal, according to Burwell, is to "get a reasonable profit in terms of return on investment and compensation for one's time and effort."

As the saying goes, time is money. If you regularly invest time into keeping on top of how your business is doing, you're more likely to make some.

Katherine Arno is the Director of Training and Communications for the Maine Small Business Development Centers (www.mainesbdc.org) in its Portland center at the University of Southern Maine. Kate owned her own small business in Maine for eight years. Today, aside from working with small business issues at Maine SBDC, she helps her husband with the small business that he has owned in Freeport for 12 years. She can be reached at Karno@maine.edu.