I’m not a numbers person by nature. I was a writer first, then a journalist, before I got into business. I’ve learned the hard way, though, that managing the basic numbers is critical to business success. And if it’s your business, then you either manage them yourself or work with somebody you really trust. With that in mind, here’s my summary of the most important and most basic numbers in the business, and how to manage projections and tracking and steering ahead with them.

The darkest days of the Great Recession are over, so we are told, but I'm finding that sales have increased only slightly for some small-business owners, while revenue remains deeply depressed for many. While some customers are loosening up their wallets a little, it is clear purchasing habits have changed.