After 14 Years, Here Is What I Have Learned About Measuring Small Business Impact

by Jane Veron

After 14 years building The Acceleration Project, the number I trust most is not how many small business owners TAP has served. It's how many come back. When a TAP client returns, it means something real was built the first time, not a transaction but a true relationship.

In my latest Substack article, I make the case for a different kind of impact measurement, one that starts where most programs stop. At TAP, we track three metrics that tell the real story: a 93% business survival rate among clients who completed TAP Deep Dive programs, compared to a national first-year failure rate of more than 1 in 5. A 95% client satisfaction rate that signals something deeper than a good experience; and a client return rate of nearly 50%. Small business owners are among the most time-pressed people there are. When nearly half choose to come back, it speaks to how effective and meaningful TAP’s support truly is.

The post also gets personal. I draw on my own career to explain why human connection is not a soft metric. It is the one that makes all the others possible.

Read the full post on Substack.

Or hear me tell it in my own words on Episode 991 of the Wings of Inspired Business podcast, hosted by Melinda Wittstock.