You know what’s funny? Most entrepreneurs track everything except what actually matters. Revenue, sure. User growth, absolutely. But what about your own personal growth as the founder? That’s where the real magic happens.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We’re living in the age of AI-powered solo entrepreneurship, where one person with the right tools can accomplish what used to require entire teams. But here’s the catch: if you’re not measuring your own growth alongside your business metrics, you’re missing half the picture.
Remember when Paul Jarvis wrote in Company of One that 「small can be a long-term strategy, not just a stepping stone」? He was right, but he couldn’t have predicted how AI would turbocharge this concept. Now, we can not only build sustainable solo businesses but actually track our personal evolution in ways that were impossible just a few years ago.
So what should you actually measure? Let me break it down into three categories that have worked surprisingly well for me and other AI solo entrepreneurs I’ve mentored.
First, track your learning velocity. How quickly are you mastering new skills that matter for your business? I use AI tools to monitor my progress across programming, marketing, and even creative writing. The key isn’t just tracking hours spent learning, but actual capability improvement. One founder I know went from zero to shipping a production-ready SaaS feature in three weeks by systematically tracking and optimizing her learning process with AI.
Second, measure your decision-making quality. This one’s tricky, but incredibly valuable. Use AI to log your major business decisions, your reasoning behind them, and then track the outcomes. Over time, you’ll spot patterns in where your judgment is strongest and where you might need to rely more on data or external perspectives.
Third, monitor your creative output and energy levels. I know it sounds fluffy, but bear with me. AI can help you track when you’re most productive, what conditions lead to breakthrough ideas, and even detect early signs of burnout. One solo founder discovered through this tracking that his best strategic thinking happened during morning walks – something he’d never have realized without the data.
The beautiful thing about building this personal growth dashboard is that it becomes your competitive advantage. While other entrepreneurs are flying blind, you’re systematically improving not just your business, but yourself as the engine behind it.
I learned some of these principles through the Qgenius AI solo entrepreneurship program, and they’ve completely transformed how I approach building businesses. The program teaches that AI isn’t about replacing you – it’s about giving you a invisible team that helps you play to your strengths while systematically addressing your weaknesses.
So here’s my challenge to you: Start building your personal growth dashboard this week. Pick just three metrics that truly matter for your development as a founder. Track them for a month. I guarantee you’ll be shocked by what you discover about yourself and your business.
After all, in this new era of AI-powered solo entrepreneurship, the most valuable asset isn’t your technology stack or your marketing funnel – it’s you. Shouldn’t you be measuring and optimizing that asset with the same rigor you apply to everything else?