06:00 analytics check: What successful founders do

What successful founders check at 06:00

1. Revenue trend, not absolute number

What it is: Yesterday’s revenue compared to previous day and same day last week. Example: “$4,200 (+8% vs yesterday, +12% vs last Monday).”

Why it matters: Absolute revenue ($4,200) provides limited insight without context. Trend comparison reveals momentum. Revenue up 12% week-over-week signals growth. Revenue down 15% three days straight signals problem requiring investigation. Context transforms numbers into insights.

Common mistake: Checking only absolute revenue. Seeing “$4,200” and thinking “good” without knowing if that’s better or worse than normal. Your memory of yesterday’s number is unreliable. Automated comparison eliminates guesswork.

Time: 15 seconds with automated report. 90 seconds manually calculating comparisons.

2. Conversion rate stability

What it is: Current conversion rate versus 7-day average. Not fixating on daily fluctuation but watching for sustained changes.

Why it matters: Conversion rate is early warning system for site problems. Drops indicate technical issues (checkout broken), UX problems (confusing navigation), or pricing concerns (competitors offering better deals). Revenue can drop due to traffic or conversion. Knowing which isolates the problem.

What successful founders notice: They ignore single-day conversion variance (normal: 10-15% fluctuation). They flag multi-day trends. Conversion down 3+ days straight = investigate immediately. Single day down 20% = note but don’t panic.

Time: 10 seconds. Glance at conversion rate. Compare to recent average. Move on.

3. Top traffic source performance

What it is: Yesterday’s top 3 traffic sources with percentage breakdown and week-over-week change.

Why it matters: Traffic sources explain revenue changes. Google organic down 50% = SEO issue or algorithm update. Facebook down 60% = ad campaign ended or paused. Direct traffic down 40% = email or brand awareness concern. Source-specific problems require source-specific fixes.

What successful founders skip: Checking all 15+ traffic sources. Top 3 drive 70-85% of traffic for most stores. Detailed source analysis happens during weekly deep-dive sessions (Friday afternoon, 30 minutes). Morning check focuses on major sources only.

Time: 20 seconds scanning top 3 sources and changes.

4. Product performance shifts

What it is: Top 3 products by revenue this week. Quick mental comparison to last week’s top sellers.

Why it matters: Product ranking changes signal opportunities or problems. New product in top 3 = potential winner worth promoting more aggressively. Expected bestseller missing from top 3 = inventory issue, seasonal shift, or problem worth investigating. Product data informs marketing and inventory decisions.

What successful founders do differently: They check weekly top products, not daily. Daily product rankings fluctuate too much for meaningful patterns. Weekly view smooths variance, reveals genuine shifts. Monday 06:00 check reviews last 7 days of product performance.

Time: 15 seconds glancing at top 3 products.

5. Order count, not just revenue

What it is: Yesterday’s total order count with week-over-week comparison.

Why it matters: Revenue and order count together reveal customer behavior. Revenue up + orders up = healthy growth. Revenue up + orders flat = higher AOV (customers buying more expensive items or larger carts). Revenue flat + orders up = lower AOV (more customers buying less). Different patterns require different strategies.

What successful founders notice: When revenue and order trends diverge. Revenue up 15% but orders down 5% = you’re selling to fewer customers at higher values. Good short-term but potentially risky long-term (smaller customer base). Order count trends predict future revenue sustainability.

Time: 10 seconds checking order count and comparing to revenue trend.

What successful founders skip at 06:00

Skip: Deep analysis

06:00 check is operational scan, not analytical deep-dive. Deep analysis happens during scheduled weekly sessions (typically Friday afternoon, 30-60 minutes). Morning routine answers: “Is business running normally?” Weekly session answers: “Why is business performing this way and what should we do?”

Skip: Real-time hourly data

Checking today’s real-time performance at 06:00 provides incomplete data (day just started). Yesterday’s complete data is actionable. Today’s partial data creates anxiety without enabling action. Exception: High-frequency stores (100+ daily orders) might glance at yesterday’s hourly breakdown to catch intraday patterns.

Skip: Customer-level detail

Individual customer purchases, specific order details, customer acquisition costs—all valuable metrics, none belong in 06:00 check. Morning routine focuses on aggregate business health. Customer-level analysis belongs in weekly sessions or triggered investigations when aggregate metrics flag problems.

The 06:00 discipline

Consistency over comprehensiveness

Successful founders check same metrics daily, not different metrics based on mood. Routine builds pattern recognition. After 2-3 weeks checking identical metrics daily, you intuitively recognize what’s normal versus concerning. Changing metrics weekly prevents pattern development.

Observation over investigation

06:00 check observes. Investigation happens later. Common trap: See interesting pattern, spend 20 minutes exploring. Routine exploded, morning energy consumed. Solution: Flag concerns mentally or in note. Investigate after morning routine or during scheduled session.

Exception: Crisis-level problems (site completely down, 80% revenue drop, payment processing broken) warrant immediate investigation. But 99% of morning findings aren’t crises—they’re variance or issues that don’t compound if addressed later today.

Automation over manual checking

Manual workflow: Login (30 sec), navigate (60 sec), select dates (45 sec), scan metrics (2 min), calculate comparisons (90 sec). Total: 6+ minutes before completing mental routine.

Automated workflow: Open email report showing all metrics with pre-calculated comparisons. Scan following routine sequence. Close email. Total: 2 minutes including thinking time.

Tools enabling automation: Peasy ($49/month), Metorik, automated Shopify summary emails (free, basic functionality), GA4 scheduled reports (free, requires setup).

Quick questions

Why 06:00 specifically?

Not magic hour. Most successful founders check during first email triage (typically 6-8am). Key is checking before meetings start, before reactive work begins. Morning check maintains awareness without interrupting productive work later. Some founders check at 05:30, others at 07:30. Consistency matters more than exact time.

What if I see a problem during 06:00 check?

Depends on severity. Minor concern (conversion down 15% one day) = mental note, investigate later if pattern continues. Moderate concern (traffic down 30%) = spend 10-15 minutes investigating after morning routine. Crisis (site down, payment broken) = investigate immediately. But genuine crises are rare—most mornings reveal normal operations or minor fluctuations.

Can I check more metrics than these five?

You can, but diminishing returns appear quickly. These five metrics reveal 80% of what you need to know about daily business health. Additional metrics (cart abandonment rate, customer acquisition cost, email open rates) are valuable but belong in weekly deep-dives, not daily checks. Morning routine stays fast by staying focused.

Peasy delivers your store metrics via email every morning—no more logging into dashboards. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.