NFIB

Powerful Little Black Book
03/ 25/ 2002

It could hardly be more basic: a slim, oversized hardcover ledger book. Yet for many small business owners, the Beat Yesterday book is akin to a bible.

"I love it," says Linda Brenner, owner of The Cooked Goose Restaurant in Watch Hill, R.I. "I can see how my business is doing compared to this time last year or the year before, and it's all on one page."

In the Beat Yesterday book, business owners can track receipts, cash sales, sales tax, purchases and even weather on a day-to-day basis. Each two-page spread handles one month for six years, revealing trends in sales and spending. So a glance lets Brenner know if sales of her famous blueberry muffins were slower this June 11th, compared with 1998.

Beat Yesterday was started 112 years ago in Pomfret, Conn., by Walter Jessurun. His grandchildren, Brian and Eileen, now run the company.

"It really provides a window through which business owners can view where they are in regards to whether or not they are beating yesterday," says Eileen, who also owns a restaurant, where she's used Beat Yesterday for 12 years. "Seeing this information so clearly is very motivational for small business owners, but we also have large corporations using it."

Five years ago, the Jesserun's introduced a Windows software version of Beat Yesterday. To date, about 75,000 business owners use the Beat Yesterday book, and 1,500 use the software.

The Beat Yesterday book costs $20 and lasts for six years. The software is also available on CD-ROM for $99.95. Call 1-800-451-8515 to order.

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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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