Tracking Churn Rate to Stay Accountable
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One way I keep myself accountable is by writing down tickets. It keeps me from working on impulse and ensures every task moves the business forward. Today, that meant building a way to capture churn rate so I can finally see how customers are staying or leaving, month over month.
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Outline
- Why I write tickets, even as a solo founder
- The shift from random tasks to focused backlog
- How I built churn tracking
- What churn and growth metrics mean to me
- Why this makes it feel like a “real business”
Why I Write Tickets, Even as a Solo Founder
Even though it’s just me, I treat my project like a team effort. I create tickets for everything. That way I don’t just jump into random tasks that feel exciting but don’t move the business forward. Tickets give structure and keep priorities visible.
The Shift From Random Tasks to Focused Backlog
At first, I kept notes everywhere sticky notes, code comments, even scraps of paper. Now I use a proper project board. If a user asks for something I’ve already captured, I just bump its priority. If the request never comes back, it stays in the backlog. It’s a simple system, but it works.
How I Built Churn Tracking
Today I added churn tracking. I already had monthly recurring revenue in place, but churn was missing. To capture it, I list the IDs of active subscribers and compare them month over month. Since I only record at the beginning of each month, the difference gives me churn.
What Churn and Growth Metrics Mean to Me
Next step is adding gross rate, which should be straightforward. Having these numbers matters because now I don’t have to guess. If someone asks, “What’s your churn? What’s your growth?” I’ll know. No hesitation.
Why This Makes It Feel Like a “Real Business”
Tracking these metrics makes things feel real. I’m not just building features anymore I’m running a business with measurable performance. Over time, I’ll have a year of historical data to see the story of growth and retention unfold.
