01 — Seller Operating Baseline

Build the control tower for a marketplace business: owner targets, data freshness, contribution margin, inventory visibility, PPC exposure, and a weekly decision cadence.

Positioning: Install the scoreboard and weekly rhythm before making growth decisions.

Numbered path

1. Control Tower Setup
   1. Set the Owner Target Number — Convert owner goals into a practical target for income, cash, time, and risk. The output is the number every growth decision must serve.
   2. Build the Marketplace Growth Map — Connect sales, margin, inventory, listings, reviews, ads, and cash into one operating map so problems do not hide in separate tools.
   3. Choose the Weekly Operator Scoreboard — Select the few metrics that deserve weekly review and define the owner, source, threshold, and action trigger for each one.
2. Data Truth Before Action
   1. Run the Data Freshness Checklist — Verify sales, inventory, advertising, fees, returns, and landed cost data before accepting any recommendation as actionable.
   2. Apply the Contribution Margin Gate — Separate revenue from real profit after fees, COGS, ads, returns, storage, prep, and inbound costs before scaling or reordering.
   3. Launch the 30-Day Operating Rhythm — Run a simple cadence: review the scoreboard, approve the action cards, execute, verify, and log what changed.

Outcomes

• A one-page operator scorecard
• A weekly review rhythm with owners and evidence
• Clear gates for margin, inventory, and cash decisions

Resource map

• Numbered source/resource index for this track.