Time to Evaluate the Business

January and February are relatively slow times for most in the ISP business, which makes this a good time to crack open the records and see how the business is doing, to look at both the big picture and the details.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [January 6, 2009]

In January and February, most ISPs in the Northern Hemisphere have few new customers to install or equipment to roll out. It's not a quiet time, but for some, it's less busy than the rest of the year (unless the weather gets very bad, with problems such as power cuts).

It's a good time to review the professionals you work with: do you know a good lawyer and accountant? Do you have an accounting system (see Be Accountable, Part I and Be Accountable, Part II) that you trust?

It's time to look at business systems (as advised in the E-Myth book).

It's time to evaluate your business.

Things you might do if you had the time
Yes, you delegate work. But you should be checking their work. One ISP owner told me he hired an office manager but gave her nothing to do and did not realize it until she complained. Know what you're people are doing—they don't need to have work to do all day because the good ones will find things that need doing.

One of the ISP investors I interviewed for the Be Accountable articles said that far too many ISPs have a folder with the invoices and an Excel spreadsheet as the accounting system. Your accounting system should accurately describe the past but should also reasonably predict the future. How much revenue do you expect this year? How much money will you spend?

At the ISP-CEO session at ISPCON in 2008, those in attendance noted that it's a good time to find good people. If yours is a growing business, you will be able to find the people you need.

If you are not growing, it may be time to leave a market (see Is it Time to Leave?, published yesterday), to fire people (see The Right Way to Let Go), to review your marketing strategy (see Selling In Tough Times), or to make sure that your best employees are motivated even though growth prospects are slim (see Rewarding Good Employees When Upward Mobility Doesn't Exist).

If you have the time, use it to evaluate your business.

— End