What Are The Top Three Metrics That You Use To Measure Your Business And Why ?
Part of the reason that I stopped sales in 2020 was because my metrics were off . We started working with a fantastic company , Sealevel , that helps with processes . In 2020 , we started using reporting software and ran a lot of reports in it . Now , every single day , we run the hours clocked in by the employee and how many hours they put into each ticket . Every morning , I look at the employee ’ s clock-in and clock-out . It takes me about three minutes . Every day , we have each employee do a payroll wrap , which is where they look at their calendar , and in the reporting software , they look at what was actually scheduled on their calendar . The calendars overlap so you can see how they line up . Techs usually work about 9.5 hours a day . If they don ’ t have at least eight hours in time entries , they do a payroll wrap to explain where that extra time went . They may have had appointments , but those should be listed as an activity . Every minute has to be put in , but I give them and hour and a half buffer .
Then , at the end of the day , we look at how many hours we put into each client and how much each client is paying . We look at what hours are billable and what are non-billable so we can see how much we are making on each client . We use a dashboard reporting company to know how many tickets we are closing a day overall as well as per tech . If they are closing less , this tracked data helps us understand why . So , that ’ s a big metric . My husband looks at these reports every day . I look at it weekly because my husband and I have a CEO / CTO meeting every week where we go through the numbers .
I run my QuickBooks reports every week to see who ’ s paying , who ’ s not paying along with what each client is paying , and how many tickets were closed for that week . If there are a lot of requests , I look at what kind of request they have and what priority they are . Priority ones are emergencies . We should have no priority ones because we are proactive , so if there is a priority one , I go back and look to see if we missed something and why it was a priority one . Sometimes this will turn into a good project . For example , in the Northwest in the last six weeks , Verizon was down three times . Cellphones , the internet , and so on . I was able to go to the client , show them the amount of time they were down , and make a recommendation to switch them over to a different provider that was more expensive but also was never down and is never down .
What Was The Biggest Challenge You Had To Overcome This Past Year As A Result Of Your Growth ?
The biggest challenge was reinventing my “ why .” I stopped being hungry . I ’ d moved into the gorgeous , huge house with a pool . We are driving a beautiful Cadillac . My dream was to give to charity , and we have a big charity account and were able to donate $ 100,000 to charity in 2020 . I worked 13 years to get to the place I wanted to be . It was no longer about finding money to pay for therapy or for tuition — the necessities are very nicely covered . I had to reinvent myself and find my new why . Once I was able to find my new why , I was able to become hungry for that why . It ’ s all about your why . When you have a good why , the how becomes so easy and so enjoyable .
What Is The Top Lesson You Had To Learn That Allowed You To Kick-Start Your Business Growth ?
There ’ s a saying in Hebrew that translates to “ If I am not here for myself , then who is here for me ?”
Everybody can come up with excuses for why they ' re not doing well . And there ' s a million things that are going on in the world . For me , it ' s a pandemic , a child with special needs , five other kids , a husband . I bought a house and moved four weeks after surgery . I battled cancer . Elderly parents and caring for my dad . All these things . The biggest piece is you have to be honest with yourself , stop giving yourself excuses , and just do it . When I bought the Technology Marketing Toolkit , I didn ’ t let it sit on the shelf . I implemented slower than many people because I didn ' t have the resources and money at first , but I never let it drop . I was always marketing . I was always implementing . And I ’ ve continued to make sure I ’ m always implementing , and I never make excuses .
Who Would You Say Is The Most Impactful Business Leader Whose Techniques Or Leadership Style You Try To Emulate And Why ?
I try to emulate Stephen Covey . I live by his “ seven habits .” They just work . His seven habits are so down to earth and something I could implement in my business to get it rolling .
What Book Would You Recommend That Other MSPs Or SMBs ( Who Are Trying To Grow Their Business ) Should Read ?
Hands down , it ' s any book by Dr . Nido Qubein ; he is an inspiration . He had so many roadblocks in his life , and he did so much . He can look back at his life and say , “ Wow , I made an impact .”
Like Stephen Covey says , “ I want to look back when I ' m 80 . I want to look back and know that I made an impact .” He has so much substantial stuff that he ’ s made an impact on . He ’ s my biggest inspiration .
Another good book is “ The Five Love Languages ” by Gary Chapman . It teaches you how to be a CEO and how to have good relationships and communicate with people . It ’ s a good book for business owners .
Any Specific Advice Or Words Of Wisdom That You Would Give To Other MSPs Who Are Looking To Grow Or Build A Successful Exit For Their Business ?
Don ’ t give up . In exercise , they say that when it ’ s the most painful is when it counts the most . That ’ s true in business and in life . Do not let go . When it ’ s the most painful and you think you can ’ t do any more , just keep going a little bit more . I didn ’ t always have rapid growth . Sometimes I was taking baby steps when other people were taking giant steps , but I was always taking a step up . And one more thing : Don ’ t look at the big successful people and think , “ Oh , I ’ m never going to get there .” Look in the mirror and be the best person you can be . Get yourself to your next level , not someone else ’ s . When you do that , you ’ ll see things start happening for you . Just keep pushing and never give up . n
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 • MSPSuccessMagazine . com | 11