How Big Could You Be?

How big you grow your ISP depends on management skills, financing, deal-making, and just plain luck, but it's largely a state of mind.

by Christopher M Knight [June 17, 1999]

I'd be reading along in a great little book by David Schwartz, the Magic of Thinking Big, when I'd have one of those cool little shots of aldrenaline rip through my body as I envisioned what might happen if I really were able to accomplish really big or great things that seem impossible today. In this article, we're going to dig into what it means to consider making your ISP big and how BIG is right for you and your business?

"The Size of Your ISP Is in Direct Proportion to the Size of the Mind of Its Owners"—Christopher M. Knight

How big you build your ISP depends on many factors, including:

• Your ability to execute your plan
• Your personal or family situation and priorities
• Knowing your comfort zone
• How you deal with or conquer being uncomfortable
• Your end goals or exit strategy
• Your ability to set goals and produce written plans
• How big you are inspired to grow your ISP (personal motivation)

Did you notice that I didn't mention "How much capital you are able to raise," "How well you're able to attract and retain key talent or key advisors," or "How well you're able to negotiate great partnerships"? Yes, you still need to conquer these areas to build your organization, but there are many personal areas that you must advance through before you can handle the actual day-to-day duties of ISP business building.

Execution, execution, execution
Recently, in a press release by Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink (NASDAQ: ELNK), he said, "It takes three things to make a successful Internet company: a great idea, capital, and gutsy execution. There's a glut of ideas and capital in the market today, but execution is scarce. Execution alone has become the difference between success and failure for an Internet startup." Since he has well over a million subscribers, I'm going to bet that he's right on the 'execution' part.   :-)

Values proposition
Next, let's talk about your values and priorities in life. Assuming you qualify for the 'gutsy execution' ability of your ISP plans and vision, what are your #1, #2 and #3 priorities in life and how will these affect your ability to build your ISP? The bigger your ISP will be, the more you'll find yourself asking Am I running my ISP or is it running me? I'm not suggesting that you have to leave your family or give up all your freedom to build a big ISP, but I am saying that your priorities and values will have a direct impact on the HOW big part.

"Do something that scares you every day while building your ISP"—CMK

Your comfort zone
Everyone has one. How big is yours? Did you ever notice the comfort zones of your sales reps? Each of them has an inwardly held financial number that they must meet in order to relax, and as soon as they hit that subconscious number, they stop making calls, stop following up, start coming later and leaving earlier, until their performance has dropped back below their comfort zone. When this happens, they begin working weekends, before or after hours, making 2 to 4 times the number of follow up calls until their commission checks bring them back into their comfort zone.

Some might think this is silly, but we all have a number somewhere in our head that tells us how much money we must earn to be satisfied. Having a comfort zone is not wrong, it's just human, but not being aware of what yours is may be holding you back from building a bigger ISP.

Your disomfort zone
How well do you deal with being uncomfortable? I can guarantee you that as you build your ISP, not only will your ISP evolve, but YOU, the leader, must evolve FIRST. You must be willing to go through areas that are uncomfortable, mainly because you've never done a lot of things before and even if you did, they are not the same things because this industry is STILL brand new and reinventing itself daily. Folks who need predictability and comfort, or don't like living a bit on the edge will be building smaller ISPs. Folks who are centered enough in themself to know that they can handle most things—and that fast-failure is part of the formula for success—will be building the larger ISPs.

Goals are nice, but . . .
I guess I should say a few words about goals here, but goals themselves don't make ISPs bigger or smaller; EXECUTION of goals makes the difference. Take a few minutes right now, and write down your top three goals for your ISP. Share them with your team. Now, take ONE step of action, even if it's tiny, towards the execution of your first goal. Building a BIG ISP is really nothing more than tens of thousands of tiny steps actually taken towards your biggest goals.

How hungry are you?
Do you inwardly thirst to make a big impact? Is building your ISP almost like a religious crusade? Do you secretly plot to deliver such incredible service that your competitors call you stupid for even trying? If the amount of money you make is in direct proportion to the amount of value you deliver, a final question to ask yourself is How much value do I want our ISP to deliver? Your rewards will be in proportion.

 — End

To Your ISP Success!
Christopher M Knight—Managing Editor of The ISP-Lists