Your telecom audit will be much easier to understand (and complete!) when information is organized. By organizing information properly, you will define and focus your audit so task seems much less overwhelming.

The following seven step checklist is what we at TelCon have used for over 30 years when preparing for a client telecom audit and cost-reduction study. Print this newsletter and when you've completed a step, check it off!

Step # 1: List Hypotheses

Savings opportunities and ideas for them will come to mind thoughout audit and analysis process. Chances are you had a few in mind when you decided on embarking on a full-blown audit of your telecom department. These ideas are "hypotheses" to be tested, rejected as invalid, or seriously considered for recommendation/adoption portion of audit that comes later.

Hypotheses will begin to emerge from moment you look at a telecom bill. Write down your initial hypotheses now and continue adding to them as you progress through audit process.

Step # 2: Define Size and Scope of Your Audit

There will be numerous directions your audit may take you, so it is extremely important that you now establish a project scope and focus your efforts to make them more manageable. You simply cannot audit everything at once.

Ask questions to determine you goals. Examples are: Are you concerned with telecom services at corporate headquarters? Field locations? Both? Will you be delving into just interstate long-distance, or will you include intrastate and intralata calling as well? Are you concerned with voice only, or will you be auditing data services too? Will you be auditing only local services, only wireless - or both?

Before you continue, decide now and put in writing exactly what size and scope of your audit will encompass.

Step # 3: Prioritize and Organize

Now you need to prioritize and organize segments of your project. We have found that most projects are too big to handle all at once, so they must be divided into manageable segments for effective study and completion.

If you’re contemplating starting your own business then I’m here cheering you on from sidelines because best decision I ever made was to walk away from my well paid but oh so frustratingly boring job and start my own business from scratch.

I’d always believed in Bob Dylan’s definition of success - “a man is a success if he gets up in morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” And it was these words and this sentiment that drove me to seek out business success on my own.

While I was in planning stages of things I read around a lot and discovered that there are six main steps that you can follow to give your business best chance of survival and success. With hindsight I can confirm that these six steps do guarantee your business success, so here they are for you, use them as your guide: -

1) Plan to Succeed

“Action without planning is cause of all failure. Action with planning is cause of all success.” - Brian Tracy.

You need to establish an intricate business plan that will guide you through start-up hurdles and ongoing development of your business. Whether you’re planning on establishing a global company that will eventually employ many individuals or you’re intending to establish an on-line business from your bedroom that will employ only you, you must spend necessary time and effort plotting out how exactly your company will be established, who your customers are, how you will reach them, how you will finance your ongoing operations and where exactly you’re headed with your business.

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.” - Thomas Edison

Be a business genius, remember planning stages are critical to future success of your business - don’t rush them.

2) Money Matters

“Before you can really start setting financial goals, you need to determine where you stand financially.” - David Bach

You need to look at your own personal financial situation and determine exactly how much money you will need to live on, how much money you have to invest in your business, how much money is required to start up and run your company and how exactly you’re going to fund future of your business. Get down to financial nitty gritty before you get down to business and you will avoid number one reason why businesses fail – namely, lack of capital.

Crunch those numbers and be realistic rather than fatalistic or optimistic! You can and will succeed, but first you must arm yourself with boring facts and figures and then you can put in place financing you need.

3) To Score Goals You Have To Set Goals

“Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven't paid price to decide what is really important to them.” - Stephen Covey

Having mapped out your business journey intricately, having put in place financing you will need to travel path towards success you have to begin setting yourself business and personal goals. If you have nothing to aim for you will never achieve your target! Where do you want to be in one month’s time, where do you want your company to be in one year’s time?

Set stage goals for you, your company, your employees, your finances and your success. Follow your progress closely, keep one eye on your goals and you will never fail to succeed.