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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 5 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 9790 |
| Visitors Out: 304 |
| Total Visitors Out: 304 |
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| Little Success and Great New Happenings |
| 2007-10-19 11:25:00 |
Marketing was one of the first things on my agenda when I came aboard. Marketing was only second to straightening out the bank register.We needed new customers. I began reading everything I could get my hands on about marketing, advertising and sales. Direct mail continually came up as a good beginning to our marketing plan.All I had to do was design some post cards, figure out how to say what I wanted to say, my list of companies I wanted to mail to, and slap some stamps on them.The post card designs were fairly easy, not to mention a little fun. I decided to do two styles for two different industries we deal with. The first industry I targeted was a big money earning industry. The second is what I consider our bread and butter customers. I played with words and phrases for about a week until I was satisfied with what I was saying and sent each of the designs to the printer.In order to understand how well direct mail would do for us, I selected 100 companies in each of our target areas. The return on the big earning industry was 2% and we've retained 1. The return on the bread and butter industry was a whopping 15% and we've retained them all. We popped a bottle of champagne over that!I had ordered 1000 of each design, so I was able to send these cards out on other occasions as well. We put 250 of the bread and butter post cards aside to pass out and mail to our existing customers. So we've increased a bit of business by reminding our current customers the extent of our capabilities.We will be doing this again with 1000 of each style soon. I'll let you know how well it works next time around.
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| Taking Risks With the Future |
| 2007-10-17 15:05:00 |
I've mentioned that I get to see what it's like to own a business without the risks. This is only partially true. I never had to make an investment, and I'm not responsible to buy things for the shop out of my checking account. However, be careful what you ask for.I have been interested in owning my own business for a few years. Since a friend of mine owned a business, I thought it would be a grand idea to learn how to go through the motions. This business isn't a startup, but after being crushed by the post 9/11 economy we're in a rebuilding phase (or going out of business phase).When we perform a job and then have to wait more than 30 days to be paid for it our cash flow isn't healthy enough to get us through. The guys on the shop floor are, in my opinion, more important than I am. We wouldn't be in business if our manufacturing floor had no employees. Whereas the business would only suffer without an office person to smooth things out.My ego is large enough to cause me to think it would suffer incredibly! However, I am the one who doesn't get paid on time if the business cannot collect on past due invoices. I eventually get the money that's due me, however I have gone 3 weeks without a paycheck before. It's usually not more than a week though.So, in a way, I am taking a risk that is usually associated with being an owner. And making the decision to pay others first would be an emotional risk.My employer hasn't been able to pay himself in over 6 years. So, I'm not complaining I'm simply learning.
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| A View from Two Sides |
| 2007-10-15 18:50:00 |
As a customer walking into a business with depressed, stressed, irritated, unyielding employees, I pause. If it happens to be a restaurant or any food service with irritated, angry employees, I walk out. If it happens to be a retail store with depressed, non-functioning salespeople, I walk out. I prefer to support a business who likes their customers enough to leave their personal problems at home.When you are faced with this situation do you choose to open your wallet and support a business who obviously has some personal issues to deal with? I am told, and it is half believable, that consumers have all the power over the economy.It is only half believable because I see how much power a business has over the economy as well. Yet, are consumers giving business that much power by opening their wallets when they shouldn't?I'm sure you have heard how much power you have as an individual over money matters in America. Next time you need or want to buy something, consider who you're buying from and whether you really should be supporting them. In other words, appreciate the power those people in the ivory towers claim that you have. They may be right.
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| Bread and Butter - Part 2 |
| 2007-10-12 10:54:00 |
The company I spoke of in my last post is still in business. They have lost many of their employees along with the bread and butter customers. I was one of those employees.Last I heard, that formerly $14,000,000/yr company is now worth only about $6,000,000/yr, and still sinking. All of my old co-workers who I'd built friendships with are no longer there, so I will not know for sure how that company is doing from now on. I only have one small clue... I visit their website about twice a year to see if there have been any changes. So far, there are 3 pages that come up with a 404 error, the starting flash page has some glitches, and there has been nothing added or updated in about 3 years. It's only a small clue, but it's a revealing one.My current company will stop working on large jobs to take care of the little guys. The little guys are the easiest to take care of and negotiate with (not to mention they're fun, the big dogs seem to have lost their sense of humor somewhere along the way). They are usually honest about when they need their work done and whether we really need to stop working on our current job. They are aware of our scheduling issues and aren't terribly demanding of our time unless it's a true emergency.Our big customers came to us because of the referrals from the little guys. We have never gotten a new customer from a big dog.Who do you concentrate on in your business? Who are you more willing to bend over backwards for? Be very careful who you choose to romance in business. Those $50/month customers may be giving you enough referrals to amount to $50,000/mo. That $50,000/mo single customer will go to the cheaper guy in a heartbeat, leaving you hanging and twisting in the wind.
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| Bread and Butter - Part 1 |
| 2007-10-10 11:01:00 |
I used to work for a small/mid-sized manufacturing company that made an incredible mistake. The owner bought it when it was only worth $250,000/yr. He built it to a $14,000,000/yr company in only 9 years. It was exciting to work for a company in growth. The atmosphere was one of friendship and fun. All the employees knew each other, we liked each other, we worked as a team, we spent time with each other after work, we were proud to work for this company. And all of us liked and respected the owner, my direct boss (note: past tense). He was the first boss I'd ever had who I truly liked.This atmosphere of friendship and respect extended to our customers as well. We knew our customers by first name. Many of us built friendships with our customers. We invited our customers to barbeque...
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| Irritate the Gatekeeper for Sales |
| 2007-10-08 14:53:00 |
Who thought it would be a grand idea to have recorded telemarketing calls? When these calls come to my home phone, I am irritated. How much more irritating do you think it is when I'm at work attempting to help a customer and the phone rings... and I hear a recorded telemarketing call.The first thing that pops into my head is our current economy, and I begin to ponder how many people are out of work because of a recording. The second thing that pops into my head is how cowardly these companies are that they can't even have a live person listen to me hang up on them.However, I will stop and listen when I have the time. I make careful notes on the business described in the recording (if they ever get around to announcing it). And I make sure the shop I work for doesn't become a customer of theirs.Here is a tip to keep in mind if you are considering this avenue of sales. The first person to answer the phone in any business is the one you really need to impress. We are the gate keepers. We are also the keepers of the golden keys. Most of us are very cold and calculating if you aggravate us. We are not usually the person you need to speak with, and you will not be directed to the correct person if we are not impressed with you. We certainly will not sit through a recorded call to figure out which person your company actually needs to speak with. The golden keys will be used to lock the gate after we thoroughly enjoy kicking you in the arse as we slam the gate shut.
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| In Quite a State |
| 2007-10-05 09:36:00 |
State taxes are a completely different animal! The employees who work with state taxation cannot, under any circumstances, speak in human language. If you read the pamphlets they send out, or read the websites they provide, you will hear it parroted. Go ahead, I dare you to ask these people a question! I challenge you to try to get them to speak in their own words.You will hear "In paragraph number... section number... revised date... amendment to..." It really is the most amazing thing. It's nice to know that robotics has achieved this level of advancement. But, when I ask a question, I need help. I need help beyond what the booklets and websites are telling me. The problem I needed to sort out was that a tax was paid that we don't owe (not the righ...
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| The Big Bad IRS Man |
| 2007-10-04 09:26:00 |
I am not a tax expert. I'm not a tax accountant. I have no formal training in taxation. I've acquired limited business tax knowledge through different avenues in life. The owners of this little shop had gone 4 years without filing or paying tax to the big bad IRS man. This is one of the reasons they asked for my help.So, I started this job in a firestorm of IRS letters that were quite unsettling and a bit threatening. We've all heard the horror stories of people who have gone through IRS audits. We've all heard about what can happen when you don't pay taxes. And here I am, with limited knowledge, trying to appease people who have been described as no less than monsters.What I have discovered is that the IRS is the easiest, most helpful, most informative tax agency in existence.My f...
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| Family Business |
| 2007-10-02 10:59:00 |
A family business can be a great idea. There are several success stories. Many families work very well together and are quite a team.Then there are those families who would be better off staying away from each other. Unfortunately, as a small business owner with not a lot of money, you can't always afford the people you need. You have a choice of becoming an expert in every area of your business, or hiring someone to take care of the aspects you aren't skilled in.If you choose to do it all yourself, you will be up against: knowing your product/service inside and out, sales, marketing, advertising, customer service, accounting, bookkeeping, payables, receivables, taxes (better not forget taxes, they won't forget out y...
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| The Ends Don't Meet |
| 2007-10-01 22:52:00 |
Offering terms of payment is fairly common in business. Many vendors offer a 30-day net, some offer 10 day net, and another few allow a bit of a discount if we pay early. This is fairly typical.I do not get the option to tell my vendors when I will pay. The vendors have the right to tell me as their customer what they will allow.As a consumer, you do not get to tell a retail store that you will pay them differently than what they expect. You don't get an opportunity to tell your lender that your loan payment will only be made quarterly. And you certainly don't have the option to tell you car dealer that you will be driving the car off the lot, but financing will be completed after 90 days.As a small business, we experience situations that become a bit stretched out. We have customers...
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| Made in China - Behind the Scenes |
| 2007-09-28 16:29:00 |
Business was going very badly last year. So bad, in fact, that we considered selling or liquidating. And then a new customer walked through the door.A multinational company had enough work for us that the dollar amount would have been in the neighborhood of $150K per year. Keep in mind that I work for a very little bitty shop, so one customer who's willing to spend that kind of money on our work is nothing short of a godsend.We completed the first job with flying colors and a bottle of champaign. The second and third jobs met with raving approval. And then.... nothing. We tried to call, but only got voice mail. We left messages that went into space for all we know, no returned calls.We warranty our work, so any dissatisfaction would have been handled immediately. Not to mention tha...
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| Small Business Woes |
| 2007-09-28 15:19:00 |
Mortgage companies going bankrupt? Everything you buy is "made in China"? Working more than you used to for less money?We are a small business (sole proprietor) who is suffering through this strange economy. We are a very small shop with only 1 full-time employee, 2 part-timers and 2 sub contractors. And we lose jobs to China just like the big dogs.This shop has been in business for 25 years, so we've seen ups and downs. This current economy is about the strangest one we've seen. Some lessons have been learned, and some situations are terribly confusing. Political decisions have impacted us considerably. Mass layoffs in almost every industry throughout the US over the years have impacted us terribly. Business closures, bankruptcies and sell-outs have impacted us harshly.We lose customers because they've lost customers and must shut their doors. Our competition is dwindling with shops going out of business every month (I guess that's sort of good - in a selfish anti-free-enterprise type of way. Whether you believe it or not, competition is a good thing). Our vendors are going out of business due to the loss of customers. Taxes are rising and killing the little guy, while the big dogs get incentives for going overseas and usually pay no tax.It's a dog eat dog world and I'm hoping that our experiences at this little local shop will help people avoid being eaten up.
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