The Invaluable Insight From Customers That Care

One of the best things about having good relationships with customers is the feedback you gather on a daily basis. This can be invaluable when you take big steps that benefit you, your company and your customers.

The last few months, putting everything together for our new investment took a lot of time and effort. Mine and my fathers minds have been fixated on making sure we had t's crossed and i's dotted for the purchase and installation of our new CNC plasma machine. As of today, the battle continues for the next few weeks until the machine is completely setup and calibrated with our perfect settings, ready to use.

During this time we have had many customers in and out of the shop to see the new addition and discuss what has been going on with the company in the fourth quarter of last year and into the new year. All of them have been fantastic. They genuinely care, wanting us to succeed and wish us luck with anything that pertains to our new investment.

The best part of our interactions are the questions about minute details pertaining to the machine. Things I haven't even thought of over the course of the process. Great inquiries which I lock into the mind vault, adding to my growing list of questions for the techs.

It's amazing what you completely overlook when you're focused on other things. Even when you feel like you're totally focused, you're not. My customers have saved me the time of sitting, racking my brain to list questions for the techs when they come to finish the installation process. Questions that seem so obvious when I hear them out loud. I think to myself, "How could that completely obvious and logical question totally escape me?"

They will never know how grateful I am for these insights. Everything going on these days is new and scary (good scary) territory for our company. The process has been exhausting, but beyond enjoyable because it's exciting to know that you are taking steps forward instead of sideways.

The adventure continues...

 

The Fear is Real

I realize how melodramatic that title may seem, but in regards to our recent investment, the fear is real and if I sit and think too much, it scares the hell out of me. Not the fear of making the actual move to sign our life over to the bank, but the fears that the future will bring enough work to pay for our new equipment. Obviously, investing in yourself and the business is the only way to grow and be successful. Taking the emotion out of any investment is the hardest thing for humans to do. The people who can take that emotion out of the transaction have the upper hand. Some of the best stock traders and investors have the intangibles to subtract those feelings that keep regular people from risk.

My goals are to grow the company and work my ass off to make sure these fears are completely unfounded. However, they are real in the sense of learning new things and creating new lines of business. Not to mention the facts of becoming more of a salesperson rather than a trades person. These are risks my father and I must take in order to reach any of our new benchmarks.

My father is a tradesman through and through as am I. The difference is my interest love of business and how it works on a daily basis. My schooling is lax when it comes to running a business, but my experience is 15 years in the making. I have learned so much over the years, along with being a sponge when it comes to anything involving business and investing.

The next steps for our company are beyond exciting, but the fears are real and need to be acknowledged. Pushing them down doesn't help you grow as a businessman or person for that matter. Taking on calculated risk is the only way for us to make the leap. My shoes are tied up tight.

Change is scary. Embracing the fear to accept the change is the catalyst needed for growth. IMHO

 

Let's Give Them Something to Blog About

An interesting question was posed to me over the weekend on Twitter by one of my favorite follows @RayFrith1.

 

Honestly, finding things to blog about is the most challenging thing I do on a weekly basis. I would love to pump out a post daily like some of the best bloggers out there. However, in an industry where much of the information is either too technical or boring, the byproduct of interesting things can be slim. Many HVAC and sheet metal businesses aren't even attempting, which makes it hard for many of us to learn. I am always excited to see others in our same industry giving it a try.

I have started upwards of 10 blogs over the last 6 years or so. All of them were crap because I started them for the wrong reasons. I wasn't focusing on what I knew or was interested in at all, only what I thought would make my blog popular or what would make me money. Basically, a get rich quick scheme. Needless to say, not good reasons to start a blog.

When I started this blog for the company I was writing for an actual purpose, on a subject I have some knowledge in and one that I enjoy, along with an interest in business. All of theses things lead to something that is real and can ultimately be interesting. Nobody wants to read anything that is fake or always trying to sell you something. People want to feel like they are behind the scenes, learning something or following the gossip. These are skills I am still trying to master while I find things to write or post about.

On the other hand this is a business and our ultimate goal is making money, so there will be some marketing and sell in what we do. However, my father and I are humans with all encompassing interests, which lead the direction of the business. The blog is a way for me to hash these things out and help our customers understand who we are and how are business runs on a daily or weekly basis. This can be difficult, but I enjoy writing and posting, which can make the process more enjoyable.

Things are easier to do when you actually enjoy what your creating. That's how I feel about growing the company these days. For the first time in a long while I enjoy going to work, making the business what I always thought it could be. The blog is a way to hash out ideas and display that enjoyment when the inspiration hits. Hopefully what I'm putting out there is relatively interesting to read.

If not, no biggie. I will post stuff anyway.

 

2013: Breaking it Down and Building it Back Up

Happy New Year to all! I was originally going to write a post looking back at 2012 and all that has happened over the year. However, after thinking on it for a few minutes I realized that looking back wasn't something that would benefit our company at this point. The end of the year brought our biggest change--financing and purchasing a new CNC plasma table--since the business began in 1989. Not much is going to trump that for us.

The weekend after the machine was delivered my father and I were text-ing back and forth about needed tasks to get things moving. He ended the conversation with "Start of a new era" and he is absolutely correct. We are starting from a whole new position, not to say we will forget anything that has gotten us to this point, but we are turning the corner and making a new path.

My father and I had stagnated up until a few months ago and honestly we are looking forward to what will be, rather than what has been, helping to focus on growth. I understand learning from history and all that jazz, but this company needs to focus on gaining positive momentum over the next few years. We are breaking it down and building it back up.

I expect 2013 to be one of our best due to our recent changes in procedure and mindset. The biggest is being mindful of not stagnating and searching for business rather than sitting back, waiting for things to come to us. We need to concentrate on being proactive, creating proper boundaries that will benefit us as a growing company.

Our company needs to take that fearful step forward and let the past fade, letting those new positive changes filter in.

Have a great 2013!

 

Stop Focusing on The Negative

My life has revolved around negative thoughts, keeping me from focusing on goals that would better my life. Last year, all that changed. With the insertion of therapy, the hoarded clutter of half empty thoughts began clearing and I began to stop focusing on the negative. Since then my excitement and realization of this business being a positive thing rather than a burden has made my life so much better. I am excited to come to work and do my best to grow the company. Being able to stop focusing on the negative thoughts and move to a positive mind has helped me be a better entrepreneur.

The change is apparent when I hear customers and friends who come to our fabrication shop always taking a negative stance first. Whenever I ask them how business is going they usually start with things are slow or it could be better. Phrases I used to say all the time.

These days, I start with the excitement of growing the business, getting the financing for new equipment or focusing on the jobs we currently have and how we can grow relationships with customers. I have been and still am learning to stop focusing on the negative thoughts that lead me to stagnation. Noticing others responses make me realize that the negative thought train is full of passengers.

Since we received the good news about financing for our new CNC plasma cutting machine, more people have asked me if I was scared rather than excited. Their first thought is always fear. It makes being optimistic about anything difficult when all you hear is negativity.

I always start my response positively with excitement about growing the business, looking to the future for more business opportunity and moving forward at all times. Up until this point my life has been ruled by fear. Will there be enough business? Hope that customer comes back. etc...etc. It got me nowhere but depressionville. Something had to change.

Negative things are always going to happen in life and business. However, there is always two sides to each and every story. There is always a positive. The key is to stop focusing on the negative and the fear. Your life and business will be better off for it. I am still a work in progress, but what I have found over the last year is an enjoyment for business and being an entrepreneur that I never had when fear won out every mental battle. I'm willing to take a chance on the positive because it has to be better than the fear that lead me to the status quot.

My change has surely been for the better.