MEETING MINUTES
Friday, July 29, 2011
Volume 18; Issue 27

Member Spotlight
This week's spotlight is Herb Stokes.  Please keep this member top of mind this week for referrals. 

Membership
Erin LaGrassa could not make today's meeting but she did pass along via email that she has a potential member that she would like to introduce to the group.  His name is Albert Miller and he has a Videography business.

Main Speakers -

DAVE CRISSMAN
I started my business in 1974 as a plumber.  The industry I specialize in, water treatment, has a focus on direct sales.  Most people start as a sales person and not a mechanic.  When you get a sale you need someone to put it in.  You are always one step away from not being in business.  I saw a niche there.  At the time I started there were 3 big companies.  They made the sale and outsourced the work to me. 

I started as a one-man band.  It was the best money I ever made.   Over a 3-year period my business grew to three trucks, not by plan but by reaction.  I got so busy.   I soon had money tied up in trucks and tools.  I took a step back and went solo for a while.  I was only making half the money when I hired help.  I knew if I was to grow again, this was going to be the trade-off.  As you grow you need to consider things like paying for quality help while still making a profit.  I wanted to build a business that would have value to others someday.  The struggle I always had was making all that money and wanting to keep it. 

When I bought my first business, I did not do the due diligence of running a business such as hiring a CPA, etc. It was operations and sales intense, requiring different skill sets from being just a mechanic.   I didn't have a whole lot of money, and had to eliminate people and do their work just to keep new business running.

If you buy someone else's business, they are selling for a reason.  A business may only have a shelf life of 6-years so be careful about how much you pay and amortize.  I got myself into a bankruptcy posture.  Fortunately, by telling others about my problems they were willing to negotiate the debt with me and got me through it.  I was able to sell the business in 1984.

Honesty and integrity are important in business.  You need to let people know of this value.  You can't charge more than your competition and expect to survive.  You either have to charge for the added value or get something out of it, like a referral.  You have to pat your self on the back, toot your own horn but do it in a humble manner.

Through various endeavors and business opportunities, I realized I would do best sticking with the skill sets I had.  I also learned how to hire and train employees to do the work and went out and got the work to support them.  I wasn't making as much money but I had more freedom and was adding value to the business.  Life and career intersect everyday.

In 1990 I started the dealership I have to this day.  I picked up the ECO Water line. I had zero customers.  I know have a database of 50,000 names.  We know the phone is going to ring everyday.  Most people I say twice a year.  That consistency has kept us going through these tough times.  My employees have been taught to think for themselves and make decisions that I would make. 

Q&A Discussion...

At first you are reluctant to having employees but then come to see the value of them.  It takes one employee to service $100-150K of business in a company.  And then you have to work in the profit you want to make.   I am comfortable with 10 or less employees.

There are certain things I don't want to do or not competent enough to do.  It seems you would need people that would be more proficient at it.  There is so much on the back end of a business that needs to be done, beyond your skill set.  You can't wear all the hats.  You have to hire or outsource some of that work. 

I never like having the same person handling the A/R and the A/P.  I would outsource in a heartbeat the bookwork and the payables. 

I have never been too good to do anything.  If they need their garage swept out after I finished my work, I did it.  It is part of that added value. 

If you want to make that leap from a one-man show to having employees, you need to know how to run a business and manage it.

MARK MENASCI
I have learned from watching my family run business with employees and saw all the problems that came with them.  I have seen the issues with clients as well.  I am not there yet, I am till a one-man operation.

Everyone here has a personal computer and can get themselves in trouble.  I thought I would give you a few tips to stay out of trouble so you don't have to call someone like me.

The majority of houses I go to are elderly clients.  They don't want to learn all the bells and whistles.  They only want it to work and do only certain things (ie, use the email).  I don't show them more than they want to know. 

Most of my day is spent fixing problems (because their are so many) although I do have a few clients that hire me to teach them things.  I do what I get hired on to do...and sometimes hang pictures.

Because we ran out of meeting time, Mark was asked to save his speech for another meeting. 

He did take the few last minutes to tell us about his recent water skiing tournament.  He did really well and became the number ranked skiier in his age group and won the regional tournament (his first since 1989!).