Recently, I needed to have the exterior of my house painted. We looked around for painters thinking that we would find someone who needed the work in these tough economic times. We called a couple of people who had small signs at intersections and a couple of companies. However, it was hard to get them to give us bids in a timely fashion. One day, we were telling the people that maintain our yard that we were getting bids to paint the house and they said that they wanted to bid. So, we let them. The difference in the amount of the bids was amazing. We selected the lowest bid, in this case (only $50 difference) which was nearly 1/2 of the highest bid. Some people we called did not get back to us for 2 to 3 weeks after we requested a bid. Guess what? Too Late!
I hope that in your business you get bids. So many companies get used to using the same people and just call them for the job that needs to be done. There are good reasons to do this:
1. You know them.
2. You know their work.
3. You know their cost.
4. It is easier.
5. Usually, they are faster to the job.
6. They may give you terms which could be helpful from a cash flow standpoint.
Let me suggest that during this economic situation, for sure, get bids. In my painting scenario mentioned above, the bid required painting and some minor repairs and one, not so minor, repair. The people who wanted the job really came after it. Even the high priced guys. They were shocked, in some cases, when I told them we were getting bids. They almost immediately wanted the chance to "re-do" their bid. I told them that they were too late. The people now doing the work have done several small maintenance things while they scrapped and caulked my house. The same thing happened at a clients business. Upon getting bids they discovered they were, in fact, getting a good deal from their current supplier but if they had not gotten bids, not only would they have not known that but the bids indicated what the cost of doing business with an unknown might have been.
It is always worth getting bids in these times. Some ideas for bidding:
1. Always get at least 3 bids.
2. Always get an odd number of bids (3, 5, etc.)
3, Make that your bid request contains a date for the bid to be in and a date when you want the work to start.
4. Do not pay any money up front EXCEPT for the possible exception of paying for materials up front if the materials are particular to your specifications.
5. Require Workman's comp and liability insurance or make them sign a waiver BEFORE the work begins. Even for small or individual contractors.
6. Pay them when the job is complete and you have had a chance to inspect the work thoroughly.
What do you think?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
You and Health Care reform?
Well here we go again. Another emergency! The health care reform bill MUST be passed before Congress goes on break! Why? They will be back in a month for crying out loud. As a matter of fact, they should take the month and read the bill. I mean really read it. I bet that there is not a single Representative or Senator who has read anything but an abstract of the bill. They should read it all unlike they did with the stimulus bill. Everyone is still reeling over that one with all the "earmarks" and special interest insertions. Hog Crap! That bill should not have been passed either because no one read it. They may have by now but they had not when they voted for it.
From a small business standpoint, health care is a serious matter. Most surveys show that employees would rather have paid health care than raises in pay if it came down to that. In my case, I have insurance through a small business I am part of (6 employees). Each year our health insurance program is renegotiated in July. The insurance company tells us what the plan we have now will cost and some options to reduce the cost which has usually meant less coverage unless we wanted the accept the 30% to 50% increase in premiums. This year, however, guess what our premium increase was? 0! Really, 0%. Same as last year for the same coverage! Amazing!
The reasons for no increase are pretty simple:
1. No covered employee or their family member had a serious event or required a huge difference in their medications.
2. Our insurance company, Community Care, is local. They are not a big national company with huge overhead and poor judgement. I know the people over there including all their top management. I made it my business to know them. We have had some serious fights but guess what, we worked it out. Did we always win. No. Sometimes they won. But what is important is that they gave us a fair hearing and we worked it out.
3. They have a practical bone in their corporate body. I am diabetic. Before some serious surgeries, it was very hard for me to see the numbers on the syringe I had to use to give myself insulin before each meal. My Primary Card Physician prescribed an insulin pen and I could count the clicks it made to determine the correct amount of insulin if I was in situation where I could not see the numbers. The insurance company said they did not cover that. I called my agent, who knewthe President of the insurance company, and he explained my dilemma to him. He met with his staff and agreed to cover insulin pens for anyone who needed them.
4. Four years ago we switched from a PPO to an HMO and that was hard for everyone. But guess what? We got used to it and now we all think it is terrific. All the horrific stuff you hear about the national company's HMO's may be true, but not for our local group. Different? Yes. Terrible? Not at all. When the President of our company was diagnosed with cancer, Community Care assigned someone to him and gave the family the green light to take him to M.D. Anderson or wherever they wanted to go. They would fly him there. Unfortunately, he died within 7 days of diagnosis, but the insurance company was there and it made a tremendous impact on the family, myself and my family. Imagine that? An insurance company that cares! So do not lump them all in the same category.
So, get off the national kick and find out what is available locally. Seriously, find out before you are sucked in by the Presidents Socialist agenda and Nationalized medicine.
What do you think?
From a small business standpoint, health care is a serious matter. Most surveys show that employees would rather have paid health care than raises in pay if it came down to that. In my case, I have insurance through a small business I am part of (6 employees). Each year our health insurance program is renegotiated in July. The insurance company tells us what the plan we have now will cost and some options to reduce the cost which has usually meant less coverage unless we wanted the accept the 30% to 50% increase in premiums. This year, however, guess what our premium increase was? 0! Really, 0%. Same as last year for the same coverage! Amazing!
The reasons for no increase are pretty simple:
1. No covered employee or their family member had a serious event or required a huge difference in their medications.
2. Our insurance company, Community Care, is local. They are not a big national company with huge overhead and poor judgement. I know the people over there including all their top management. I made it my business to know them. We have had some serious fights but guess what, we worked it out. Did we always win. No. Sometimes they won. But what is important is that they gave us a fair hearing and we worked it out.
3. They have a practical bone in their corporate body. I am diabetic. Before some serious surgeries, it was very hard for me to see the numbers on the syringe I had to use to give myself insulin before each meal. My Primary Card Physician prescribed an insulin pen and I could count the clicks it made to determine the correct amount of insulin if I was in situation where I could not see the numbers. The insurance company said they did not cover that. I called my agent, who knewthe President of the insurance company, and he explained my dilemma to him. He met with his staff and agreed to cover insulin pens for anyone who needed them.
4. Four years ago we switched from a PPO to an HMO and that was hard for everyone. But guess what? We got used to it and now we all think it is terrific. All the horrific stuff you hear about the national company's HMO's may be true, but not for our local group. Different? Yes. Terrible? Not at all. When the President of our company was diagnosed with cancer, Community Care assigned someone to him and gave the family the green light to take him to M.D. Anderson or wherever they wanted to go. They would fly him there. Unfortunately, he died within 7 days of diagnosis, but the insurance company was there and it made a tremendous impact on the family, myself and my family. Imagine that? An insurance company that cares! So do not lump them all in the same category.
So, get off the national kick and find out what is available locally. Seriously, find out before you are sucked in by the Presidents Socialist agenda and Nationalized medicine.
What do you think?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Now Fox Business News
Fox Business News is really very good. However, they are disjointed and seem to be not very well put together. Less, shall we say, professional. However, the news they report is good and, usually, pretty accurate. I especially like it when they talk to people who did not get what they know from being a news anchor but from actually worked and risen through the ranks even if it is on rising through the rands of Fox Business News with increasingly responsible positions. Not very likely in most networks.
I like their simple approach though and their explanation of what something means. One day they had a real business guy explain Derivatives. Do you know what they are, how they work and how they affect small business? Do you really? Why is it important. Because that and Credit Default Swaps brought down AIG. That melt down has affected us all. There are people in brokerage firms everywhere making these bets and affecting market segments that may hurt your business. So learn about stuff like that and not from the national media either. You are much better off watching Fox Business News and listening to their real business people. The national media makes people who make a profit (no matter how high) look like the bad guys and companies that pay back stimulus money as cheaters or less than good people and top managers who make big salaries as blood suckers. Not true for sure. Sure there are Bernie Madoff's in this world and there are real crooks and there should be some regulations, but remember we ARE NOT SOCIALIST! THIS IS FREE ENTERPRISE!
On the subject of top management salaries, I will deal with that at some point. I have mentioned it in the past. Let me just say here that I think the top guys should earn what they can but I also believe that boards filled with cronies have allowed those salaries to go to far. How much more do you need or how much more can you do if you made, say, $50 million over, say, $10 million. I could live and give on $10 million and help a bunch of people in need too. How about you.
What do you think?
I like their simple approach though and their explanation of what something means. One day they had a real business guy explain Derivatives. Do you know what they are, how they work and how they affect small business? Do you really? Why is it important. Because that and Credit Default Swaps brought down AIG. That melt down has affected us all. There are people in brokerage firms everywhere making these bets and affecting market segments that may hurt your business. So learn about stuff like that and not from the national media either. You are much better off watching Fox Business News and listening to their real business people. The national media makes people who make a profit (no matter how high) look like the bad guys and companies that pay back stimulus money as cheaters or less than good people and top managers who make big salaries as blood suckers. Not true for sure. Sure there are Bernie Madoff's in this world and there are real crooks and there should be some regulations, but remember we ARE NOT SOCIALIST! THIS IS FREE ENTERPRISE!
On the subject of top management salaries, I will deal with that at some point. I have mentioned it in the past. Let me just say here that I think the top guys should earn what they can but I also believe that boards filled with cronies have allowed those salaries to go to far. How much more do you need or how much more can you do if you made, say, $50 million over, say, $10 million. I could live and give on $10 million and help a bunch of people in need too. How about you.
What do you think?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Nightly Business Report on PBS
Do any of you that read this blog watch Nightly Business Report on PBS or Fox Business Network. Both are excellent. Although they tend to deal mostly with big companies and big ideas, they are up on a lot of changes in legislation, changes in trends and, especially, the Stock Market. If you area small business owner, it is very important to keep up with what is going on in the Market because it will trickle down to affect you shortly.
NBR has been around for decades and some of the people on there have as well. However, they also have some young reporters who do a great job talking to people in the business world like Warren Buffet and real people affected by the economy, poor judgement, Bernie Madoff, changes in the law and rules of employment, etc. It is really worth watching. Additionally, they take a look at stocks every day that are of importance and worth looking at. As you know, I am a "bottom fisher" of sorts and they deal with those stocks too and why they are where they are today. It would be especially interesting if your major customer, major vendor or market segment has been affected by legislation, crime, poor judgement or plethora of other things that might end up helping or hurting your business.
From your business standpoint, the big companies have gotten in trouble by being bloated, by being greedy and by leaders who feel that they are untouchable. Also, many companies have saturated their boards and officers with yes men and cronies. Now that may not be what they planned but it is what happens. As a small business owner, you need to surround yourself by "seeking the council of the wise" as it says in Proverbs (that's in the Bible for you unfamiliar with Scripture). As the owner, you do not know it all and cannot be everywhere at once. You need to have a board and officers who will tell you what is right not, necessarily, what you want to hear.
NBR does little to take a stand on anything however. And , they cannot. Their charter does not allow that as a non-profit organization. They do not take a position they just (really, honest to goodness they do) report the news. Imagine that! Reporting not trying to "make" news.
What do you think.
NBR has been around for decades and some of the people on there have as well. However, they also have some young reporters who do a great job talking to people in the business world like Warren Buffet and real people affected by the economy, poor judgement, Bernie Madoff, changes in the law and rules of employment, etc. It is really worth watching. Additionally, they take a look at stocks every day that are of importance and worth looking at. As you know, I am a "bottom fisher" of sorts and they deal with those stocks too and why they are where they are today. It would be especially interesting if your major customer, major vendor or market segment has been affected by legislation, crime, poor judgement or plethora of other things that might end up helping or hurting your business.
From your business standpoint, the big companies have gotten in trouble by being bloated, by being greedy and by leaders who feel that they are untouchable. Also, many companies have saturated their boards and officers with yes men and cronies. Now that may not be what they planned but it is what happens. As a small business owner, you need to surround yourself by "seeking the council of the wise" as it says in Proverbs (that's in the Bible for you unfamiliar with Scripture). As the owner, you do not know it all and cannot be everywhere at once. You need to have a board and officers who will tell you what is right not, necessarily, what you want to hear.
NBR does little to take a stand on anything however. And , they cannot. Their charter does not allow that as a non-profit organization. They do not take a position they just (really, honest to goodness they do) report the news. Imagine that! Reporting not trying to "make" news.
What do you think.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Anyone out there? Also, FoxNews comments.
Is anyone reading this blog? Huh? I have always asked for comments and one of two things is abundantly clear:
1. Everything I say is perfect and needs no comment, or;
2. No one is reading this blog.
Now part of it is my own fault. I am irregular in writing this. I just do not feel that I should write anything unless it is salient, poignant, pertinent and incredibly intelligent. Also, I do not feel that what I say should always be a rant. Like on FoxNews.
Speaking of FoxNews, their business reporting is pretty good and very well investigated. However, their regular news is really beginning to bug me. Day time stuff is pretty good and so is early evening. Although I like Bill, Sean and Greta, they do not report the news, they attempt to make the news and Bill does it rudely and argumentatively. I hate shows where the panelists all yell at each other. They are obviously there to push there own agendas and not debate the issues. Sean, at least has the right perspective. Bill is demeaning and Greta thinks she is always on an interrogations and, thereby, pushes the person she is talking to in an attorneylike manner. Immagine that. Sometimes she is nice but sometimes she is just "trying" to be a real reporter. CNN and MSNBC are much worse though. For me, the best part of FoxNews is Huckabee. Never miss that.
What do you think?
1. Everything I say is perfect and needs no comment, or;
2. No one is reading this blog.
Now part of it is my own fault. I am irregular in writing this. I just do not feel that I should write anything unless it is salient, poignant, pertinent and incredibly intelligent. Also, I do not feel that what I say should always be a rant. Like on FoxNews.
Speaking of FoxNews, their business reporting is pretty good and very well investigated. However, their regular news is really beginning to bug me. Day time stuff is pretty good and so is early evening. Although I like Bill, Sean and Greta, they do not report the news, they attempt to make the news and Bill does it rudely and argumentatively. I hate shows where the panelists all yell at each other. They are obviously there to push there own agendas and not debate the issues. Sean, at least has the right perspective. Bill is demeaning and Greta thinks she is always on an interrogations and, thereby, pushes the person she is talking to in an attorneylike manner. Immagine that. Sometimes she is nice but sometimes she is just "trying" to be a real reporter. CNN and MSNBC are much worse though. For me, the best part of FoxNews is Huckabee. Never miss that.
What do you think?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Have you noticed the car industry lately?
Yesterday, the numbers came out for car sales. They were generally dismal. Chrysler down 41%, GM down 33%, Toyota down 33% and Ford down 11%. Do you notice anything specific? Ford, of all company's is doing better, much better and WITHOUT GOVERNMENT BAILOUT! According to news reports, they are also gaining market share. Interesting!
They too, were too big to fail. But Ford had been in trouble long before the others. They were blotted, greedy and their quality was okay but not great. Their cars were about as appealing as me in a bikini. So their board and their top management began making the hard, hard decisions of laying off, closing plants, negotiating with the UAW, reducing management staff and INCREASING marketing and re-engineering their cars to meet the market. They did this long before the others. The others waited until it was too late and then they ran to the government for help. Why? GREED by the top people. Greed! They were so big and successful they were invincible. Wrong!
The other thing Ford has done is realize that they are only as good as their people. They manged through the problem. My personal belief is that when the CEO of Ford was asked to take a $1 a year to run the company by Congress, he said "I'm good". What did he understand? He understood that the government was bout to get in their pockets big time and he said no thanks to bailout money and they have re-invented them selves.
Small and Family owned businesses do the same. Look at where you are NOW! Take action. Make the hard decisions now. They will not become easier in the future. Honest! Do it now. Don't know what to do. Call me. I will help you.
By the way, I bought Ford stock at a little over $2 per share. It is right at $6 a share now. I expect that by next quarter they will be close to even in sales, gained market share and have learned a valuable lesson. More is not necessarily better, sometimes less is.
What do you think?
They too, were too big to fail. But Ford had been in trouble long before the others. They were blotted, greedy and their quality was okay but not great. Their cars were about as appealing as me in a bikini. So their board and their top management began making the hard, hard decisions of laying off, closing plants, negotiating with the UAW, reducing management staff and INCREASING marketing and re-engineering their cars to meet the market. They did this long before the others. The others waited until it was too late and then they ran to the government for help. Why? GREED by the top people. Greed! They were so big and successful they were invincible. Wrong!
The other thing Ford has done is realize that they are only as good as their people. They manged through the problem. My personal belief is that when the CEO of Ford was asked to take a $1 a year to run the company by Congress, he said "I'm good". What did he understand? He understood that the government was bout to get in their pockets big time and he said no thanks to bailout money and they have re-invented them selves.
Small and Family owned businesses do the same. Look at where you are NOW! Take action. Make the hard decisions now. They will not become easier in the future. Honest! Do it now. Don't know what to do. Call me. I will help you.
By the way, I bought Ford stock at a little over $2 per share. It is right at $6 a share now. I expect that by next quarter they will be close to even in sales, gained market share and have learned a valuable lesson. More is not necessarily better, sometimes less is.
What do you think?
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