posted
I have been on my own for six years now. I have one helper and keep fairly busy. I think that I have a good idea of what I am good at and what I am not. I have been thinking for a bit about hiring someone to manage the business. Am I nuts? I feel that I am pretty good at making signs and designing, but fall short in the paperwork and managing time end of things. I never seem to get ahead. My business is at a point where it will either grow or remain small. Has anyone else ever hired someone to run their business?
posted
Jim, I guess one thing you might want to keep in mind is that there's nothing wrong with being small. Also, you need to focus on what you want to achieve, and how much money you want to make.
Keep in mind that the bigger you get, the costs of growing and running a business also increase. Overhead, insurance, payroll, headaches....all increase proportionally.
Finding a business manager can be a stretch too. You need someone who is, first, trustworthy and one who will cause you no worries as far as stealing from you. Second, they need to have a working knowledge of the sign business, so they can track expenses and make constructive recommendations about cost-cutting, etc. And it would be good to find one who could help out in the shop, if need be.
That's the biggest concern I have. Based on what you said above, I can't see where it would justify your paying someone full-time to 'manage' your business. As small as it seems to be, I'd think it would only require a part-time commitment at most. It's just one of the many colorful quirks of being self-employed. Good luck to you.
-------------------- Dale Feicke Grafix 714 East St. Mendenhall, MS 39114
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Posts: 2963 | From: Mendenhall, MS | Registered: Apr 1999
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Sign work is an art, and you seem to be good at it. Running a business is an art.
Did you learn your layout and design and production skills overnight? Probably not. So learning the "art of business" takes time also. You probably know more than you think. You probably need some encouragement, tips and tricks, new techniques...like a Letterhead Meet, but for the business of running a sign shop.
Join a BNI group in your area. ( www.bni.com ) Its a weekly business referral group. Only of each profession is allowed to join. You will learn how to project yourself in front of an audience, learn to ask the memebers for the correct signwork you are seeking refferals for, and you will be in with a group that probably has an insurance man, lawyer, banker, accountant, finance guru and many other professional people.
You can lean a world of stuff from them on how to run a profitable business and still do the work yourself.
Look at it this way, if you hire a business manager, you'll have to pay for a good one that won't rob from you...you still have to watch what goes on and be in control of the checkbook. And you will have to charge more $$ for your work, or your business manager will, and you will probably be saying to him.."We can't charge that much for this work" which will undermine what you are trying to accomplish.
Think about the long run...someday, if you build the business correctly, all your job will be is to find the work, get the contracts signed, and organize your crew to do the work. Then you don't need to worry about retirement...your work force is in place, making money for you.
So its wise to learn the "art of business" and you will be glad you did.
posted
I like Dave's answer. I am in a similar group to his called the Maui Executives Association. We are members of the International Executives Association which allows us to seek credible referrals to professionals around the country, & also allows us to direct others like yourself to look into the availability of a similar group in your area.
I find the group to have been very beneficial to me for leads & also to seek professional advice through other members. My insurance guy is in the group & he has helped my address my business liability needs & improve upon my previous coverage after explaining very well several reasons why I might want to consider that. My tax preparation guy is also a member & my business banker. They know each other, so I consider them like my team of advisors.
I also agree with Dave that you should gather this knowledge yourself. It is an art, & you probably already do know more then you give yourself credit for. You may not like that work though & that could be a problem, or at least an important consideration. There was at least one well known letterhead I recall who sold his business to someone who retained him as the highly paid lead designer/fabricator because that was what he wanted to spend his time doing, not being a business man. Maybe that is another consideration for you, but if you are to remain a business owner, I would agree that YOU have to be the guy that learns everything that is going on in that arena & be a part of each major decision.
This year (my tenth) is the first year I have a bookkeeper. She comes in for about 4 hours a week & does work that I learned to do, but she does it better, faster & allows me to do things that are harder to delegate, like bids, or design work. I trust her, but I also understand what she does, & why she does it, so I can take over if she is sick & I can check her work.
Another suggestion for professional guidance is hiring a consultant to help you plan strategic growth. Jon Aston is a frequent contributor here & a merchant with his business Marketing Partners. Jon and I have worked together for the last 2 years where my business has evolved from a one-man-show with $100K in annual sales, to today where sales already exceed $260K this year based in part on the help of one full time guy & one part timer.
I was lucky to discover that the art of business suits my personality & captures my attention enough to make that part of my career just as enjoyable as the creative sign work. I wish you the same good fortune.
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Hi James, I've tried the manager route. I had one guy I liked, but he alienated the other employees and customers. He may have been on the right track, but I couldn't handle the loss of morale and the change in how we treat our customers. I don't think I was micro-managing, but I do have a shoestring budget.
The second guy is a great person, but unfortunately, he seems to be my clone. I have many skills, but I deal with an extreme case of Adult ADD. We make terrible managers. Turns out he has the same problem. Very creative and artistic, handling customers well. Apparently, the problem was neither one of us can count. After 3 years, he recently left. To be fair to him, I don't have the financial resources that would make job scheduling easier.
Right nowone whirlwind employee and I are keeping up with everything, and I can tell there's a positive difference financially.
-------------------- Tim Borden Speedy's Signs & Banners Jasper, AL
"World Class Entremanure" Posts: 74 | From: Jasper, AL, USA | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Thanks for the input. Sometimes it is hard to be patient with the learning process. I know that in order for the business to grow ( proffit wise not so much size wise) I need to let the reins go a bit and do less micro managing. Mabey a book keeper is a good first step. Also how do you get the customers to be less dependent on you and accept help from your helpers? I have a lot of customers who only want to talk to me.
posted
I have never "turned it over" to anyone but we have had real success hiring "temps" that only want work part time.
The best we had was a woman that needed to be home in the mornings and late afternoons when her children were going and coming home from school.
She did all the filing ...answering the phones and writing but not signing the checks. she even got work orders started and would pass essential info before us for the final writing then follow up with the customer if something wasn't clear.
She was less expensive than a full time person and her taxes fica work was done by the temp service. They don't expaect anymore than that and her performance really paid its way.
Not everyone is so lucky I'm sure but you might try this before you do something you obviously have concerns about.
Good luck!
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
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James, The customers have become less dependant on me to do the actualy work because, over time, I have lost the ability to "keep up", not that I am comfortable with that. My Sons know more now. They run the CNC router everyday, not me. They are not scared to break the machine...like I am, and they like to "screw around" trying to make neat 3D signs like Dan S. doe on his Multicam...where I don't feel I have the time be doing that...which is a mistake. Same thing with the Fast T_Jet shirt printer and the VersaCamm 540...I just can't keep up with the day to day running of all the equipment like my sons. They don't want to talk to the customers, keep track of records, invoices, pay bills, and run errands. The phone rings constantly, they won't pick up...so I have answere the phone, and by the end of the day I have had very little time to do any actual work.
It just sort of happens. You begin telling your customers that "Steve will get right on this, he has one job ahead of yours." They don't seem to argue as long as they know they are going to get their signs quickly or quicker than if I do the actual work.
The other thing I was going to mention in my first reply, but forgot, was an often overlooked aspect which is very positive and motivational for you to be in control of your own business affairs:
Lets say, for example purposes only, you do a job that takes 1 hour + materials and you charge $60 per hour and the materials with mark up came to $15. Would you bill for $75.00? NO! NO! NO!
Paper work takes at least 15 to 20 minutes. per job as in: Write up work order, track labor and expenses, prepare invoice, create file folder for future refference, file, make entry in the ledger for expenses and income, balance the check book, pay bills.
You need to add at least another $15 to $20 ($1 per minute = $60 per hour rate) for the paper work.
Now the job is worth $90.00 to $95.00.
The extra 15 minutes to 20 minutes on every job can add up faster than Dale Jr at the Daytona 500.
Its enough to pay for a secretary and still make a profit on the PAPERWORK costs. But before you hire a secretary, you have to have the record keeping system in place that is prefectly balanced in its layout...just like words on a sign.
Good layout in a sign is like good office layout. Work order/ production schedule/ get materials needed / enter expenses in ledger / prepare invoice / pay bills / get paid / enter income in ledger / file all the paper generated from this job into a file folder/ place file in cabinate.
You can't let your sign work pile up and say: Well these jobs are 6 months old so I better get to work on them. Paper work is the same way...you do it for every job, when the job is done, and you don't let it pile up and worry about it 6 months later or at tax time.
When you get a system of organization down and start thinking that "paper work" is part of the job and "billable time" then you might not fight it as much, you might just have some fun counting the money generated from the "paperwork."
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