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

CNC Plasma Table, Air Compressor Installation Update

Been a few weeks since our new CNC plasma table and Air Compressor were delivered, so I thought I would give a little update.

First off, the machine and air compressor are still not hooked up and running just yet. In fact, I haven't even taken the plywood off the table top that was placed there for shipping purposes. Usually, I would chalk this up to dropping of the ball or laziness. Not this time. We have actually been hindered by some electrical issues, and by issues I mean really old building with screwed up voltages and the like. Minor problems, but still problems.

So we have a 600 volt 3-phase coming into our rented space and we need to transform that down to a 230 volt 3-phase. I was unaware that this is an odd ball transformation and that much of today's industrial electricity or bigger buildings run on 208 volts 3-phase.

For some perspective, I am a dummy when it comes to electricity, so a professional has been hired. I like to think of my father and I as pretty handy with skills to take care of many tasks. These do not however include electricity or water.

Anyway, we have had to order a transformer--15 day wait--so that we can have our electrician get everything set, giving us the opportunity to schedule techs to come in and make the final connections for the equipment and software that runs the machine.

My stock answer to everyone who enters the shop these days is that we have cut sheet metal by hand for 20 years, so a few more weeks won't kill us. However, we need to start paying for our new toy, so crunch time is near.

We are close and my minor issues are exactly that, minor. The transformer is ordered and our electrician is set. A few more weeks and we should be rockin' and rollin'. As for me, I have that child at Christmas feeling again, except this time the gift is open but the batteries were an oversight. Now my shiny new gift sits neglected until the stores open later in the day.

Patience young grasshopper.

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.

@kesheetmetal we started with simple press brakes and worked up to these. How do you find so much to add to your blog I find it hard.

— Ray Frith (@RayFrith1) January 5, 2013

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.

Someone Has a New Vanity Short Link...keshtm.tl

Over the last few days you may have noticed that many of our Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin links had a little more K & E panache than ever before. Well, your sharp eye could not be more accurate. Friday I decided to invest in a new short domain for all of our social media short links with the intent of helping to grow our brand as much as possible. For a $40 yearly investment I secured keshtm.tl as our new vanity short link. Therefore, when you're perusing our social media pages and see our new link, you can trust that you will be led to our website kesheetmetal.com or a trusted article sent out by my father or I. Who am I kidding...I would be the only one sending anything out :)

My nightly reading has focused more on branding the business and making sure that our web presence is as consistent as possible. The short link is just another step in that direction. We may be just a tiny local HVAC sheet metal fabrication shop in the physical world. However, with the internet, we can be as big as we wanna be, spreading our wings and finding new business wherever it is hiding.

Walking that same line we must keep in mind not to over extend ourselves, losing focus on finding new business and keeping our new investment running at all times. Marketing the business is new territory, so we must keeep things in perspective and not spread ourselves too thin.

The Start of a New Era at K & E Sheet Metal LLC

A new era has begun here at K & E Sheet Metal. If you have been following us on Twitter ( if you haven't, shame on you ) you know that our new CNC plasma table has been delivered and should be up and running in a few short weeks. The addition of the plasma cutter help us to increase our current production of HVAC duct and fittings, allowing us to search out new opportunities. Below are a few pics from delivery day. The process went much smoother than I had originally thought and aside from some forklift issues, our new equipment was moved and placed in no time.

First option was to slide it off the truck.

I don't think this is going to work.

Change of plan

Now comes the hard part

Good idea. Let the oldest partner do the heavy lifting.

Almost there!

Slowly...slowly

Just a couple more feet and we're there..lookin' good

Everything worked out well and the new machine should be up and running after the new year. We are waiting for delivery of the air compressor to set up dates when the machine and software techs can come to make the final setup complete, teaching us what we need to know about our new toy.

We can't wait to make the first cut!

New K & E Company Folders From Hot Lunch Press

The new customer folders are here and they came out better than I had originally thought. Hot Lunch Press did a fantastic job screen printing our folders, which will be given to customers in the quoting process for installations and bigger sheet metal fabrication jobs. The Hot Lunch screen printing method and my simplistic design combine to give them a nice vintage style look. A big thanks to Hot lunch Press for the great work! Check out Hot Lunch Press and give a follow on Twitter @HOTTTLUNCH.

Exciting Start to Our Holiday Season!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are having an exceptional start to the holiday season because K & E Sheet Metal has secured an equipment loan to purchase a new Multicam CNC 1000 Series plasma table cutting system, helping to grow our business immensely over the next 5 to 7 years.

The time was right to make the investment in our company, taking steps to increase our production of HVAC sheet metal duct and fittings in the Glens Falls, NY community. We could not be more excited and hope to have the new machine installed and running by early January. You can follow our twitter page or Google+ page for updates as we begin the shipping and installation process.

We have to thank Glens Falls National Bank for the wonderful work in helping us to secure the loan. They were beyond helpful and honest about the process, informing us clearly on what they could and could not do. In the end they hit all of our targets and we could not be more pleased with the service. Our company does what we can to stay local and this project was no exception. Quality service like this is why our family has been doing business with Glens Falls National Bank for over 30 years. A fantastic community bank.