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...

 

Evening Reads: Robots, Flu and The NFL

Interesting reads on a gorgeous Thursday evening.... #tipsEnergy: Saving on Home Heating Costs (Energy.gov)

Our new robotic valet overlords (Wired)

Start a business that fits your idea of having fun (Startup Professionals)

Full text from the U.S. Chamber's annual State of American Business address (U.S. Chamber)

The flu is out of control (NYTimes)

Your guide to the next 150 years (The Reformed Broker)

The future looks bleak for the NFL (Yahoo)

 

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

 

Evening Reading: Manufacturing, Simple Banks, Greatest CEO

A few things I've been reading on this grey Wednesday.... Lending, credit quality seen improving which could mean good things for small borrowers in 2013 (Inc.)

Manufacturing may be flippin' the script (Huff Post)

The myth that small business are the job creators (Forbes)

Fed up with banks? Try Simple (NYTimes)

Who is our greatest living CEO (Forbes)

Hotsee Totsee (Bloomberg)

 

Evening Link List: Apple, Hackers & Tax Credits

A few interesting reads from my afternoon and evening.... Nothing is safe from the hackers of today...including HVAC (Threat Post)

HVAC tax credits have been renewed for 2013 (Service Experts)

Slower rate, but housing prices should continue to rise in 2013 (Calculated Risk)

America's 11th largest tech company is....the ipad? (Apple 2.0)

Shameless plug. Cool video showing the fabrication and assembly of shipping containers (Tin Blog)

 

Shipping Container Fabrication and Assembly

This is a great video depicting shipping container fabrication and assembly from beginning to end for the company Big Steel Box. I thought we made metal boxes...wrongo! These are some serious containers with a very systematic and efficient use of man and machine to fabricate and assemble. Very cool.

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.