Sometimes Important Business Tasks Can Get Overlooked

Many times a small business will overlook something important. With us, one of those extremely important things has been customer retention. Don't get me wrong, our work speaks for itself and many of our customers have been coming back for years. The retention I'm talking about are those fringe individuals or companies we neglected because we were either, too busy or too lazy to take the time and keep up relations. The customer came in for a minor piece of fabrication and we let them get pushed to the bottom of the pile, assuming they would never come back anyway. However, those are the customers who may give your name to a friend or family member, making them a powerful resource to keep communicating with.

Earlier this week I received a call from a company called Intuit Demandforce. We have used Quickbooks for invoicing, so getting a call from a company in the Intuit family is not out of the ordinary. Most of these calls I will greet and pass on because they are just an introduction to get you in the door, nothing more. Yet, this one seemed a little different. I got the sense they really wanted to show me what the service could offer, I wasn't feeling sold to. Could be a testament to the sales person on the end of the line but, I felt the risk was worth it and agreed to a web share about the Demand Force service.

From the Demandforce website:

Keeping up with all of the changes in technology and online services is hard, but you need to communicate and market like the big boys or your business won't survive. Demandforce is here to help.
 
We take an award winning communication portfolio, with easy to use <a>online reputation tools and our broad consumer network, to become the marketing team your business needs.

The web share went well and after seeing what Demandforce had to offer I decided to give them a shot. Our account went live today and I am very excited to see how the service will help business over the next month. I really like the people I have dealt with so far, giving me a personal experience you don't get with many online businesses. Everyone genuinely seemed to care about us succeeding with the program.

Updates to follow :)

originally posted on our Facebook Page 

SaraSpa Rod & Gun Club Duct Installation Photos

Here are a couple pics from our most recent duct installation at the SaraSpa Rod and Gun Club in Greenfield Center, NY.

Installation of the Exit Air Unit ductwork and filter cabinet.

Installation of Make-up Air Unit duct.

The job has been progressing nicely with a lot of custom duct and fittings. Each section is fabricated with 24 gauge metal and secured together with the Ductmate Flanging System.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel regarding finishing up the installtion and fabrication. I hope to get all the photos gathered together and share them after the project is completed. With our move to a new fabrication shop space and other jobs, time has been at a premium. We are finally getting back to a somewhat normal schedule.

Exciting New Developments at K & E Sheet Metal LLC

Some exciting things have been happening over the last few months here at K & E Sheet Metal. First off, as always, none of this would be possible without all the great customers and partners we have done business with over the years and for the new business to come.

Early in the year I decided to build on our ability to fabricate straight duct quicker, which would help us keep a small inventory of trunk duct on hand, making it easier to get materials out for customer orders. To do this I needed to add a few new pieces of equipment to help speed the process. Therefore, we have added a hydraulic 5-head notcher, 52" pneumatic shear, 60" pneumatic duct former, pneumatic cleat bender and take-off notcher. These machines along with our plasma table, which we added last year, will help to speed the process of custom and stock orders for clients.

Because of the purchase we needed to add space, so a few weeks ago we made the decision on moving the shop to the building behind the one we currently occupy. Therefore, our physical address will change from 22 Hudson Falls Road, Door# 3 to 22 Hudson Falls Road, Unit# 22 with shop entry at door# 26. Because the numbering of the building can get confusing I have added the door# 26 portion to help with direction. Over time this will be tweaked after we get settled.

My father and I are very excited about the new developments and hope everyone else will be too. Please bear with us for the next month or so as we get settled in to the new space. There may be some lag in time frame of order completeion but as always we will complete all orders ASAP. I'm sure there will be questions and you can direct them to Kevin via email at main@kesheetmetal.com

Thanks for your patience, we appreciate all the business and hope to see you all soon at the new fabrication shop!! 

Finding The Time...

Once again I have neglected the company blog for an extended period of time. Not because of laziness, but more in finding the time to give proper attention to the written word. As the work day progresses, time fades away, before you know it exhaustion takes over and the last thing I want to do is type out something interesting and insightful.

These are of course excuses. I should be finding the time to get something down each and every day, whether it makes it to the blog or not. Something is changing with the company on a daily basis, so finding items to write about should not be something so difficult to find. 

The problem for me seems to be finding the best time to actually do the writing, not so much the content. I'm up at 5am to get ready so I can be at the shop by 7am to get the day going. As much as I would love to write in the morning, my body just hates those before dawn hours and my mind is usually flooded with what needs to be done at the fabrication shop.

Not the best recipe for quality writing. 

So you would think during the day or in the evening would be perfect. Unfortunately, the strain of the day keeps me away from the keys and all I want to do is relax. 

However, I do like writing the blog and will continue searching out the best time for writing and getting my thoughts down. Especially since the company is and will be changing for the better over the next few years.

As with anything in a small business, finding the time to do anything can be a challenge. All of us know there is only one way to run a successful company and that is to work your butt off day in and day out.

So I guess finding the time to blog will just have to go on my goals sheet as something I want to accomplish from week to week. I'm just gonna have to find the time.

Business or Personal?

I have a couple blogs, one for myself (which I have not updated in a while) and the one you are currently reading.

Why?

When I originally set up the accounts I felt separation was warranted because why would I want people on the business side having to deal with anything from my personal life and vice versa. Plus, keeping personal and business life separate seems logical.

However, after looking at my accounts recently I realized that except for a few profanity ridden tirades in regards to my favorite sporting franchises, the majority of my comments pertain to business or something in the ballpark, minus some personal friend tweets. Then I thought, my life is this business, it's all I think about or do on a daily basis. I'm the K for goodness sake, so shouldn't this blog reflect what the K does day in and day out regarding business and how it affects myself or the family? I feel like I try to do just that, but maybe it's not interesting enough for a casual reader.

So should I consolidate everything onto this site? Make an effort to bring more personality of my own to the blog instead of trying to keep it as PC as possible? Do people only want to know about your business when they come to your company blog or are they looking for something real, warts and all? As a reader, I feel like as long as what I'm reading is interesting it doesn't really matter. Obviously the core of this blog is what goes on in and around our family business, the HVAC metal industry and our customers. But as humans, there is more to me and us as a family.

Yes, I am the only one who actually writes the blog, but does that mean I should only post things having to do with business, personal views and the metal industry or can I throw a little flavor in now and then? The goal is to find readers and ultimately customers who we retain as a growing business. And yes, ultimately I am going to post what I want, but asking the masses is always an option, which I choose to enact in this case.

So what do you think? Should I only post business related topics or should I open the borders up a bit?

Leave your answers in the comments section. Thanks for your help!

When The Business Tells You Help is Needed

Finally a minute to reflect after a dizzying few weeks of fabrication.

The company is busy, I am happy and the goal still remains to bust ass into the future. However, when things are crazy and your spinning like a drugged hippie at a Phish concert, you realize help may be needed to keep this torrid pace going forward. Our new technology has been fabulous, cutting fabrication time in half, but sometimes a few warm bodies around to pick up the slack is what you need to get the job done in necessary time. This is the place we find ourselves as a company and it is scary.

The easy part. Recognizing you have a problem.

Now the hard part.

We have been a two man operation for over 20 years, only hiring temp workers here and there. Having a staff of any kind is completely foreign to my father and I, leaving us with many questions moving forward and a tight feeling in our guts. More people means more money, leadership etc.

Payroll tax, health benefits, the interview process, you name it, we need to prepare for it. Figuring out our best path is still something we are mulling over and have been for weeks now. The process will be daunting and scary but I feel like the family is up for the challenge. 

Honestly, we have to be. We need the help if we are going to grow this business past what it has been for the last 20 years and that is something I am striving for. 

Personally, I am not the type to jump into unknown waters, preferring to learn a few things about what may be lurking. I need some data. However, the process will be quickened if the amount of work coming through the doors continues through the rest of the summer and fall. I fully expect it will, so time is of the essence. 

BTW, these are good problems to have as a company in my opinion and they are a far cry from the problems we contended with a few short years ago. 

Squarespace the Magnificent

Hiatus?

If there is a such thing as web hiatus then I have been on it for the last few months, having really posted nothing to the web blog or much on the twitter. This is not because I have lost the passion for business or have become frustrated with social media. On the contrary, I have realized the power and I need to have it! 

Plus, with the addition of our new equipment business has picked up and the shop has been extremely busy, leaving little time to keep up with things. 

The bottom line was we needed a change after gaining data on what was going on with our current website.  Out with the old, in with the new.

Let me calm the drama

I loved the previous website, having built it with Wordpress over the course of a couple months before we invested heavily in the business. Along with the website came more focus on marketing, Google Adwords in particular for promoting the business online. I hired a fantastic company, Flourish Digital Strategy, to take care of the campaign and all things marketing. The relationship has been great and things online are really starting to pickup.

However, after seeing results I noticed some things about the website that seemed a bit overkill and could maybe be scaled back. I wanted to simplify the site, making it easier to navigate with clearer information for customers to digest and easily get in touch with us. 

The sad part being Wordpress is difficult for me to easily change without substantial time and with business growing, getting busy, my time is stretched. I needed something easy and powerful to get the new website up and running quickly. 

Enter Squarespace

Just let me say right off the bat, I have no affiliation with Squarespace what so ever.

The product is magnificent!

I transferred, built pages, you name it in half the time it would have taken with Wordpress. I have tried multiple "site builders" in the past and they all blow. This one literally blew me away!

I wouldn't even disrespect Squarespace by calling it a site builder at all. Its a website creation machine with all the bells and whistles you could need to get anything from a basic to intense website up in no time. The ability to quickly and easily make changes will help me immensely considering most of my time is spent fabricating custom sheet metal for many satisfied customers.

I would recommend the service for any small business who is looking to build a quality website.