National Clothesline

As this is a presidential election year, I thought I would give you a few of Harry Truman’s best quotes.

“I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months, you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them got here.”

When we look at the government today it makes you wonder if good old Harry had a crystal ball.

Every year the majority of our population goes to the doctor for a physical examination. Your business needs the same. Do not forget, your business is like a living organism, if you do not care for it and feed it, it will stop growing and might even die.

Most of you are small business owners and as such, do not take the necessary time to examine obsolete methodology within your company. Not only does that mean press machines that should have been replaced 10 years ago, it can mean your accounting system or how you market your business is out of date.

Let us look at the steps you need to take to give your business its annual checkup. If you are too lazy to do them, call me or another qualified business consultant.

1. Your bookkeeping systems. Are you using the latest software? Do you know how to use a simple system such as Quicken? If you are using Quicken, can you move up to Quickbooks or Microsoft Accounting for Small Business?

How frequently are you creating profit and loss statements? Do you know how to read a financial statement?

I recently served as president of the board of directors of a homeowners’ association. Sitting on the board with me was a person who had been self-employed in the furniture business for over 40 years. He could not read a profit and loss statement. Another person on the board, who could not read a financial statement, had a doctorate in physics.

I tell you this so you do not feel guilty. Ask your accountant to show you how to read the statement. Ask how to analyze the statement. I held a class for those on my board to teach them how to read the profit and loss statement.

2. Do you have a business plan? I would venture to say that most of you do not. Yes, it is time consuming, but you cannot build a house unless you have the architectural plans.

3. Do you have business goals? Create short-term goals. These goals would be what you want to accomplish in the coming year. Then you create three-, five-, and ten-year goals. Put them in writing, whether they are short or long term.

4. How good is your computer security? Can an employee print a customer list that he or she can use when they open up a store down the block or start a route? Are employees going onto the internet when you are away? What would happen if you were hit with a worm or virus due to that employee’s ignorance? Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus software.

5. Are your fringe benefits costs out of control? Do you have the health insurance bid out annually? Look for lower cost plans.

Now it is time for another Harry Truman quote. “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”

6. How is employee turnover? Are you keeping your best employees? Review what you are paying your staff. Check on any incentive or commission plans to see if you are competitive within your market.

Do you have employee recognition programs? Every year at our company holiday party, we honored our long-term employees. Those people were announced and brought in front to be given awards. Employees love recognition.

7. Have you had your current business systems audited? You can be a victim of fraud and not know because you trust your current employees and your systems.

I was a fraud victim by employees on a number of occasions. Usually they were management level people who found the cash register to be any easy source of income. Some business owners have been hurt by long-term bookkeepers. They like to write checks to fictitious companies.

8. Step outside your front door. If you just moved into the neighborhood would you feel the appearance is inviting? Are there bundles on the floor? Are the windows clean? Does the call office need a paint job? Do you know that by redoing your call office you can see a 20 percent increase in business?

9. Are there odors permeating the production department? Do you have a dirty floor? Look at the spotting board. The bottles are probably dirty and need replacing. Are there labels on the bottles? If the spotter quit, would you have to sniff each bottle to determine what chemical is in it?

Does dust cover the springs of the finishing equipment? Look at the superstructure. When was the last time you cleaned it? Most importantly, could you bring a customer into your production department and be proud of it? Do not let your familiarity blind you to what is there. Come to think of it, you had better check the bathrooms, too.

10. Look at the repair bills. Does it make sense to keep fixing that old piece of equipment? If you plan to stay in business another five years, doesn’t it make sense to get that old piece of equipment replaced?

11. How is your marketing? Now that we are facing a recession in our economy, most of you want to cut your marketing expenditure. That is exactly the opposite of what you should do.

All of your competitors will cut their marketing expenses. Because you are reading this column, you are not like your competitors. You are going to gain this important knowledge about marketing. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you will spend more.

Consistency is the key to marketing. Keep doing what you have done, and then do more. If you are currently spending one percent of gross sales, spend two percent. No matter what you are currently spending, add at least one percent more to your budget. You want your name in front of the public.

Marketing can be considered an investment. I recently attended a business start-up seminar and that is exactly what the lecturer stressed.

The reasons to consider marketing as an investment are many. There are long-term benefits to a properly funded marketing program. When you create a logo used for branding, that is a long-term investment. When you use the logo and create branding, that is a long-term project. When you build the image and recognition of your company, that is also a long-term project.

Can you now see how marketing is an investment? These long-term projects are a marketing investment that will increase the value of your company. You definitely want a more valuable company, don’t you?

Here is the final Harry Truman quote, “I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.”

Anybody who has children can understand that.