Sharing Knowledge, Growing Value

Many entrepreneurs are frustrated with the fact that their employees, vendors and customers do not take their business seriously. Too often the frustration is only the symptom, the problem is the business itself.. not acting like a business.

Employees prefer to work for a well structured and disciplined company. That way they feel that they know the rules, where they stand and what is expected of them.

Recently at a family owned and operated company where the Mother is the President, the Father is the VP of Operations and the four sons held management positions in Sales, Accounting, Operations and Distribution we noted that they called each by familiar names such as “Bubba” for the VP Operations.

This informality gave the rest of the employees mixed messages “Are we family or are we a business” Some employees even assumed that they were adopted.

We asked them to leave family out in the parking lot and “encouraged” them to refer to each other by position title, or given first name. Encouragement was in the form of a 2 dollar fine for each improper utterance and disqualification from the draw for the “utterance pot”.

Similarly, vendors and customers prefer to deal with a well run organized business. This adds to their confidence and even share of their business.

Any vendor or customer that can “bully” a business does not have any respect for them. Customers consistently short paying knowing they will get respective credits or vendors short shipping or delivering late because they serviced other customers at your expense.

While a “hands-on, get it done myself” attitude is essential when starting up, the successfully transition into an operating business requires discipline and organization from the entire staff with the example coming from the top.

Most entrepreneurs are afraid to lose a customer’s business or a vendor’s source of supply when in fact customers and vendors will do more business with well managed and run businesses.

In short, you have to act like a business to be treated like a business by your employees, customers and vendors.

with your colleagues or Groups.

 By Rick Shaw
 EnPower Group Inc.

 To Contact Rick Shaw
 rshaw@enpowergroup.com or (416) 804-5078

Visit us directly at EnPower Group Inc. http://www.enpowergroup.com

Other key contacts:
Doug Cranston           dcranston@enpowergroup.com     (416) 949-4850
David Rosengarten     davidr@enpowergroup.com           (416) 788-2774

Sharing Knowledge, Growing Value