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In my book, I devoted an entire chapter to banking relationships. When I started out in business, with one employee in a 10’ x 20’ portable building, which was financed, I quickly learned that I would have to use someone else’s money to grow my business. (Since I didn’t have any) I learned quickly how…
My company had the reputation of being structured and disciplined. I set guidelines and stood by them. I set goals and strove to reach them. I’ve had employees tell me that they were intimidated at first when they considered coming to work for me because they were unsure about the “rules” thing. Auto dismantlers don’t…
Part 1 of 3. This is a three part article, watch the next two months for the remaining portions. We get lots of inquiries about the pros and cons of an insurance contract for obtaining inventory. Also, due to the high cost of selling through pools, many insurers are considering contracts again. Likewise, recyclers are…
Strategic thinking means asking yourself the short and long-term effects of every major business decision you make. Strategic thinking is a habit. The value of strategic thinking was brought to light for me during my time with the United Recyclers Group, a limited partnership of 300+ auto recyclers that I helped create to pool resources…
January, 2009 Imagine receiving a visit from a local sheriff with a handful of your mail that he retrieved from a ditch. Consider how it would feel to get a welcome call from an account representative at a store in a city 1,000 miles away verifying that you have opened a charge account. The Federal…
April 2005 I believe trouble comes in bunches. There’s no such thing as luck, good or bad. We all have storms in our life. Some weather the storms better than others. By working hard and being honest, you’ll find that when a storm comes your way, you will always have the money, friends and…
July 2007 How many times do we see business owners looking out the window or at their watch while impatiently waiting for the time to justify their exit? Why come in late or leave early if your ambition is to excel? Those who are always looking for excuses not to work are never going to…
September, 2008 In the mid-eighties, I thought things were moving along pretty well for my business. One of my competitors was a former employee. He was a low-price provider. He bought cheap cars from individuals and sold parts for very low prices. I bought cars at auctions where I had to pay more for them…
Does it seem at times that you have trouble defining a new service or product on which you want a vendor to give you a bid? (Examples are an advertising campaign, new delivery truck, new phones or phone service, or maybe pallets for the shop.) In addition, after you receive the product or service, ever…
Recycling story January 2003 I get lots of calls and emails from folks who are entertaining the idea of starting a new auto salvage business. I’ve had this story on my to-do list for some time but saved it until now so I could see how some of the new yards that opened in 2001…