19 Great Principles for Running your Bussiness

I love to read business books. Right now I am reading three:

“The Field Guide to Sales” by Debbie Mrazek
“52 Weeks to Sales Success” by Ralph R. Roberts
“Email Selling Techniques” by Stephan Schiffman

However the Book I love to read the most about working, sales, and management is the book of Proverbs of Solomon written between 960 and 922 BC. His thoughts were remarkable and if you read today’s writers like Tracy, Rohn, and Canfield you will find traces of Solomon in their writing. It is said in the Bible that Solomon was the wisest person of all times… not just of his time but all times.

I have gone through the book of Proverbs for about 3 years and have come up with 19 principles that can be applied to business. These are great principles to build a business around.

Here are just two...

Principle 1: When you work… Work hard! brian tracy says this a lot

• Pro. 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.


• Pro. 10:04 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.


• Pro. 12:24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.


• Pro. 28:19 A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.


• Pro. 20:13 If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!

Principle 2: There are seasons of work for all companies. Discover yours and make a plan to accomplish your work when it is to be done.

• Pro. 10:05 He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

You can download the other 17 for free by going to http://bit.ly/Business-principles

I am looking for the 20th and thought someone else may have found one... Let me know and of course I will add it to the list.

30% Stimulus Package Rebate. WOW!

News worth Reading:

I just got an letter from Apollo Gate operators stating, If your purchased a solar powered gate operator after December 31, 2008 you could receive a 30% tax credit off the installed cost of the operator on your personal Federal tax return. For information on how to get yours call me at 888.856.0551 or email to Jon@SummitFenceSupply.com

Here is more news on the Stimulus Package.

Stephens Pipe and Steel said that if you are planning on purchasing chain link material using the National Stimulus rebates to make sure you tell them you want US made products.

We stay informed so you can stay informed.

Jon "Your Fence Man on Wheels"
summitfencesupply.com

Why Didn't he Think Ahead?

Imagine!

Two neighbor entering their driveways one cold and stormy winter night. One puts the car in park with the children in the back seat, gets out of the car and runs through the pouring rain to the gate. After about a minute she is able to get the gates unlocked and pushes them open, first one and then the other. Slopping through the water and ice, she fumbles with the door and hurriedly gets in dripping wet and freezing. She reaches into her purse to get a tissue saying a few words under her breath,"Why didn't he pick up the kids. It was his turn." She pulls into the garage and putting the car and park sits there in a watery mess.

“Wait until he comes home.” Are the only words spoken that night.

She walks into the house, spending the next thirty minutes drying and changing clothes. As she finishes her hair and pulls the old sweat shirt over her head the door opens. Honey, “What’s for Dinner?”

***

The neighbor also drives into her driveway on a cold stormy winter night. She smiles at her children in the back seat as she pushes the transmitter to open her new Apollo 3600ETL swing gate operator. The gates swing open as one would open their arms to receive a friend.

She pulls into the garage and smiles thinking how lucky she is to have the security and safety of a front entrance gate.

As she slowly works in the kitchen putting the final touches on the roast and potatoes she hears the front door open. She smiles as she hears the familiar words, Honey, “What’s for Dinner?”

“Thank you, Darling.” She utters as she wraps her arms around her husband's neck.

You’re welcome…

***

“Every gate needs an opener and we have an opener for every gate.”

Call us today. 888-856-0551.

Edifice Complex:

Even today there is a strong love for buildings. I want my space and you stay off. I have seen people ask a neighbor to move his fence 1 foot because that one foot was on their property. I saw an ad recently, “buy your internet material from me because I have a warehouse and a showroom.” Wow! If you live in Minnesota I am sure you care about a showroom in Ohio.

I remember watching a TV commercial where a young man drove his father out into the middle of the desert to show him the location of the new warehouse. His father said, “How can we run a business way out here.” His wise son said, “The Internet!”

According to Jargon Database.com an Edifice Complex is defined as “The tendency of politicians to have large buildings and stadiums built as a concrete reminder of their "Legacy". Look around and you don’t have to look far to see business with the same mentality. What they are saying is I want a place where I can bring people to show my importance, control and power. The interesting thing is who is paying for that building?

Well let’s take a look at it from my point of view. YOU! The consumer pays the loan off, the utilities, the open space where products sit and sit and sit allowing you to buy material that may be 2 or 3 years old. You pay for the tow motor that is only used two or three time a week and the driver. You pay for the person stuck behind a desk to answer the phone. Your hard earned dollars pay so some guy or gal can say, “We have a brick and mortar facility with a warehouse.”

Now let’s look at the other side. In today’s market if you are not a manufacturer you can cut the price to a realistic number by keeping your “Edifice” to a realistic space. Yes, I have a warehouse but it is small. It is for bringing in stock for local repeat customers who want to pick it up, but I would not call it a building to the glory of Jon or Steve. It is a small facility to serve those who need it.

I and my office are on the move along with millions of people around the world. In other words where I take my computer I am taking the office. I deal with people from Vermont to Florida, Washington to the tip of California every week. I want them to see http://www.summitfencesupply.com/ as the showroom of the future. If you need to touch the product FedEx will bring a sample it to your door. If you want a load of vinyl fence or a truckload of snow fence it will be shipped to your facility or your home.

I love the future of commerce in the world. I can do business with you anywhere in the world through e-mail or, in some cases, video feed. Let us come to you when and where you are by the touch of your finger.

I would love to hear from you as to your feeling about e-commerce in the now!

Jon Mullender
President
SummitFenceSupply.com
e-mail jon@summitfencesupply.com
Blog summitfencesupply.blogspot.com

Small Business Initiation

“You have to pay the toll before you can make the bucks”

In business there are no easy ways to get suppliers to deal with your company the same way they deal with bigger more established companies. Even if they know you and want to help you they still have to play the game. The game simply put is MONEY TALKS.

To a certain degree that is true but TIME TALKS also. If you spend 2 hours researching a product and have been given a certain discount for the quote, only to find that my competitor beat me by 10% it can get one down.

Unfortunately, old established rules are out of place in the new market place. The “small is the new big” as Seth Godin writes. As manufactures start to realize that more people are selling their product which in turn opens more doors for dollars and profit. An example would be if you have 5 people carrying brand X you have to put more money into advertising and sells representatives. But on the other hand if you have 500 people out banging the bushes for your company that sales team you have to supply can be cut saving money and advertising dollars.

Putting pressure on the small companies is a better way to establish distributors. Thoughts like, “We will give you a competitive edge for 6 months. If over that time you can reach said amount of money you keep that discount however, if you don’t your discount will be cut in half and we will reevaluate your status with us at that time.” That is such a fair way of doing business.

If you are a manufacture saying, “Well, how do I reward my big distributors.” Don’t worry about it. They are not going to look somewhere else. They have customers that are going to them and have been for years. They pull out the book, give a quote, the customer pays and away they go. That is unless they stop providing customer service and lose the respect of their clients.

Here is the call to action. Keep quoting and talking to the manufacture. Let them know that you are a serious player. Let them know what you plan on selling and to whom. Let them know your goal numbers that you want to reach and see if they will reconsider their old approach and allow you to sell on a level playing field.

If they will not you have hundreds of companies that sell a similar product. Research, find out how they are different and go another way. Someday you will be one of those companies and can help them to see the hardship you had coming up through the ranks.

Jon Mullender

Summit Fence Supply, LLC

www.summitfencesupply.com

jon@summitfencesupply.com

330-923-4214