Melancholy Monday

Over the weekend I had to put my dog Daisy down and it has really put me in a melancholy mood. It is hard to believe that we had that little rascel of 15 years. Dogs are funny in the way they become part of your family. She would do anything in her power to please us and truly was my best friend.

bye old friend

In my business relationships I have also met some great people. Dick Fromm from Elite has been a friend for over 20 years. Bill McKinsey who worked for another aluminum company used to call me JMully.com. We had great talks about cruises and life as well as our business. Jeff Duerr is a good friend from Bufftech. We have laughed together and discussed who has the best football team between the Bills and the Browns. It has been really a stretch for quite some time.

This past week my wife and I had supper with Ted Nelson and his lovely wife Joan from Simtek Fence. Even though I have been talking on the phone with Ted for about 2 years, meeting him and having supper with him as great. (thanks for buying Ted) :-)

Life comes and goes. I am richer today because of the friends I have made both the human kind and the canine kind.

A New Decade Begins

As the snow covers the ground on this last day of 2009 and my little space heater is warming me up... I am thinking about what I heard from Claudia this morning. "We are starting a new decade and it will be a great one!"

I love words of hope, excitement and motivation. Hope that our economy will turn around for all small business. That they will find success and be able to hire some of the many unemployed people who so desperately need a job.

Excitement because new things are being created each day and some of them are related to the industry we find ourselves in. We just add Apollo Gates to our website and are looking forward to many years of a great relationship together.

Finally, a new decade to be motivated in. It is true that we become what we think about all the time. We really do! If we want 2010 to be the best, we have to think of how we can help and improve the lives of others. When we help others we in turn help ourselves.

So as the hours tick away until tomorrow's New Decade begins, we at Summit Fence Supply want to thank all our wonderful customers and suppliers who have given us so much joy as we sought to assist others with their fencing needs.

Happy New Year...

Jon Mullender

"your fence man on wheels"

President -CEO

Summitfencesupply.com

Call anytime... 888.856.0551

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.

People Buy from People they Like and Trust.

I was looking at pictures I received from a customer and realized that he was more than a customer he became a friend. Down in Baton Rouge there is a company named Chris' Speciality Meats owned by Chad and his wife. Chad wanted to put up a privacy fence around his house and contact Summit Fence Supply, LLC.

I remember getting the first phone call from him and instantly liking this man. He was fun to talk to and we really hit it off. Over the next few months we worked on his project using Simtek Stone-like fence. “Chad, when you are done send me some pictures I can put on my website. He said, “Sure will!”

Somehow over the process we became friends. He is not one to pay a penny more for something than is fair and I am not going to gouge a person to make a higher percentage. Some would call that not good business sense but I call it honesty. We have to like what we do and we have to like who we are after the job is done.

I went on to sell Chad gate operators, and even a key pad for his house. I still talk to Chad from time to time and when he calls I know the voice and I am glad to hear it on the other end of the phone.

What have I learned by owning a business?

• You are responsible for the business environment.
• You set the ground rules for your customer service. I worked for a company once that would not call people back because the customer might have a problem. That will never be the case with our company.
• The people you hire are a reflection of you and your philosophy. Make sure you hire people that follow your model and get rid of the ones that don’t.
• Sell only products that you would use in your house or business. If you can’t sell the best products and warranties get out of business.
• Factory representatives are people too. They have the right to be treated as friends.
  

I have been blessed to have my own business coming up on 3 years. I have met people from all over the United States, Mexico and Canada. I have shipped product to Main to Alaska and because of that I have friends all over the country.

Thanks Chad for the pictures.

Jon, Your Fence Man on Wheels
Summit Fence Supply, LLC
summitfencesupply.com

2009 Time to Grow so Let's get Going.

I love new years because they offer a clean slate, a time to move forward with an eye on the future. A new 365 days are available to dream, create, work, love, and build for what I want out of life. This is a time to start new goals to where I want to be at the end of those precious 365 golden gems. I know that in order to reach my objective I have to think about what obstacle will stop me from reaching them and then develop a plan to attack to win the war.

My goals need to be divided into personal, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual goals. A rounded person does not just focus on the development of the business but the development of personal relationship with those dear to him. Is his wife his best friend? Does his grandchild, son and daughter-in-law know that they are loved unconditionally by the time I spend with them. Do my customers know I care more about them than I do their purchasing power? How do I show them their importance?

This year will be a great year. I could care less what the media says about recession because by listening and believing that malarkey allows me to make excuses for not taking personal responsibility for my life and my results.

So with the help of friends and God bring it on. I am ready for action.

I hope all my family and friends the very best 2009 and when the year is done and life has given us what it will we will be talking about the great New Year 2010.

Jon Mullender
President
Summit Fence Supply, LLC
http://summitfencesupply.com/
jon@summitfencesupply.com

Did you do it on your own?

I am here because of you.

As a new Internet Business it is important to say thanks because I did not get here by myself and I will not go further by myself. So this blog is to remind us that a healthy business is one that remembers where we came from and where we are going.

So thanks for the help in starting my business.

Thanks to Ron for his wisdom in business logic. He helped me to make the break from working for someone else to working for myself. Along with Ron my wife Estelle said, "Go for it!"

Thanks to Terry for meeting with me often to work on the financial forecast of Summit Fence Supply. He has been a friend for many, many years. Thank you Doug T. for being the first to teach me about sales. I can see why you are such a success.

Thank you Sherrie O for all work you have done on Summitfencesupply.com without you I would be months behind.

Thank you Sheila for your assistance in SEO. After just one meeting I know I am on the right track and see a long business relationship. Of course it is important to thank all the customers who have trusted me to provide them with the best products in the industry at the best price.

It is important to celebrate the past in order to order to move forward with clarity.

Who are the important people

When I wake up some mornings I get a glimpse as to what the day will hold. Today I am off to my grandson's school picnic with the idea of thanking people for all they have done for me. My son and daughter for giving me my grandson. His teacher for being the most important person in his life. His other grandfather for loving him and guiding him. His other grandmother for watching him all summer long so that my daughter in law could work and save with out paying for child care.

Who do you need to thank today? Who has made an impact into your life?