WEBVTT
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The Dead Pixels Society Podcast is brought to you by Mediaclip, Advertek Printing, and independent photoimagers.
00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:22.879
Welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast, the photoimaging industry's leading news source.
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Here's your host, Gary Pajot.
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Hello again and welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast.
00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:42.799
I'm your host, Gary Pageau, and today we're joined by Todd Krause, who's the owner of Silver sun Consulting, and he's got years, decades of experience in business and management.
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He's here to share that knowledge with us.
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Hi, Todd.
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How are you today?
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I'm great, Gary.
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Thank you for having me on your show.
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So one of the things we talked about early on in setting this up was the fact that a lot of times people can make a lot of money in business doing very routine, almost mundane things.
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With that in mind, how did you get started in business?
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I took a roundabout route.
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I actually thought I would wanted to go into physics.
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There you go.
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Physics.
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I didn't realize it was really a mathematical field.
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I wanted the hands-on experience.
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I should have gone into engineering.
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I went undecided and then tried Spanish for a while and then did what my family did as a family of entrepreneurs.
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I went into business.
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And so what was your first business there?
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I actually worked for other people.
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I didn't start my own business until years later.
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Sure.
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I was running the back office of this small investment advisory firm.
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They decided they wanted to just take that back office, carve it out, put it in a separate company, and that was going to be me because then they could charge the clients for that service instead of paying for it.
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So I ended up growing that administration business to a couple billion dollars.
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Okay.
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And then I got recruited by AM or LaSalle Bank to show them how to get into fund administration.
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So now we fast forward.
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Here it is.
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I've been working for the same person that I worked for at ABNAM or LaSalle Bank.
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He basically left when the bank was broken up.
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I left before the bank was broken up.
00:02:29.439
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:16.879
The Dead Pixels Society Podcast is brought to you by Mediaclip, Advertek Printing, and independent photoimagers.
00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:22.879
Welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast, the photoimaging industry's leading news source.
00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.199
Here's your host, Gary Pajot.
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.199
Hello again and welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast.
00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:42.799
I'm your host, Gary Pageau, and today we're joined by Todd Krause, who's the owner of Silver sun Consulting, and he's got years, decades of experience in business and management.
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.120
He's here to share that knowledge with us.
00:00:45.120 --> 00:00:46.079
Hi, Todd.
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:47.040
How are you today?
00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:48.640
I'm great, Gary.
00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:50.560
Thank you for having me on your show.
00:00:51.359 --> 00:01:04.239
So one of the things we talked about early on in setting this up was the fact that a lot of times people can make a lot of money in business doing very routine, almost mundane things.
00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:07.599
With that in mind, how did you get started in business?
00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:09.760
I took a roundabout route.
00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:12.159
I actually thought I would wanted to go into physics.
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.519
There you go.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:14.640
Physics.
00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.960
I didn't realize it was really a mathematical field.
00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:20.719
I wanted the hands-on experience.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:22.719
I should have gone into engineering.
00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:29.520
I went undecided and then tried Spanish for a while and then did what my family did as a family of entrepreneurs.
00:01:29.520 --> 00:01:30.799
I went into business.
00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:33.439
And so what was your first business there?
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.159
I actually worked for other people.
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:41.200
I didn't start my own business until years later.
00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:42.000
Sure.
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:47.280
I was running the back office of this small investment advisory firm.
00:01:47.280 --> 00:02:00.320
They decided they wanted to just take that back office, carve it out, put it in a separate company, and that was going to be me because then they could charge the clients for that service instead of paying for it.
00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:05.439
So I ended up growing that administration business to a couple billion dollars.
00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:06.079
Okay.
00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:13.919
And then I got recruited by AM or LaSalle Bank to show them how to get into fund administration.
00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.079
So now we fast forward.
00:02:16.079 --> 00:02:18.000
Here it is.
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.680
I've been working for the same person that I worked for at ABNAM or LaSalle Bank.
00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.479
He basically left when the bank was broken up.
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I left before the bank was broken up.
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--> 00:02:37.120
He started his own business and it was growing, and he wanted help making it run better, making the operations more effective.
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So, what were some of the things you did to improve the operational effectiveness of those businesses?
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Because the list sounds to me like you've got an operational mindset.
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Maybe that's where the physics and engineering aptitude comes from.
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Was that sort of idea?
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A lot of it is fairly simple stuff.
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And it's exactly what I do for my clients is standardize whatever you can because it's so much easier to train your staff to do it.
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It takes so much less time and less effort to check the work and inspect it.
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You deliver a consistent high-quality experience to your customers, your clients, and they love that.
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The last thing a customer wants is to have a great experience one time with you and then an experience the next time.
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They want the same really good experience.
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So I start by simply standardizing everything that we can, creating templates.
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So as an example of that, explain how in an in that administrative function that could happen.
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Because that sounds to me like there could be a lot of variability in terms of the requests people make.
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Is it a way do you mean like you keep track of people's requests and things like that, and then come up with the standard responses so people aren't searching for the same thing?
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Is that sort of the approach?
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It's everything from the very mundane.
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What does the files filing structure look like, physical and electronic?
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Right.
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Which is that's the very simple thing.
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So everybody knows exactly how to find that customer's information, how we set them up in CRM, which type of communication, templates we use with them.
00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:31.919
Most of the customers inside of a business come for a number of specific reasons.
00:04:31.919 --> 00:04:39.919
So then we always set up our team in order to service them.
00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:45.839
We give them the same tools, the same exact templates.
00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.039
Fund administration is very accounting related.
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So we always had the same GL structure.
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We always had the same.
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It was a template that actually tracked their investments.
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That was always set up the same way.
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Sure.
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Now, in the current world where I have a cleaning business, we clean the same way.
He started his own business and it was growing, and he wanted help making it run better, making the operations more effective.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:43.759
So, what were some of the things you did to improve the operational effectiveness of those businesses?
00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.879
Because the list sounds to me like you've got an operational mindset.
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.560
Maybe that's where the physics and engineering aptitude comes from.
00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:52.479
Was that sort of idea?
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.200
A lot of it is fairly simple stuff.
00:02:55.200 --> 00:03:06.159
And it's exactly what I do for my clients is standardize whatever you can because it's so much easier to train your staff to do it.
00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:12.960
It takes so much less time and less effort to check the work and inspect it.
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:20.000
You deliver a consistent high-quality experience to your customers, your clients, and they love that.
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:28.000
The last thing a customer wants is to have a great experience one time with you and then an experience the next time.
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.039
They want the same really good experience.
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:36.960
So I start by simply standardizing everything that we can, creating templates.
00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:43.360
So as an example of that, explain how in an in that administrative function that could happen.
00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:49.280
Because that sounds to me like there could be a lot of variability in terms of the requests people make.
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:59.520
Is it a way do you mean like you keep track of people's requests and things like that, and then come up with the standard responses so people aren't searching for the same thing?
00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:01.520
Is that sort of the approach?
00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.560
It's everything from the very mundane.
00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:09.280
What does the files filing structure look like, physical and electronic?
00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:09.759
Right.
00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.680
Which is that's the very simple thing.
00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:26.000
So everybody knows exactly how to find that customer's information, how we set them up in CRM, which type of communication, templates we use with them.
00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:31.919
Most of the customers inside of a business come for a number of specific reasons.
00:04:31.919 --> 00:04:39.919
So then we always set up our team in order to service them.
00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:45.839
We give them the same tools, the same exact templates.
00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.039
Fund administration is very accounting related.
00:04:49.039 --> 00:04:51.759
So we always had the same GL structure.
00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:53.359
We always had the same.
00:04:53.359 --> 00:04:56.479
It was a template that actually tracked their investments.
00:04:56.479 --> 00:04:58.560
That was always set up the same way.
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Sure.
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Now, in the current world where I have a cleaning business, we clean the same way.
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We have a rotation system.
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How we go into the houses, which rooms we do first, how you move through the room so that you make sure everything gets touched, everything gets cleaned without missing anything.
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But at the same time, you don't have redundant effort.
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You're not running back and forth through the room over and over again.
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When you leave the room, it's clean and you move on to the next room.
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Again, it's very templated, it's very standardized.
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What do you do with that?
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And I'm not sure for the cleaning business, we're going to touch on that later on, but what do you do with in our industry, the photography industry, where it's a creative process, right?
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You're dealing with creative people who may be coming in and wanting custom work on their prints or their printed output or something.
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It's one thing when you have a template.
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I guess you can apply templates.
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I guess that's my question is with some of the other people you consult with, which I'm sure have variability in their processes.
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How do you cope with that or teach that?
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That's actually probably one of the areas where there is a good amount of opportunity to teach those.
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Okay.
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Oftentimes creative people are not very organized, they just struggle to find things and keep track of their customers.
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I know some creative folks in the photography side who absolutely they can't find uh uh they can't find uh for their files once they upload them.
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They're the type of people who take a box full of receipts to their accountant and dump it out in the accountant's desk.
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Yeah.
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I'm stereotyping.
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Of course.
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There's some commonalities here with that people who have a very creative mindset oftentimes don't spend a lot of time or effort focusing on organizations so they can find the information so they can keep track of it.
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And then what happens?
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They don't bill, they don't collect, they have money out there on the street that they're owed.
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They realize that oh John and Jane Smith owe me some money.
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Now we have to go and ask them for it.
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Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because, like you said, because if you're a wedding photographer and you want to make sure that you get paid, right?
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You want to make sure you're getting that deposit up front and you're getting the bill at the end and all of those kind of things.
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So I think that makes total sense.
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But that which because it's interesting, because that's not why they got into business, right?
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But on the other hand, if you have the structured approach, you'll reduce the amount of tension in the company, right?
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Or in your business, you're the amount of concern and worry because you know where things are and you know what the process is.
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It makes you don't have to touch those things as often.
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You can spend more time on the creative aspects of the business by just making sure that your operational part is organized.
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All the files, all the receipts, how you enter their information into the CRM.
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Here's where people struggle a lot and spend inordinate amounts of time.
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So they put John Smith into their CRM and they put a phone number in there.
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Now we need to send John Smith something, a bill or an invoice.
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Now we're digging through our email and we're looking for something that says, well, which street does John Smith live on?
00:08:23.919 --> 00:08:47.200
But if we always capture that information up front and we make sure that it's complete, we take those couple of minutes when we first set up the job with John Smith, then we're not looking and looking through emails and paper receipts, spending time for administrative things that we could have spent on creative things.
00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:58.560
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because I do find that does happen a lot, especially like in the retail business where you have maybe an intake form for a digital print order or a film order or something like that.
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And you want to make sure that is complete and fully addressed in all the way, just because the person who took in the form may know the customer, but the person who's calling later to tell the customer the order's ready may not know them and may not know their phone number or email.
00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:20.000
So now let's take that one step further.
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You quoted out three or four different services as part of your package.
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Maybe John Smith chose two of them.
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Does your assistant know what John Smith chose, what to bill, what was decided that we'll wait till later on that?
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Or do you have to spend time explaining it over and over again to your assistant?
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No, John Smith chose the first two things on the list, but decided to wait on items three and four.
00:09:49.040 --> 00:09:56.800
But if we're collecting it, we're documenting it well, then we don't have to explain to our assistant.
00:09:56.800 --> 00:10:09.519
Maybe the assistant is the accountant, because some a lot of times when businesses are very small, solopreneurs, their accountant almost acts like their back office and sends out the bills.
00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:17.440
But they need to know when it's done and they need to know what to bill for, and they need to know how to collect.
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.800
And what the terms are for the deal for the ideal, right?
00:10:20.800 --> 00:10:49.370
What the because and you don't want to have too much variability on those because then it just becomes more and more confusing.
00:10:49.370 --> 00:10:55.289
Was it net 30, net 45, net 60, or whatever the terms might be?
00:10:55.690 --> 00:11:10.889
Yeah, you could be anything from cash up front before I do anything to some portion as a deposit down and the rest due upon completion, or as you said, send it to me within the next couple of weeks and we'll be good.
00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:13.289
Yeah, then you just gotta remember to do that.
00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:24.570
So I'm just curious, what took you from fund management for fairly large companies to operating a cleaning company?
00:11:24.570 --> 00:11:26.409
What was the connection there?
00:11:26.810 --> 00:11:30.409
If you look at the resume, it looks like I worked big corporate jobs.
00:11:30.409 --> 00:11:35.769
I worked in the alternative investment side, which was hedge funds, private equity, venture capital.
00:11:35.769 --> 00:11:41.370
Their investments are all sorts of company type investments, big and small.
00:11:41.370 --> 00:11:52.090
So I would really was already touching everything from bottled water vending to alarm vending to oil and gas and more, large multifamily real estate.
00:11:52.090 --> 00:11:59.210
And then my job ended March 6, 2020, just before the COVID lockdowns.
00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:04.970
I'd taken a transfer to the operations center here in Indianapolis, and all of a sudden I was out of work.
00:12:04.970 --> 00:12:12.810
I found this cleaning business, it was a decent size, on a business broker website and bought it.
00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:15.049
And what was the appeal there?
00:12:15.049 --> 00:12:19.769
Obviously, you bought a you bought a franchise, you bought an existing business, right?
00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:21.129
It was.
00:12:21.129 --> 00:12:24.009
It was already set up, it was already running.
00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:29.289
I had every confidence that I could grow it.
00:12:29.289 --> 00:12:38.250
It was at about a million six when I bought it, and then finished the year at a million eight in revenue, and we're now operating at over four million dollars a year.
00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:41.690
My wife wasn't too sure when I first proposed the idea.
00:12:41.690 --> 00:12:44.889
A cleaning business.
00:12:44.889 --> 00:12:45.370
Yes.
00:12:45.370 --> 00:12:45.769
Yeah.
00:12:45.769 --> 00:12:46.409
Really?
00:12:46.409 --> 00:12:47.450
A cleaning business.
00:12:47.450 --> 00:12:50.889
I said, look on, look at the numbers, it'll pay our bills.
00:12:50.889 --> 00:12:57.370
With that glowing recommendation and endorsement of my idea, it did go ahead and buy it.
00:12:57.370 --> 00:13:02.649
But later, as we're making the deposits, now she's saying, a cleaning business.
00:13:02.970 --> 00:13:10.570
So one of the things I like to talk to people about who are businesses not traditionally like in my space, right?
00:13:10.570 --> 00:13:20.330
The lot of times a business, what they say in their front is not really what their core offering is, right?
00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:30.250
So when some when you're interacting with someone, a new client or prospect or something, they're not really looking for cleaning, they're looking for something else, right?
00:13:30.250 --> 00:13:34.409
They're looking for peace of mind for something like that.
00:13:34.409 --> 00:13:36.570
How are you positioned in that?
00:13:36.570 --> 00:13:39.930
What do you think you're really offering as part of your service?
00:13:40.330 --> 00:13:44.009
The people who come to me for help have come for two or three reasons.
00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:49.289
Biggest number the first one is I'm not growing and I don't know why.
00:13:49.289 --> 00:13:51.370
I'm everything I've tried doesn't work.
00:13:51.370 --> 00:13:54.810
So fix their growth problems.
00:13:54.810 --> 00:14:02.649
The second group comes and says, I have clients, I've got business, I can't find reliable staff.
00:14:02.649 --> 00:14:03.129
Hell.
00:14:03.129 --> 00:14:04.889
So I fix that problem too.
00:14:04.889 --> 00:14:11.529
And then there's a third group, which is a little more of the minority, is at least one of the requests.
00:14:11.529 --> 00:14:17.450
We have clients, we have work, we have people, but it's not going well.
00:14:17.450 --> 00:14:22.570
We're making mistakes, our customers are unhappy, they have operational problems.
00:14:22.570 --> 00:14:24.090
So I go in and I fix that.
00:14:24.090 --> 00:14:44.730
But at the same time, I install a culture of high-quality, consistent service that keeps the customer and it keeps the people there who are doing the work, motivates them to do the work at a level of commitment rather than a level of just compliance.
00:14:45.049 --> 00:15:00.649
So I'm curious in today's world, because you always see things in the headlines in the business press, how hard it is to find people, hard it is to keep people, because for whatever reason, people don't want to work, whatever the headline says.
00:15:00.649 --> 00:15:04.730
What has been your experience with that in the real world?
00:15:04.730 --> 00:15:12.570
Do you think it's really a cultural issue, or is it more because people don't want to work for places that don't have their act together?
00:15:12.970 --> 00:15:14.730
It's more the latter.
00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:21.450
People would prefer not to work for places that are chaotic, that are toxic, that are negative.
00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:26.490
I'd rather work for a place that's has a positive, caring culture.
00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:29.289
At the end of the day, it still works, so they have to do work.
00:15:29.610 --> 00:15:32.649
So, what are some of the things that somebody could do?
00:15:32.649 --> 00:15:37.529
Let's say, for example, I come to you and I'm saying, listen, I can't keep anybody.
00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:41.529
We got a great product, we don't can't seem to keep employees.
00:15:41.529 --> 00:15:48.330
And let's say you delve into me, my business as a client, and it's toxic, right?
00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:51.049
There's something I'm doing wrong as a manager.
00:15:51.049 --> 00:15:52.570
How do you address that?
00:15:52.889 --> 00:16:05.850
I go in and take a good look inside as to how they communicating and talking to their staff just tells you volumes and volumes about how they feel about people.
00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:21.610
And oftentimes this, I can't find good employees, it just comes out in all the communication with them that you people don't know what you're doing, you're not reliable, I can't trust you, I have to micromanage you.
00:16:21.610 --> 00:16:24.730
People are smart, people are intelligent.
00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:37.610
If you give them the ability to do the work, actually give them the work to do, make sure that they're aligned with the goals of the company, right?
00:16:37.610 --> 00:16:46.570
Do some training along the way, sure, you'll find that you have very capable people who are actually excited to contribute ideas and do more.
00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:47.289
Okay.
00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:58.409
So I think a lot of it is just again, I'm struggling with this idea of communication styles because I've not everyone likes to be communicated in the same way, right?
00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:05.049
There's verbal listen, there's verbal learners, there's visual learners, there's people who have different ways of learning.
00:17:05.049 --> 00:17:08.009
Do you think a lot of employers are out of touch with that?
00:17:08.009 --> 00:17:14.890
They don't know how to communicate with the way their employees are actually a better way to learn.
00:17:15.529 --> 00:17:22.250
There's always room for improvement on that verbal, auditory, kinesthetic, kinesthetic desktou.
00:17:22.250 --> 00:17:22.490
Yeah.
00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:25.769
Something you touch and feel, method of learning.
00:17:25.769 --> 00:17:32.250
But the the thing that's overrides that is what is the communication style?
00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:37.930
Is communication one that says you can't be trusted.
00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:48.569
We have to watch everything you do, we have to micromanage, or is it one that that says, we know you're smart, we know you're capable of a lot of things.
00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:55.210
We want you to make a contribution here, and we're going to reward that contribution.
00:17:55.210 --> 00:18:03.130
Both styles can use the touch, feel, hear, see methods of teaching.
00:18:03.130 --> 00:18:03.450
Okay.
00:18:03.450 --> 00:18:06.170
But they get tremendously different results.
00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:06.730
Okay.
00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:16.170
So when looking over your information, one of the things you talk about is profit leaks, like where profits are leaking out.
00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:28.089
What are some of the indicators when you're talking to a business about the they've they need a trying to think of the word, like a plug-in-the-hole, or I guess I don't know what the phrase I'm looking for there is.
00:18:28.089 --> 00:18:33.450
They've got a leak, they got a profit leak somewhere, and they're not and they're having trouble figuring it out.
00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:36.569
The biggest profit leaks are related to people.
00:18:36.569 --> 00:18:53.769
If you have high turnover with your customers, or you don't have repeat business from your customers, right there is a profit leak because you have to spend more money going out to find customers and to replace the ones you've lost.
00:18:53.769 --> 00:18:54.490
Right.
00:18:54.490 --> 00:18:59.849
Rather than having them come back to you over and over again for future projects.
00:18:59.849 --> 00:19:10.569
On the inside of the business, profit leak, the big ones are you have a couple of assistant type people, you have a staff, and there's high turnover.
00:19:10.569 --> 00:19:28.809
Now you're always spending more money hiring, you're always spending more money training, you're living through them making beginner mistakes rather than keeping somebody who's figured the job out, is good at it, is efficient, does it quickly without making mistakes.
00:19:28.809 --> 00:19:34.890
Those are huge drag on profit for businesses all over.
00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:35.849
Yeah, exactly.
00:19:35.849 --> 00:19:37.849
There's two areas that are very costly, right?
00:19:37.849 --> 00:19:46.009
There's customer acquisition, which is getting new customers to replace the ones who are leaving, or there's employee acquisition, right?
00:19:46.009 --> 00:19:49.529
Because it's always cheaper to retain customers and retain employees.
00:19:49.529 --> 00:19:51.769
That is absolutely right.
00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:55.370
Those are the two largest areas in most businesses.
00:19:55.370 --> 00:20:02.730
And then a third area was what we hit on earlier: operational efficiency.
00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:14.490
Are you scrambling and looking all over through piles to find the information for each customer, or is it easily organized at your fingertips both electronically and physically?
00:20:15.130 --> 00:20:17.769
And also I imagine that helps with training too.
00:20:18.250 --> 00:20:22.569
Most people don't realize how much of their day they spend looking for things.
00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:23.529
Yep.
00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:31.210
Or if you're in a shared office environment where let's say there's different people using the same piece of equipment, right?
00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:36.970
You definitely want to have a set procedure for how things are supposed to be left for other people.
00:20:37.370 --> 00:20:37.930
That's right.
00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:56.410
If the equipment's left in poor condition, or not set back to some standard setting, and the next person tries to use it and they have to reset the whole machine, or perhaps they even use it in its with its current setting.
00:20:56.410 --> 00:20:57.529
That that's wrong.
00:20:57.529 --> 00:21:04.410
Throw out the work, the output from the machine because it came out wrong, and we didn't forget to check the setting.
00:21:04.809 --> 00:21:10.650
So, what are some of the other areas that people could show improvements outside of people and processes?
00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:16.490
Is there something else people can do that maybe they've done some things and they're still not seeing the results that they want?
00:21:16.490 --> 00:21:18.730
A big one here's a big one.
00:21:18.890 --> 00:21:21.769
And this is where I like the word frugal.
00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:23.289
Frugal?
00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:24.410
Frugal.
00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:26.089
How's that for a word?
00:21:26.089 --> 00:21:30.569
It's it means spend money when it makes sense to, but don't waste it.
00:21:30.569 --> 00:21:45.049
Oftentimes, people in business will buy the cheapest product, they'll buy the cheapest supplies, they'll buy the m least expensive piece of equipment, only to find out that it breaks down and has to be replaced more often.
00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:45.370
Sure.
00:21:45.370 --> 00:21:48.890
It produces poor quality results.
00:21:48.890 --> 00:22:03.930
Or if they just spent a couple of dollars more, they would have gotten a much more reliable machine, much more reliable equipment, tools that will last far longer and over time cost less.
00:22:04.250 --> 00:22:06.970
Yeah, I certainly see that in my industry, right?
00:22:06.970 --> 00:22:17.289
With certain people wanting to generally speaking, they're going to want to lean more into higher-end stuff because processing equipment and paper, because they generally will get better results from that.
00:22:17.289 --> 00:22:23.849
If you go the cheap and easy route, that generally speaking won't last up, won't hold up in a production environment.
00:22:24.490 --> 00:22:29.690
I don't doubt that for their the core part of their business, they buy good equipment.
00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:32.250
Make sure you are supporting it at the same time.
00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:48.089
Time with good computers and good printers on the administrative side, on the front office side, the customer facing side, make sure that you spend enough there so that you have a good customer experience.
00:22:48.490 --> 00:22:59.450
Yeah, I can see that because I have seen experience in some retail where it's like you know their back end production equipment is up to date, but then you show up to the front there and they're still writing things manually on a notepad.
00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:02.490
It's not integrated into their POS system.
00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:10.250
No, and today this stuff is so inexpensive compared to where it was just a few short years ago.
00:23:10.490 --> 00:23:11.529
Oh, absolutely.
00:23:11.769 --> 00:23:12.410
Yeah.
00:23:12.650 --> 00:23:19.049
Yeah, that's really one of the things that I think has changed a lot, and just not even just with AI, but just with everything, right?
00:23:19.049 --> 00:23:27.690
You can have a full-blown accounting suite for not a lot of money compared to what it used to cost you 10 years ago.
00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:33.370
Believe it or not, most accountants for small to medium-sized businesses use quick products.
00:23:33.370 --> 00:23:33.930
Yeah.
00:23:33.930 --> 00:23:35.049
Oh, yeah.
00:23:35.529 --> 00:23:35.769
Yeah.
00:23:36.089 --> 00:23:41.370
It's inexpensive, but it's it has an enormous user base and it's very powerful.
00:23:41.690 --> 00:23:42.009
Okay.
00:23:42.009 --> 00:23:58.410
So what has been a surprise you've discovered when you went in to visit a client or a potential client, and something you saw just was totally out of bounds, where it was totally surprised, either from a good way or a not so good way.
00:23:58.809 --> 00:24:09.450
Most of the surprises came in trying to get them to understand what would actually help them reach their results.
00:24:09.450 --> 00:24:17.529
They had these goals in mind, and clients would send out a batch of postcards, their advertising.
00:24:17.529 --> 00:24:23.690
We sent out one batch of postcards, and then the clients will say, Where's all my customers?
00:24:23.690 --> 00:24:27.130
And I said, Look, that was one batch of postcards.
00:24:27.130 --> 00:24:29.130
You sent out 1,000 postcards.
00:24:29.130 --> 00:24:30.170
It sounds like a lot.
00:24:30.170 --> 00:24:30.650
Yeah.
00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:36.569
The response rate on mailers is very low, and you have to do it over and over again.
00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:37.450
Absolutely.
00:24:37.450 --> 00:24:37.930
Yeah.
00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:41.130
Two, three percent.
00:24:41.130 --> 00:24:45.930
But they thought they would had done marketing because they sent out a batch of postcards.
00:24:45.930 --> 00:24:48.250
Because they've always done it that way, right?
00:24:48.250 --> 00:24:49.609
Yeah, one batch.
00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:50.970
Where's all my customers?
00:24:50.970 --> 00:24:56.569
Congratulations for starting a marketing process, but you need to continue now.
00:24:56.890 --> 00:25:09.370
So, one of the things that our industry is wrestling with is a transition from either selling it to employees, merging with another company, or selling the business outright.
00:25:09.370 --> 00:25:17.210
Now, one of the advantages of the processes you're talking about, standardizing processes, is now you've made your business sellable.
00:25:17.210 --> 00:25:18.809
That's absolutely right.
00:25:18.970 --> 00:25:20.809
That's an important part of it.
00:25:20.809 --> 00:25:32.170
The other way you can measure whether you can sell your business is can you step away from it for a while to take care of something personal or just to go on vacation?
00:25:32.170 --> 00:25:34.009
And will the business continue?
00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:39.370
If the business stops when you are not there, you do not have a business, you have a job.
00:25:39.370 --> 00:25:41.450
You cannot sell yourself.
00:25:41.769 --> 00:25:42.329
Right.
00:25:42.329 --> 00:25:47.849
So one of the big advantages for what you're doing is that if you are looking to exit, then this is a good way to do that.
00:25:47.849 --> 00:25:59.289
Because I've seen plenty of instances in the industry where you have people who have a family camera store and they want to sell it, but like you said, they haven't been on a vacation in five years, right?
00:26:01.450 --> 00:26:09.609
That sounds like one that might be more of a job than a business, just on a high level, from what you suggested there.
00:26:09.930 --> 00:26:11.049
So, how long does it take?
00:26:11.049 --> 00:26:12.730
Let's say, for example, I'm that guy.
00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:19.450
Let's say, for example, I'm operating a small retail operation, I haven't been on vacation in five years.
00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:24.650
I would like to sell the business, but I don't have a timetable yet.
00:26:24.650 --> 00:26:28.650
I call you up and I say, Todd, I need help.
00:26:28.650 --> 00:26:30.809
Give how long is that gonna take?
00:26:30.809 --> 00:26:34.569
What is how many years is that process gonna take?
00:26:34.569 --> 00:26:38.650
It shouldn't take years, it should take months as really.
00:26:38.650 --> 00:26:39.690
Okay.
00:26:39.690 --> 00:26:44.250
So what are some what are some of the steps you need to walk through that?
00:26:45.370 --> 00:26:54.170
A thorough assessment of the business to start with, so we know what it is and what it isn't, or its position in the market relative to competition.
00:26:54.170 --> 00:27:04.890
Take a deep look at operations, including financial operations too, the staffing.
00:27:04.890 --> 00:27:07.450
How is it staffed?
00:27:07.450 --> 00:27:10.170
What talents do we have, don't we have?
00:27:10.170 --> 00:27:24.569
Now that all sounds very standardized, and in a lot of ways it is, but I work through it, preferably from front to back, from the market all the way back through the operations, so that you see immediate results.
00:27:24.569 --> 00:27:29.529
You're already getting improvements in part of the business while we're working another part.
00:27:29.529 --> 00:27:33.609
Many who come to me are mispriced and they don't even know it.
00:27:33.609 --> 00:27:36.890
They're leaving money on the table with their pricing.
00:27:36.890 --> 00:27:42.970
Or they they don't have a clear vision of what their pricing should be.
00:27:42.970 --> 00:27:47.049
Are they some premium, high-level business?
00:27:47.049 --> 00:27:53.210
Are they at market competing with the others, or are they offering a discount type of service?
00:27:53.210 --> 00:27:54.569
They haven't thought it through.
00:27:54.569 --> 00:27:55.609
They don't know.
00:27:55.609 --> 00:27:58.009
Be intentional about it.
00:27:58.009 --> 00:27:59.930
So we want to get that right.
00:27:59.930 --> 00:28:05.289
Pricing tells us where we have to be on the operation side to be profitable.
00:28:05.690 --> 00:28:06.009
Okay.
00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:14.250
So if people wanted more information where to go for help, where would they go to pick your brain on this?
00:28:14.730 --> 00:28:20.170
Go to www.silversunconsulting.com.
00:28:20.170 --> 00:28:22.410
Sun, by the way, is S U N.
00:28:22.410 --> 00:28:22.890
Okay.
00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:29.450
Feel free to browse all of the pages, media page, blogs.
00:28:29.450 --> 00:28:36.089
But the about page has my personal email address and it has a phone number that rings right here.
00:28:36.089 --> 00:28:36.730
Okay.
00:28:37.769 --> 00:28:38.089
Call me.
00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:39.690
So we can get you on the phone.
00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:44.569
We're not going to put the phone number on the on on the line right now, but it is there if you want to talk to you.
00:28:44.890 --> 00:28:45.289
It is.
00:28:45.289 --> 00:28:50.170
And I will show you how to get more profit out of your business.
00:28:50.490 --> 00:28:51.049
Awesome.
00:28:51.049 --> 00:28:51.930
Thank you, Todd.
00:28:51.930 --> 00:28:52.730
It's great to meet you.
00:28:52.730 --> 00:28:53.289
Appreciate it.
00:28:53.289 --> 00:29:00.329
Thanks for giving us a reality check on the realities of operating business and look forward to seeing you another time.
00:29:00.329 --> 00:29:01.450
Thank you, Gary.
00:29:01.450 --> 00:29:02.970
It's been an honor.
00:29:03.370 --> 00:29:06.650
Thank you for listening to the Dead Pixels Society podcast.
00:29:06.650 --> 00:29:08.410
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