Efficiency!!!

[baileyuph]

Find something people need, don't be too proud, get good at it and fast.  It will make you a very good living.

I constantly strive to improve job performance,  there is a lot of work I can do in 50% of the time now, I ate dirt the first two or three. 

This is important in this economy, folks need good work at a fair price. 

Doyle

[SteveA]

Salt of the Earth - Blessings -  - but customers and accounts have a way of turning your good intentions into unpleasant efforts.   - I also hate to work by the hour - but do folks really appreciate speedy craftsmanship or are they really looking at the bottom line ?  Evolution applies to upholstery - I'm sure !

SA

[baileyuph]

My point is merely, if a job pays X-amount then, shop enriches the pot more by doing more.  The speed factor should be paramont importance for the shop. 

The argument is not about marketing and what customers expect.  Of course they are price sensitive and time concerned, but my concern is getting more completions and that can be enhanced by experience and learning more about how to do the work well in less time.

UPS delivery is a good example, they study everything to save time.  It makes a big difference how many deliveries are accomplished in a work period.  I talked with a manager there and they learned that if the truck can be routed to make most right turns, it saves tons of time avoiding waiting to make a left turn.  They are very time sensitive oriented and I am sure their customers are glad to get their deliveries quicker also.  Price is the same, but bottom line is enhanced for the company, isn't profits what it is all about?

Doyle

[gene]

When I sold packaging materials I sold a lot to the auto industry. The big manufacturers knew that their parts suppliers were working hard to gain efficiencies in their manufacturing. If you had a contract to make a part for a number of years, the big boys wanted the price to go down each year to reflect the fact that you should be able to make that part cheaper each year and they wanted a piece of your efficiencies.

Evolution applies to upholstery - I'm sure !

Yes, there have been a few times when I'm struggling with something and I truly feel like a Neanderthal. All I want to do is take my club, leave my cave to find a baby Volopciraptor, beat it to death, then turn to it's mom and scream "Bring it on, b@#$%.

"Effective" means you do what needs to be done to complete the job. "Efficient" means you ONLY do those things that you need to do to finish the job. I love this quote.

The problem comes in when you try to sell quality and service to people who only want price.

Good thread, Doyle.

gene

[sofadoc]

I'm all for greater efficiency. Anything that reduces my costs puts more money in my pocket.
But I have no intention of passing those savings on to my customers.

If I can do a job quicker while still charging the same amount......that's like giving myself a raise. And EVERYONE deserves a raise every now and then.

I don't think that we as small shops, should concern our self as much with trying to compete with high speed production techniques employed by factories. When people come to us, they should expect to pay more for custom work rather than a cheaper assembly line price.

Like Gene mentioned, I have a couple of companies that expect me to lower my prices periodically as I gain efficiency. I think they only throw that expectation out there to dissuade me from even considering a price INCREASE.

When I do raise my prices to them, they react as if it will take an "Act of Congress" to get approval for the price increase. But I'll bet if I were to LOWER my prices, they could process that paperwork in a nanosecond.

[MinUph]

You guys and gals should read up on lean practices. It is extremely interesting set of processes.

  I once read, and I have no idea where maybe even here.
  There are three choices. Good, cheap, fast choose any two. Not a bad way of looking at it.

[baileyuph]

I would love to read "lean practices", can anyone direct me to the article? 

Thanks in Advance,

Doyle

[MinUph]

Its not an article doyle,
  You can probably find books on it online or at the library. Not something to read quickly. It is a different way of thinking. Mostly common sense but very enlightening and very useful in any business, and personal situation. Its more of a study than a quick read.

[Mojo]

I had a couple clients who called me in to review their manufacturing processes. I had no idea what the processes were nor how their products were made. One client flew me to England to asses their small factory and manufacturing processes. Still not having a clue I found a few changes they could make to boost margins and speed up their production. Was I a genius ? Was it because I knew so much about their manufacturing processes ? Nope. It was because I was an outsider who had a decent mechanical / assembly mind and seen things they didn't. You know the old saying " cannot see the forest from the trees ".

The same thing happened to me. I had my wife grab a cup of coffee and sit down in a chair and watch me complete a full order. Afterward we talked and she found a couple changes that made a big difference in our margins because it sped up the manufacturing process. I adopted those changes and while they slowed me down at the start, once they became habit they sped things up.

I operate off of three principals and because I am so dang OCD and driven ( must be the Marine Corps in me ) I have little problem obtaining my goals. I readily admit it takes its toll on me and I get burnt out badly several times a year but success is never easy. These are the three principals I concentrate my efforts on and let drive my business. Listed in order:

1.) Quality - Every single product that leaves my shop is of the highest quality possible.

2.) Margins - Every single process is developed and maintained to increase efficiency and speed. I will not adopt anything if it effects quality or cheapens the product.

3.) Customer Service - I go to great lengths to ensure that every single customer is pleased. If I have to eat $ 500 worth of product a year to make a customer happy I do. ( Customer referrals are the cheapest form of marketing there is ).

There are a few things missing from this list but in all actuality if you follow these principals then everything else falls into place.

In order to obtain a healthier margin and to speed up production you sometimes need to change the way your doing things. Maybe consider having a close friend who is not in this trade review how you do things. Maybe there are certain things your doing that are slowing you down but you do not see them. " I have always done things this way " is typically a trap one can fall into. Explore and see if there are some time saving processes that can help you and then be willing to make changes. Remember the old saying " time is money ".

Chris

[gene]

I've mentioned a few times the book The E Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber. This book has been extremely helpful for me in understanding the nature of a small business owner.

Gerber says a small business person wears 3 hats:

1. The technician. This is Chris's "Quality", (from his previous thread). Doing the actual work.

2. The manager. This is Chris's "Margins". This person runs the business side of the business.

3. The visionary. This is Chris's "Customer Service". This person decides what kind of company you want to have and how to get there.

Small business owners are usually great at being the technician. However, it is the manager that makes the money, and the visionary that finds ways to keep the money coming in and where the company will be in the future.

I appreciate some of the threads that Doyle starts because he often addresses the manager and visionary side of the business.

If there was a way for you old timers to get paid for sharing your experiences on this forum I think you would be able to close your shops and live of the proceeds.


I spend my days working in my studio becoming a better technician.

I have spent a lot of weekends and evenings reading about how to be a better manager and visionary.

gene

[SteveA]

Wow what are you folks drinking for breakfast ?  I read words like visionary, technician, margins, practices, etc.  I'm lucky to be able to sit up and take nourishment !  Aren't you at the point in your lives where your work is easy because of experience, and nothing is pushing you to kill yourselves any more.  I've always enjoyed making my own schedule, enjoying the ride,  and learned that the public is OK with what I do without me being a public relations ace.  You folks must all be in your late 20's ' :>)  and driving yourselves crazy.
SA

[Mike]

I was slow at first then learned to be fast at a affordable price made me the guy to go to .
then I got tired and moved now im slower now getting ols sucks  gettinto address steve queston on people wanting fast ect .  ive had this repeat customer a X CEO of a MAJOR co. he donated a 60' yacht after hurricane charley after his canvas blew apart and I was sent by a dealer to figure the job he donated to charity so he could buy a new boat. ive done work for him on a few boats after thwat and got a call a week ago he bought a new  carver and wanted me to install some roll up straps to hold his windows up when rolled up so he could enjoy his boat trip he was okanning in a few days   so ok I go over after work I see that he does have them he just didn't see them as they were snaped away in place.   so I gueese feeling dumb he asked if I coukd aqdd a couple smiley zippers in some windows. ok I saud then  the next day ok so he calls to say he trip is canceled due to mechanical trouble . but he was going away anyway with no and a dash cover  boat for a month , now I was right in the middle of trying to finnish a good job when I was going to help him on the easy straps so I say why don't I wait till your gone and ill have them don't before you get home. he said ok but called the next day to say he found somebody to do the zips asap and bought 2 car dash cover to try

[sofadoc]

Aren't you at the point in your lives where your work is easy because of experience, and nothing is pushing you to kill yourselves any more.

That is exactly the point that I'm at. I'm making almost as much money as I ever have before, while working fewer hours (a LOT fewer) than I did 10 years ago. All the mortgages are gone. The kids are grown and gone. "Nothing is pushing me to kill myself anymore".

I've always enjoyed making my own schedule, enjoying the ride,  and learned that the public is OK with what I do without me being a public relations ace.

YUP! Especially the "PR ace" part.

So while I do find all this talk about margins, lean practices, visionary, etc. to be interesting, I also find it to be a little irrelevant when you're talking about a one-man shop in a declining trade.

I'm kinda glad I didn't hear all this stuff when I was in my late 20's. I might've done things differently, and missed out on watching my kids grow up (I didn't miss a minute!).

[gene]

You may be right!

Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFDm11vOb9Y

Have a nice day.

gene

[Mike]

that was great gene!
sofa I agree ive been mortgage free for 12 years its a great feeling