Staff
To give you some background, we have about 20 part-time employees and a couple full-time employees. There is a large range in ages from some in the 60s to a few in their teens. We have been very fortunate to have an awesome staff for our first few years of ownership. We have had a few that just did not work out due to different circumstances and that is one of the toughest duties as an owner is to let someone go that just is not working out. I am a firm believer in trying everything we can to help the employee find something in our business where they can be successful so we can try and keep employees for as long as they want to stay. We hire employees that we want to become a part of our team. That was one of many very important lessons we have learned so far is that we cannot please everyone. But it does not mean we cannot try and if it does not work out, at least we put every effort into making it work.
Facility
The facility we bought was nearly 20 years old and had a lot of wear and tear that needed updating. The biggest challenge is prioritizing and pricing out what everything that needs updating costs. Some are a high priority but cannot be done due to the high cost. Those are very tough because they tend to eat at you until you can take care of them. We were able to start out with a bit of capital so we were able to do several big improvements right away. I have been doing, as my brother calls it, band-aids and baler twine, with some projects for quite some time. For example, we have an atrium area that has flat glass overhead that has some small leaks for as long as we have owned it. I have patched the seals so many times it is tough to count and they unfortunately find a new place to leak every time. This is a project I would love to just pay for it to be fixed but cannot afford to do it right now so the “band-aids” will continue until we can. Also, the aesthetic value of the “sun room” vs. the economics of a shingled roof with sky lights is a whole different question.
The battle of the R’s: Repair or Replace?
If you own any type of facility, you will inevitably have the scenario where you must decide to repair or replace an appliance, machinery, shingles, windows, and anything else that may break down over time. For me it has been a commercial dishwasher. I spent countless hours fixing it and an infinite number more fretting over the next time I had to fix it. I would sit wondering if it would work for another week, day, or sometimes even for the evening. I put a sizeable chunk of money into repairing it between parts and having a local company help me service it. Repair one thing, two more would break. After a couple of months of this, I bought a new one, of better quality, and am not sure if I learned anything from this whole experience. Should I have cut my losses right away, or was there a point at which I should have said enough is enough? Thought about taking it out and giving it the “Office Space” copier treatment, but in the end, I am going to try and fix it again and try to sell it to a used commercial equipment dealer. I believe I will try to repair most everything I can and if I can’t, call someone that can. Once we get to a good financial point, we will start replacing equipment before they get to the point of no return. Until then, Mr. Fix-It-If-I-Can(FIIIC) will be my name.
Next week I will chat about the power of connecting with people that will help you succeed.
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