Wednesday, February 22, 2012

All Alone... Or Not

The following post from Roger Magalhaes has been republished with permission. Roger has been a business owner since 2006. He comes from a background of sales and installation in the window treatment industry, but his points are universal for any entrepreneur.

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
With the beginning of every new year, business owners take time to analyze how their operations performed in the previous year and also make plans to increase sales and profits for the years to come.

Most business consultants and analysts agree that business owners should focus on the tasks that bring the most value to the company, such as sales and overseeing the operations. Even when the whole operation is a “one man show” there is still room for delegation.

This is an example of a plan we should NOT follow:
"I know of a professional painter that does superb work at the job site. He is a perfectionist and knows how to finish corners and baseboards seamlessly.

Unfortunately, he is not good with numbers or paperwork so he wastes a lot of time doing his books. He is also unsure about how to promote his business and wastes time and money in campaigns that do not bring enough revenue to his company."
Does this sound familiar to you?

A better plan for this owner would be to hire a sales person to close more sales, find a bookkeeper to do the books more accurately, and even hire a company to manage his marketing campaigns. Sometimes, business owners – especially the ones working alone – think they need to do all the work, which reduces the bottom line. It’s very rare for a single individual to be great at everything he/she does. Hiring the right professionals to do what they do best frees the owner to do what he/she does best, increasing the bottom line for the company.

Focusing In Our Industry

If you are great at sewing even the most complex window treatment, but lose sleep the night before the installation, you should consider hiring an installer for the job. Perhaps you are all about creating drawings and putting colors and fabric together. Why bother doing an “okay” job sewing it yourself? Why waste tedious hours trying to find the “perfect” fabric with your client when you are just the best at installing?

The point is: do what you do best and hire the ones that do their job best to form a winning team.

Roger Magalhaes
Roger Magalhaes is a certified Professional Installer by CHF Academy, Hunter Douglas, Somfy, and Norman Shutters. He is an active member of the WCAA, WAOA, and CHF Forum. Roger is the owner of Shades IN Place Inc. in Franklin, Massachusetts. Established in 2006, his company specializes in all types of window treatment installations, window treatment cleaning services, and sales of brand name custom window treatments. Roger is known throughout the industry for his award-winning installation techniques, attention to detail, window treatment custom design understanding, and superior customer service. He also attends international conferences and trade shows annually to keep himself current on new and improved products and techniques. For more information, contact roger@shadesinplace.com or visit www.ShadesInPlace.com




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