Business Problem Areas

[IanF]

Getting customers to setup there word files correctly. We use the metric system of page sizes in SA not the American system.
Then understand that word documents sometimes does open differently on different computers.

[AmithS]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the replies, I am really great full to see everyone sharing their experiences.

Please continue posting. I had a terrible last week with lots of issues to deal with.

I will start responding to replies in the thread very soon, to both gain more insight in the problems and also brain storm some solutions.

Thanks again

[Just Gone]

You do not get bad staff. Only bad management.

I'm sorry Blurock, but in some aspects you might be right, but in another you are totally wrong ! I am in the security industry - I hire people from the lower end of the salary scale, black and white - I have had more problems from the white guys over the years and have found the black guys to be better. But you still have bad eggs - the ones that come late all the time and have all the excuses under the sun, the ones that when you arrive on site are asleep in the bakkie, the ones that work slowly on purpose just to mess you around, the ones that make mistake after mistake, the ones that steal from a site, the ones that ask the client for money or food etc etc etc etc ..... I could go on but we would need a lot more pages for it all. So perhaps in some cases it is "bad management" but in most of the cases it is not ! So yes you need to manage them all, but at the end of the day you have to get rid of the "bad staff" !

[adrianh]

I must be honest, the biggest problem that I have is myself. I am very good at R&D and developing products but I have zero focus. I would chase something or the other only to realize at month end that lots of stuff that should have been done to keep the wheels turning wasn't done. I would love to have a management / marketing / accounting / legal partner. My head is always solving some or other technical problem and my hands are always dirty. Not good for keeping a business steady. We have so many wonderful viable oppertunities and markets but I feel like Garfield sitting next to a highway trying to chase down every interesting car that comes past only to run out of steam, get run over or lose interest when the next interesting car comes along. The oppertunities and markets are not pie in the sky, we are simply unable to service them properly for a lack of organization & structure.

This isn't a whinge, it's a description of the real problem, which I haven't been able to solve all my life. I've read the books, tried all sorts of things, but the thing is, my bad memory & easily distractable nature always gets me in the end.

[Dave A]

I must be honest, the biggest problem that I have is myself. I am very good at R&D and developing products but I have zero focus. I would chase something or the other only to realize at month end that lots of stuff that should have been done to keep the wheels turning wasn't done. I would love to have a management / marketing / accounting / legal partner. My head is always solving some or other technical problem and my hands are always dirty. Not good for keeping a business steady.

Interesting.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but could I ask you to look deep inside yourself just for a moment.

For a while my business strategy was seeking out people like you. I'd provide the management/structure side and the technical partner would handle the technical side. However, it's been my experience that it doesn't take much success for these folk to decide that they don't want to get their hands dirty anymore and want to be managers and administrators. And in so doing prove themselves right too - they're not good at it. It's been a partnership breaker for me on a few occasions.

So my question is - Are you sure you could really let go of the reins like that?

[adrianh]

Dave, I can't manage even if I tried, and I can tell you I have. It's taken me a very long time to see what I am good at and what I am not. My brother is a brilliant administrator, but a k_k technical guy. I can't put systems in place. I will spend 18 - 19 hours a day farming with a technical issue but for the life of me I don't know how to put the systems in place to supply my existing customers. I hate having to deal with people and their issues and I also don't like dealing with admin. I am quite at home with the machines.

I am one of those technical people that went up the ranks, good technical guy, great technical guy, project leader, kak manager, out. I don't want to do it. You sell the product, tell us what you want, sort out the admin, etc, and we'll make it happen. Like I said, the products are good, we simply stumble around in the dark chasing all the opportunities that come our way. You know, I honestly don't want to deal with it. man I tell you, I am so tired of having to try to do things that I can't.

Now people would say that if you could dream it, you can do it, rubbish. My brother is a brilliant bank manager and I give him credit forr it, but I sure as hell can't do it, but I can spend 8 hours trying to figure out why the damn CNC won't cut a 0.001 mm step-over nicely - but he sure won't do it.

[Blurock]

So perhaps in some cases it is "bad management" but in most of the cases it is not ! So yes you need to manage them all, but at the end of the day you have to get rid of the "bad staff" !

That is management! It is surprising how many businesses do not have a disciplinary code. Lay down the rules of the game and maintain fair, just and consistent discipline, at all levels of employment. What goes for the staff, goes for management.

Too often managers complain about bad staff, but they do not give clear instructions, do not follow up on instructions and do not apply disciplinary actions when things go wrong.

Verbal warnings, written warnings, dismissal. The FIFO rule applies in my book. Fit in or...FO. That goes for management too. Bad staff will poison your whole organisation and should be disciplined or worked out to improve the workplace for the rest of the staff.

A Company should undertake to maintain disciplinary and appeal procedures which are fair, just and equitable for all its employees, irrespective of race, creed, sex, religion or job category. The main purpose of the disciplinary procedure is to provide guidelines in correcting unacceptable behaviour or unsatisfactory performance by any employee.

[Just Gone]

The FIFO rule applies in my book. Fit in or...FO. That goes for management too. Bad staff will poison your whole organisation and should be disciplined or worked out to improve the workplace for the rest of the staff.

.

You've just said it - FIFO .............. so you do get bad staff which can poison your organisation !! I fullly agree ........... sometimes it takes a while but the bad ones must go !!

[mother]

Well, technically, managers are also members of "staff", and therefore the comment "bad staff" is 100% correct!

[KimH]

My business is now going into it's fourth month of trading and I am now at the stage where I have reached the limit of clients that I can handle on my own (billable hours worked in September has reached 170) - so now I'm faced with the decision whether to hire staff or not.

Pro's:
I can grow my customer base
I can make more money (see cons)
I can actually get to the hairdressers once in a while or maybe do a bit of retail therapy

Con's:
Staff issues (I come from the telecoms industry where I was the HR/Fin Manager and spent the greater part of my time at the CCMA or chairing hearings or dealing with general staff issues) - do I really want to go down that road again?
Right now I am always available to my clients, they receive that personal touch that larger companies cannot provide - hiring staff means that I won't work as closely with all of my clients anymore,
Will have to rent premises, buy more office furniture, more computer equipment, another adsl line ad nauseum.... which means making more money is a myth, unless of course I drastically increase my fees,... hhhmm no I don't think so.
Travelling to work in the traffic every day
Did I mention hiring staff and dealing with sick days, personal baggage, drama, mood swings, crappy work that I have to spend hours fixing...

If I keep things the way they are:
I earn enough to be comfortable, just wish I had an extra hour now and then to do personal things *mental note to self* take a lunch break once a week
I only have to walk down the passage to get to my office
If I want to work at night I don't have to worry about my safety
I don't have to wear uncomfortable suits and heels everyday
A snoring, smelly, farting bulldog lying at your feet while you work is normal,... isn't it?

So,... let me think about this. Well that wasn't a hard decision, guess I will be staying right where I am.

I've had this question at the back of my mind for a while now, just haven't had the time to actually work through it all - this post actually made me take the time to consider, so a big thanks for that Singh.

[Dave A]

My business is now going into it's fourth month of trading and I am now at the stage where I have reached the limit of clients that I can handle on my own (billable hours worked in September has reached 170) - so now I'm faced with the decision whether to hire staff or not.

.... which means making more money is a myth, unless of course I drastically increase my fees,... hhhmm no I don't think so.

Maybe not "drastically", but my suggestion now that your billable hours are fill would be to steadily increase your fees...
Or the day it becomes worth your while to spread your wings will never come.

ps - Congratulations. Sounds like you're truly up and running
Many a start-up never gets to that stage.

[murdock]

my pet hates...being the boss...and paper work.

[Just Gone]

@ Kim ........ sounds like you are doing a fantastic job - you go girl - I always believe that if you have a winning formula - dont change it.
I have seen a few businesses up here grow, move and then go under - never sure why that happens - can only put it down to a winning formula where people know where you are, happy to come to you on those premises, happy to pay those prices, can see you are doing well with a full restuarant for example, therefore you must be good at your job. Perhaps sometimes when you grow and move you lose sight of good service and sometimes get a bit greedy. I am not generalising here, just surmising what some people go thro.

[mother]

Well done, Kim! Awesome! And to think you got there in only 4 months ... really awesome!!!

Did I mention hiring staff and dealing with sick days, personal baggage, drama, mood swings, crappy work that I have to spend hours fixing...

And let's not forget to add maternity leave to this list! I know, I know, I'm a woman and I should be sympathetic, I should understand ... oh, I understand, but I don't care about the merits. Maternity leave is a killer!

On the topic of: a winning formula. I am very weary of labelling anything a "winning formula". Markets change daily, technology evolves radically, and consumers are well-informed of the alternatives available to them. A winning formula often breeds complacency and a false sense of security that things do not need to change. And no business can afford to keep doing what they're doing exactly the same way, indefinitely. Remember, your competition is watching you, and will probably copy and improve on whatever it is that you are doing right, so that they may gain some market share. Take for example (the music industry again, hehehe): Madonna vs Cindy Lauper. Their careers launched more or less at the same time, and their popularity at first was pretty much equal. Over the years, Madonna moved and changed her brand image and product, to keep up with (and sometimes even create) changing needs of the market. Madonna held an enormous share of the market for nearly 3 decades. Cindy Lauper never changed, and her success lasted only a couple of years (if that).

[wynn]

Con's:
Staff issues (I come from the telecoms industry where I was the HR/Fin Manager and spent the greater part of my time at the CCMA or chairing hearings or dealing with general staff issues) - do I really want to go down that road again?

Is it not possible to outsource work to others on a commission basis?
First train them to your standards?
Then weed out the under performers, that way you don't get snowed under but still get a healthy portion of the extra income !)