| |
 |
 |
Saturday, February 27, 2010
WBR18 - How businesses prosper and survive for long term
Despite little Lander’s small population of 7,300 people, it is home to some of the state’s most successful small businesses.
I had often wondered how such businesses survive and prosper. And it seemed like a great idea to find out their survival secrets during times like we have seen over the past 18 months.
So we scheduled a lunch meeting and invited them to be our speakers. The luncheon was sold out as locals eagerly looked forward to hear these success tips. Our speakers were:
• Chuck Guschewsky, CEO of Fremont Motors, the largest car dealer, by far, in Wyoming. They have been selling vehicles for 72 years.
• Bonnie Motherway owns Mr. D’s Food Center with her husband Joe. They operate what is probably the largest independent grocery store in the state and are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
• Dean McKee heads up McKee-Marburger-Fagnant Accountants, a large firm that once was among the largest in the state. That firm is the youngster of the bunch with 34 years in business.
Besides wanting to hear their secrets to their longevity, I asked them to talk about how they handled the past 18 months and what they were doing to prosper through 2010.
I also thought this was a good mix with Guschewsky giving a statewide view, Mrs. Motherway a local view and McKee more of a global view.
There is not enough space here to go through the whole event. I am hoping to put the video on YouTube and it is available for purchase. Here are some highlights:
All agreed that an organizational culture that involves and values employees while employing consistent common sense business practices have helped them persevere.
The three long-time businesses have over 156 years of combined experience.
Guschewsky said his grandfather purchased the automobile dealership 72 years ago on the heels of the great depression and in the same year that World War II began.
“It was not an ideal climate to start a business,” Guschewsky said. Still, successive generations made the business successful. Fremont Motors now operates nine dealerships across Wyoming and one in Western Nebraska.
Guschewsky said management’s job is to guarantee success. “We have a performance based pay system with benefits and we recognize employees for excellence,” he said. “We are creating careers, not providing jobs. Every employee you have is critical to your success. You need good, loyal and skilled people, who know what’s expected of them and where they have a voice. With that kind of synergy, amazing things can happen.”
He also said that bad times could be a blessing. “Bad habits develop during good times,” he said. “Good habits develop during bad times. What is important is to remember the good habits when times get good again.”
Mr. D’s owner Bonnie Motherway and her husband bought the store from her father, Frank Dusl, in 1984 and has since expanded the business into its present 35,000 square foot location.
“We have 120 employees and we operate with a philosophy that if you support your local community, they’ll support you,” Mrs. Motherway said. “Our motto is that we serve all of Fremont County with integrity. We emphasize customer service and we listen to our guests.”
Mr. D’s success over the years has been in responding to customers wishes and the store today stocks unique signature and specialty items that attract shoppers from across the state.
Like Guschewsky, Mrs. Motherway said every employee is important. “If you treat people fairly, recognize unique talents and put them where they are happiest, they understand that what they do matters, and that’s important,” she said. “Everyone wants to be great.”
McKee said he believes his firm is the oldest professional partnership in the state, getting its start over three decades ago. “Our business is different in that we offer a service. Our assets and inventory are our people,” he said, echoing a common theme. “We stay involved in our community, we like to hire smart people, we compensate them well and provide them with continuing education. We work to make the office an enjoyable space.”
McKee said continual upgrading of Information Technology (IT) has allowed the business to grow and expand its customer base while keeping employment relatively steady. He said the firm employs 16 people. “We have 16,000 hours a year in billable hours, and if your IT isn’t working, that’s money out the window.”
He said their company’s gross annual revenues have doubled four times and yet their staff size is about the same. He credited IT for that.
McKee recommended each business watch two to three key indicators to measure the health of their operation and not be afraid to adjust practices when business conditions change.
“Always look for opportunities, but have an alternative plan as well,” he said.
The Business Luncheon was sponsored by Wyoming Inc., Lander-based full-service media relations, social marketing and PR Company operated by this writer and Ernie Over.
The Lander Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Lander and the Lander economic development group called the LEADER Corporation were co-sponsors of the event.
|
Saturday, February 20, 2010
2010 - 09 Could we have a Gov. Mike Enzi? Not this year
A few months ago in this column, I hinted about the possible entry into the 2010 governor’s race by a candidate who would be unbeatable.
That mystery candidate was our Senior U. S. Senator Mike Enzi.
There were two dominating reasons for this discussion to have been occurring:
First, he is possibly the single most capable person available for the job as our governor. As a former mayor, state representative, state senator and U. S. Senator, the breadth of his experience and ability would dwarf any other candidate.
Second, when the Democrats took over the Senate, it greatly reduced Sen. Enzi’s influence. Plus with the death of his colleague Ted Kennedy, well, it appeared he might be interested in taking on a job where he really could make a huge difference.
But alas, it was not meant to be. And perhaps was never meant to be. I chatted with him about this process by phone after he addressed the Wyoming Legislature on Feb. 19.
“I was flattered and intrigued when this possibility was presented to me,” he said. “Several people from across Wyoming approached me about it, even though I never broached the subject. “
The possibility of an Enzi gubernatorial bid was never made public except for my hint about a mystery candidate back in December.
A lot of wild speculation was dished my way as people speculated that I was talking about Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, John Barrasso, Cynthia Lummis, Dave Freudenthal turning Republican, Ray Hunkins, Eli Bebout and even this writer (wow!).
But I never divulged the name until now. And I was surprised that no one guessed the senior senator to me in this speculation.
And that probably also tells the true tale of why this never happened. “When I signed up for my six-year term, it is just about impossible for me to consider not fulfilling that obligation,” he says.
And Wyomingites know this.
A political opportunist? Not in the least.
And now the world has changed again. The Obama White House is in disarray and the Democrat-controlled Congress is in a shambles. The worm is about to turn.
By January 2011, the Republicans might control the Senate again and Sen. Enzi would retain his leadership positions on these key committees. He can hardly wait.
He is anxious to get back involved in knitting together some kind of health care legislation for the country. He laments that the passing of his pal Sen. Kennedy severely limited the possibility of getting a bi-partisan health care program through Congress in the past six months.
“Ted and I set a new record for getting the most bills passed,” he says. “I sure miss him.”
Our Wyoming senator was the first Republican to accept an invitation to the White House this past Thursday for a candid and open discussion about where to go on health care.
Sen. Enzi knows this can be a hot seat but he would prefer to keep working and keep trying.
“My style is normally working in the background,” he says. “I believe that usually both sides can agree on 80 percent of a bill. Let’s get that passed and then we can work on the remaining 20 percent later on.”
He says one of the keys to getting a health care bill passed will be to separate out Medicare from the bill. “We need to deal with that huge issue on its own. By including it with the health care bill, well, it just makes it too complicated.”
As for the 2010 Wyoming governor’s race, he says he is impressed with the candidates who have expressed an interest in running.
Does he have any advice for them?
“I would tell them to do what Diane and I always did. First, we did not do negative ads. Second, we never spent money on campaign ads that we didn’t have.”
Sounds like his accountant background is coming to the fore again.
His first Senate primary was just as tightly fought at this GOP governor’s primary looks to be. But those candidates pulled together and the man who finished second to Sen. Enzi in that first race was the man who is currently our junior U. S. Senator, John Barrasso.
‘To show you how unified we were,” Sen. Enzi concludes, “John asked me if he could be my financial chairman during the general election. I said yes and we went on and won big in November.”
|
Saturday, February 13, 2010
2010 - 08 Is House Speaker Colin Simpson the front runner?
Watching State Rep. Colin Simpson (R-Cody) in the Wyoming Legislature makes it easy to label him the presumptive front-runner in the Republican governor primary.
Of the four GOP candidates, he is the only one to not officially announce. He has formed his committee, even ran one Internet ad and is keeping everyone informed about “an important announcement” when the session ends.
If he can gather enough allies of his dad (former U. S. Sen. Al Simpson), plus his own statewide constituency, which he has built during 12 years in the Legislature, he will hit the ground running when he announces.
His biggest challenge is being an effective Speaker of the House while courting supporters. Especially now during trying economic times.
Wyoming deserves a strong and impartial leader in the House. This is arguably the second most powerful elected post in the state and if mishandled, well, the people of Wyoming will pay dearly for those omissions. And they voters will make him pay, too.
We watched two other Speakers in recent times try to do this juggling act. Both Eli Bebout (2000) and Fred Parady (2004) struggled with the perception that they were trying to please too many people because of their future political ambitions. This is not a knock on either man, but rather a reminder of the conflicts they faced with perceptions.
And now Rep. Simpson finds himself wearing the same two hats – Speaker and candidate.
But the biggest cat-and-mouse game being played in Wyoming politics continues to be Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s flirtation with going after a third term. He looks unbeatable if he chooses to run.
As much as he really would like to run, he is straddling the horns of a dilemma. His family does not want him to run. But he still sees important work to do. What does he do?
So, here we have Colin and Dave, the two most powerful politicians in the state, playing coy as the weeks roll by toward the May filing and the August primary.
Campaign season can seem really short for newcomers as they seek donors and build name recognition. Meanwhile, these two guys are on the front page of the state’s big papers almost every day.
While in Cheyenne recently, I was staying at the Plains Hotel and ended up parking two blocks away. My car was next to a GMC Denali with a bashed front end and a “Mead for Governor” sticker on the side.
The car was parked in front of candidate Matt Mead’s headquarters. He and his wife Carol bought a wonderful old building on Lincolnway and remodeled it and, on this day, seven employees and/or volunteers staffed it.
Is he a serious candidate? Stop by his headquarters. Yes, indeed, this guy is very, very serious.
Can he get traction, as someone who has never run for office before? His middle name of Hansen (like the late Cliff, his grandfather) sure won’t hurt.
He views his youth at 47 as an asset and says of the last seven governors, just two served in the Legislature (Ed Herschler and Jim Geringer). He says this proves his lack of previous elective office is not a detriment.
His task and that of the three other GOP candidates (State Auditor Rita Meyer, Ron Micheli and Rep. Simpson) will be to collect my guess of 27,451 votes to win a four-person primary this wide-open. If Gov. Dave does not run, whoever wins that Republican primary will probably be our next governor.
Although Mr. Mead and Mr. Micheli, Fort Bridger, probably have access to the most money, this will not solely determine the winner. What will determine it will be how hard and smart they work and how smart they spend their money.
This is the first campaign in Wyoming history to involve Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Pitchengine, etc.) and that could make a critical difference.
Right now, I would handicap the GOP primary race as follows:
Colin Simpson – 27 percent
Ron Micheli – 26 percent
Rita Meyer – 24 percent
Matt Mead – 23 percent
Obviously, you can change those totals around any way you want because it is way too close to call, at this time.
These are times when candidates are running all over Wyoming, lining up support and speaking to groups. Sometimes it can be a dangerous business, as Mr. Mead found out, when he killed a deer while smashing his Denali late one night up by Worland.
Stay tuned . . .
|
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
2010 - 07 In Wyoming, it is important to Ride For the Brand
When you make a promise, keep it. – From Code of the West, Alive and Well in Wyoming.
When you live in an isolated state with a small population spread over 98,000 square miles with occasional severe weather, well, you better have some universal codes and standards to help you survive.
The Code of the West is something that makes sense in such a place. A state with a sense of place about it.
Back in 2008, I published a column that involved six years of on-again and off-again research. I called it Wyoming’s Universal Truths and Fundamental Values. It was an attempt to put into words those concepts and values unique to our state.
It cited ideas like “small is good” as a Universal Truth when it comes to our state. And “you do not drive by a stranded motorist on a lonely country road in winter” as a Fundamental Value.
It looks like I wasn’t the only person trying to figure out a way to verbalize these concepts.
A group of folks were thinking along these lines when they put together a video based on Cowboy Ethics called Code of the West, Alive and Well in Wyoming, which has been pretty lively on the Internet these days. You can access it at vimeo.com.
Funded by a consortium that includes The Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership, Anschutz Foundation, UW College of Business, Daniels Fund, McMurry Foundation, Trihydro Corporation and the Wyoming Business Council, this video was made by Havey Productions of Denver.
In many ways, the guy who is the inspiration for all this is Jim Owen who developed a recent version of something he calls The Code of the West, which has been adopted by Jonah Banks in Wyoming, among others, as an operating philosophy.
What I like about it is that is takes the relatively long and wordy attempt (like the effort that I put together) and boils it down into ten very simple phrases. Those phrases are as follows:
• Live each day with courage.
• Take pride in your work.
• Always finish what you start.
• Do what has to be done.
• Be tough, but fair.
• When you make a promise, keep it.
• Ride for the brand.
• Talk less, say more.
• Remember that some things are not for sale.
• Know where to draw the line.
Even the Legislature has taken notice of the code. Sen. Jim Anderson (R-Glenrock) is sponsoring a bill to create a Wyoming Code, which would feature this effort. We would be the first state in the union to have such a code.
Wyoming folks first got to see the video during an event at University of Wyoming in Laramie on Jan. 22. It has been traveling around the Internet ever since.
This Wyoming Code is a much-abbreviated version of the very first Code of the West, which was compiled by the famous western writer Zane Grey. Grey wrote a lot about Wyoming and a lot about cowboys during his long career nearly 80 years ago.
And he knew what he was talking about. A few of the more interesting ones on his list include:
• Never try on another man’s hat.
• Never shoot a woman, no matter what.
• Give your enemy a fighting chance.
• Never wake another man by shaking or touching him, as he might wake suddenly and shoot you.
It would be natural that a humorous version of this would be developed, too. One of the best is by Cowboy Poet Bix Benders, which included these gems:
• A smart ass just don’t fit in a saddle.
• Always drink upstream from the herd.
• Never miss a good chance to shut up.
• When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a to a person, don’t be surprised if they learn their lesson well.
• When you’re throwing your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
• Write it in your heart. Stand by the code and it will stand by you.
Those are just a few of the items on a very long list.
That Code of the West, Alive and Well in Wyoming video, by the way, included clips of Clarene Law, Jackson; Mick McMurry, Casper; former Sen. Al Simpson of Cody; CJ Box and Gus Fleischli of Cheyenne; Greg Schaefer of Gillette and Scott Ratliff of the Wind River Indian Reservation plus many others.
Look it up. It will make your day.
|
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
WBR17 Stinkers and clinkers in the world of real business
Most people know me as a newspaperman or even as a political candidate – yet, the truth of the matter is, for most of my life I have been a businessman.
And during all these years in business, we have had our successes, which we cherish, and our failures, which we bemoan.
For many years, I was asked to be a guest lecturer at the various entrepreneurial programs around the state called Next Level and Fast Track and other names.
For a long time, most of my talk centered on my successes with just a little time spent on what I called “clinkers.” When it came time for questions, they ALWAYS asked about the clinkers. The losers.
Finally, I ended up spending most of the time talking about these business failures – it seems that most budding entrepreneurs have seen enough success, but to actually hear about failures really piques their interest.
• They want to know how a perfectly good partnership can suddenly go bad?
• Or what happens when your worst case scenario actually occurs? Or ends up being worse that you ever possibly imagined it to be?
• How could a business investment in Maui not be perfect?
• What do you do in the newspaper business when you have to fire your entire printing crew on the spot for smoking pot? Or your entire advertising sales staff for collectively stealing from you?
• Or dealing with a competitor who has unlimited funds and a grudge against you?
All these things have happened to me and none were any fun.
But you deal with them and you survive.
There is a reason that less than 10 percent of the population is entrepreneurial. That reason is that most people don’t want to deal with problems like this. Or they have seen their parents struggle with problems like this or friends or neighbors or whomever.
Thus, they end up working for other people. Or for the government. Or getting advanced degrees and doing research. And believe me, there is nothing wrong with any of these fields. There were times when I wished that I could pass along my problems to some “boss” rather than having to live with them and having to solve them myself.
An old saying claims that “the hotter the fire, the harder the steel.” Another one says that “minds are like cement. All mixed up and permanently set.”
My personal business guru is Wyoming native W. Edwards Deming, who is given credit for turning around the Japanese economy after World War II.
Deming says “what gets measured, gets done.”
He also says you have succeeded when your customers say positive things about you. “Do the unexpected so that your customer brags about you.”
When American industrial titans visited Japan in the 1980s, they were stunned to see how well Japanese factories produced stuff right the first time. Although Deming probably didn’t coin this phrase, he no doubt lived it: “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over again?”
Another important business rule is the 80:20 rule.
As a small-town newspaper publisher, I saw scores of businesses go under because their owners didn’t understand the 80:20 rule. What this means, is that usually 80 percent of your business will come from 20 percent of your product line. Or 80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of your customers.
Often, you would see a retailer selling that first 20 percent and not re-stocking it, because he or she still thinks they had a full store of inventory. Only problem was the products their customers wanted weren’t there any more. They quit coming back and pretty soon, that building owner was looking for a new tenant.
If I could think of eight things for entrepreneurs to do, it would be the following:
1. Networking. Get acquainted with people who are successful in your business.
2. Most successful new businesses are “incubated” from other existing businesses. Odds greatly improve when this happens.
3. Copy, copy, copy – why re-invent the wheel? Take somebody else’s successful model and copy it.
4. Barter – try to preserve your cash. Can you trade something to someone else for something you need?
5. Mentors if you like a business, find somebody who does it and spend some time with him or her. Buy them lunch or coffee most people like to talk about their business. If they aren’t your competitor, be open with them and tell them your idea.
6. Remember, your unique idea is usually one of two things:
a. It really is unique.
b. It really is a bad idea.
7. Cash, cash, cash. You have to manage the cash. This is no knock against bankers, but you must remember their job is to treat their money safely. They truly will loan you an umbrella when the sun is shining, don’t talk to them when it is raining. Your suppliers will be your bankers. You must get your customers to pay you promptly.
8. Good accounting is absolute must. You MUST know how you are doing. You people in retail can go gaga over all that cash in your cash register right after you open. You must re-stock.
We can’t really talk about business success without talking about luck. My favorite saying here, is one that I really believe: “The harder I worked, the luckier I got.”
|
|
 |
|
|
