Since
1992,
NSPG has been providing the tools that allow contractors to
increase profits and minimize business hassles. With our
simple-to-use-tools, you can make being a business owner
what you always wanted to it be -
successful, profitable and rewarding.
Long Term Rewards
 If
you ask a small business owner why he decided to start
his own business, one of the most frequent responses you
will receive is, “to be my own boss.” This desire to do
things your own way, the right way, is what drives many
of us to start our own business. Once the business
begins to grow, and we begin to add employees, the
downside of being the boss quickly become apparent.
Managing the business is not as much fun as being the
boss.
This
is why many successful small businesses bring in
professional managers to run the day-to-day operations
when they reach sufficient size to support it. We often
show the details of an upcoming Nexstar seminar in our
newsletter. One of the recurring features of these
seminars is a visit to a successful local shop. Many of
these successful companies have something in common -
professional management. These visits invariably
highlight the ongoing benefits of hiring a professional
management team.
 Once
you have managers in place, the owner is free to plan
and direct the growth of the business. The owner can
work on the business and can be removed from the
day-to-day concerns that can take up so much time and
cause so much aggravation. It also allows the owner to
have more free time. The business does not need to
consume a huge portion of his personal life the way an
owner managed business can.
The
desire to regain some personal time is often the driving
force that propels one or two truck operations to grow
larger. Once a certain threshold is reached, dedicated
management becomes an affordable option. The owner, who
often starts out working in the field, can move to more
managerial tasks. Ultimately the daily management
responsibility can be shifted to company employees as
the business grows. So, the value of the business grows
in terms of profitability and recovery of personal time
for outside interests like family and hobbies.
This
is not the only benefit of a professionally managed
organization. Ask small business owners to look at
their company and decide what the most valuable thing
about it is, and you'll get a variety of answers. The
employees, the customers, the skills, the trucks and
equipment, and the reputation all come to mind. The one
thing missing from most responses is the business
itself. A well organized, professionally managed
company can be worth far more than the individual parts.
At
some point, just about every owner will want to sell the
business. This can happen when the owner decides to
retire, or to just move on to another business. Selling
an owner managed business can be very difficult, and is
almost always far less lucrative than selling an
employee managed business.
If
you plan to sell your business someday to recover
the value you have built up over the years, you have
three options. Sell it to a family member, to a new
outside owner, or sell it to your employees. No matter
who you sell it to, a valuable company will require some
type of financing. Most commercial financing sources
will require a “stand alone” business that is not tied
to the owner/manager who is leaving. Without this
financing option, the business will sell for less.
An
even bigger consideration is that the value of your
business will be considerably higher to a potential
buyer if the owner is not the key employee. Why buy a
business that will immediately lose a key player in the
day-to-day operations? That’s a risk any potential
buyer will try to avoid. Professional management will
allow you to separate the company from the owner. The
value of the company stands alone. When the business
owner decides it’s time to sell, a professionally
managed business will yield the highest price.
If
your business is growing, or you plan for it to grow in
the future, keep in mind the benefits of hiring a
professional management team. The immediate benefit is
that the owner can take the time to plan the growth of
his professionally managed business long. He can also
take the time to enjoy a life outside of the business.
The 24/7 stress of running the business is not a
requirement for ownership. And when it comes time to
sell, the extra value will be a reward for years of
effort.
Even
in difficult times like today, it pays to take some time
to plan for your business’ future. Plan your budget to
allow for the growth you need to get your business where
you want it to go.
You can give Mike Conroy a call to discuss your
business, your
numbers, or your flat rate books.
He always enjoys talking to business owners who are
willing to work their way to success.
Measure Monthly, Adjust Quarterly
& Achieve Annual Profit Goals
NSPG News
Performance Dispatch Plus
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 Just
Released!
Performance
Dispatch Plus (PDP) makes running your business easier and more organized.
PDP combines
your Customer List with easy to use
Dispatch Software, connects to
Flat Rate, creates the
Invoice, and syncs it all with
QuickBooks. Along the way, it remembers
everything so you can evaluate and improve your business
without retyping anything.
At the end of
the day, you can evaluate individual employees or your entire business
performance with the built-in reports without retyping any information.
Just choose a report, and the information is there.
 Most
of your daily operations like taking calls, managing estimates, employee
scheduling, and invoicing can be controlled in Performance Dispatch Plus to
simplify and organize everything you do.
PDP remembers everything so you can evaluate and improve the
critical aspects of your business without retyping anything. That saves you
time and money, reduces errors, and you can be sure it will get done because
it’s automatic.
For more information about Performance Dispatch Plus, visit
nspgweb.com or call
800-841-8542, and let us show you how our system can work for your business.
Ask about our Special Introductory Pricing!
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Automatically Graphs 10 Tech Benchmarks |
1. Billable Hours Sold
2. Time In Field
3. Close Ratio
4. Tasks per call
5. Ave Sale per Invoice |
6. Ave Sale per hour
7. Total Sales
8. Net Profit%
9. Net Profit Dollars
10. Billable Hr Efficiency |
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Finally! Your business can be easier to
manage every day. |
On-Line
News
Happy Birthday PHCC
A century of first hand Electrical history.
Local Electrician License may finally happen.
Passing along your gas pains.
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In This Issue |
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Phone 800 841-8542
Numbers Cruncher
National Standard
Price Guide
Performance Dispatch Plus
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The freebie of the month is a web site or
product that we feel gives you something worth looking
at or using that costs you little or nothing.
Microsoft Live Maps
service competes with the current leading mapping
service - Google Maps. They both offer street
maps, directions, traffic mapping, local business
services.
Like
Google Maps,
Microsoft Live Maps
offers a satellite view. It also offers a "Bird's
Eye View." This is essentially a low level
photographic view of the map. This view can be
zoomed in-and-out and rotated. For even more
detail in some locations, you can download the Virtual
Earth extension. This adds improved 3-D views.
Some of
these views are truly amazing. The details are
fine enough to see the people in the photos. For
the map challenged, these low level photographic maps
can make navigating to new locations much easier.
Here are a couple of locations to illustrate the details
that you can see.
Pheasant Run Resort
Minnesota
Jersey City, NJ
They
probably even have close ups of your house.
If you have
a favorite Free site, let us know.
nspginfo@nspgweb.com
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Quotations
There is scarcely anything in the world
that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a
little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone
is this man's lawful prey.
John Ruskin
Nothing is really work unless you would
rather be doing something else.
James M. Barrie
Another flaw in the human character is
that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do
maintenance.
Kurt Vonnegut
In business you get what you want by
giving other people what they want.
Alice Foote MacDougall
Our business is to have great credit and
to use it little.
Thomas Jefferson
Some e-mail
providers consider any e-mail message from an e-mail
address not in your address book as "unwanted"
or "spam." To continue
receiving your NSPG Newsletter in your inbox, please add
plumber@nspgweb.com to your address book now.
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