Great Ideas for Success in Hard Economic Times

Dakin Dairy Farms Now Bottling its Own Milk

2009-08-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

The dairy industry is suffering terribly right now and many farmers are selling out. It is very difficult to produce milk in the U.S. economically. Our milk pricing is based on a very antiquated system dating back to the 1920's. The process to change our system is slow, political and painful. We hope that by stepping out there to add value through bottling our milk and other dairy products, and tourism that we will sustain the horrendous ups and downs within our industry.

The milk truly is marketably different, and as I assessed what we did differently, there was no question that the fresh green grass made all the difference. We amend our soil with our own compost and then water the varieties of high protein grasses with recycled nutrient rich water, never do we apply pesticides, and that IS what makes the difference. We mix that with a variety of grains, minerals and hay and make a highly nutritious salad for our cows. The taste of the milk is always reflective of what they eat. Also we literally have to wait until we have collected the milk from the cows to pipe it over and bottle it, FRESH, FRESH, FRESH!

In our first forray into the milk selling business, we over estimated the volume of sales for the first week. The simplest thing to do with the overage would be to feed it to the calves. And since milk is a perishable item, we had to move quickly with whatever method we chose.

Meals on Wheels was ecstatic to recieve 600+ gallons of milk and distribute it through their food bank. They quickly called in a receiver for the distribution center which immediately re-routed a truck to that location...all within an hour. Dakin's overruns can be put to great use feeding those in need.

Karen Dakin
www.DakinDairyFarms.com

Little Things Matter

2009-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Usually it's the little things that get you the sale or lose you the sale.
Did you park in the customer parking spot right in front of the prospect's business? Did the prospect encounter an automated answering system when he called your office?

Did you call the client to congratulate him on an achievement?

Dale Carnegie talks about this in his book, How to Win Friends & Influence People written in 1936 and still in print. It's not a new concept, just something we don't always think about.

Whether we are selling payroll services or insurance, our products and services aren't that much different than our competition. Many times you're selling the same policy from the same insurance company as your competition, so it comes down to those little things.

Below is an anecdote that illustrates this point (Adapted from Presidential Anecdotes, by Paul F. Boller, Jr. Penguin Books).

MAKING DECISIONS

William McKinley, the 25th U.S. President, once had to choose between two equally qualified men for a key job. He puzzled over the choice until he remembered a long-ago incident.

On a rainy night, McKinley had boarded a crowded streetcar. One of the men he was now considering had also been aboard, though he didn't see McKinley. Then an old woman carrying a basket of laundry struggled into the car, looking in vain for a seat. The job candidate pretended not to see her and kept his seat. McKinley gave up his seat to help her.

Remembering the episode, which he called "this little omission of kindness," McKinley decided against the man on the streetcar. Our decisions – even the small, fleeting ones—tell a lot about us.

So, remember it's the little things that can make a difference...

Roger Reynolds, President/CEO ABCO Payroll Services®
www.ABCOpayroll.com

Investment in Telehealth Technology Benefits TideWell Hospice and its Patients, Families

2009-07-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

For a health care provider that has built its reputation with a unique, personal, hands-on approach, it might seem like an unusual decision to pursue technology such as telehealth monitoring, where patients record their vital signs using an in-home device that transmits data electronically.

That, however, is exactly what TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care did starting in December 2008, with incredibly positive results for both the well-being of its patients and the bottom line.

Telehealth is used in the comfort of patients’ homes to provide accurate data that helps manage the patient’s symptoms and evaluates changes in their condition. Timely updates enable TideWell to respond proactively before symptoms escalate, requiring emergency department visits and/or hospital admissions to stabilize the patient. Telehealth is an overlay of palliative care that gives clinicians the ability to monitor and measure patient health data over geographical, social and cultural distances.

TideWell has already seen the value of this technology in action. Recently, a TideWell nurse monitoring data from a patient using the telehealth system was able to quickly identify the patient’s hypertension symptoms. The patient was stabilized without the stress and expense of an emergency department visit and possible hospital stay.

In fact, only two telehealth patients have required emergency care visits during the implementation of the program (December 2008-June 2009). TideWell had been averaging anywhere from eight to 12 such visits per month prior to putting telehealth in place. Given that the typical cost for emergency room treatment can range from $2,500 to greater than $4,000, the positive financial impact is clearly evident.

While telehealth-appropriate patients still receive the same personal visits from TideWell’s team of nurses, social workers, home health aides and more, they have the added benefit and peace of mind that comes with this extra monitoring of signs and symptoms. Patients have also found the system simple to use. In a recent survey, they reported that it took only one to three days to feel comfortable operating the monitor and that knowing the results of daily checks on blood pressure, pulse, oxygen level in blood, etc. – and that those results are being reviewed by a TideWell clinician – makes them feel more comfortable and relieves stress on the caregiver.

This investment in technology has proven to be a plus for TideWell in enhancing its service to patients, as well as a wise fiscal decision.

David Glaser, Director of Communications
TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care

Re-Tooled and Experiencing Sales Success

2009-07-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Neal Communities has re-tooled and as such are experiencing their best sales success in company history (40 years)

* re-structured and slimmed down overhead and did eliminate some positions
* re-designed homes so that they could sell at lower prices
* selling homes at very low or no margins in order to keep people employed and to
keep communities developing
* now BUYING land because prices are so attractive.

Contracts through June 30, 2009 were an impressive 180, making this the strongest sales record for the first half of the year in Neal Community’s history. During that same period in 2004, the company signed 164 contracts. During the month of June there were 25 contracts.

“We have created a formula that works in this marketplace and puts us out in front of this recovery,” states Neal Communities’ Pat Neal. “By pricing new homes at less than $300,000, we are providing exactly what the housing market demands, and the buyers are responding.”

The sales have been in all price points: from cottage homes to Country Club estates. Neal Communities is developing in 15 different communities and has posted sales in all of those neighborhoods. Realtors® have been involved in half of the sales during that time period.

“Americans typically have the ‘I want it now’ attitude. They are not willing to wait any longer to achieve their dreams,” observes Sales Director David Hunihan. “They see the opportunity and recognize that prices will be rising soon. This is indeed the time to buy with a company that has an excellent track record in communities that are beautiful.”

Neal Communities

Lessons of the Hot Dog Vendor

2009-07-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

During these days of continually being bombarded by doom and gloom about the economy, it might be a good time to re-visit the story of the Hot Dog Vendor...

A Man lived by the side of the road...and sold hot dogs.

He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he had no newspaper. But he sold good hot dogs.

He put up a sign on the highway, telling how good they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried, "Buy a hot dog, mister!" And people bought.

He increased his meat and bun order, and he bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He got his son home from college to help him. But then something happened. His son said, "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio? There's a big Depression on. The international situation is terrible, and the domestic situation is even worse."

Whereupon the father thought, "Well, my son has gone to college. He listens to the radio and reads the newspaper, so he ought to know." So, the father cut down on the bun order, took down his advertising sign, and no longer bothered to stand on the highway to sell hot dogs.

His hot dog sales fell almost overnight. "You were right, son", the father said to the boy. "We are certainly in the middle of a Great Depression."

Moral of the story --

Stop reading the newspaper, turn off the news on the radio and television, and KEEP SELLING!

Roger Reynolds, President / CEO
ABCO Payroll Services

Where Do Your New Ideas Come From?

2009-06-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Where does your next innovation in your business come from? Have you been innovating over the last couple of years or have things been status quo in your business? Times are tough these days with the recession and many organizations are having a difficult time keeping their heads above water. Other companies however are surviving and exceeding expectations. In reality these organizations have chosen not to participate in the recession. What are these companies doing that you may not be doing. They are investing in their future through innovation.

You may ask yourself how are they doing this? Where do the ideas come from? How are they staying ahead of the game? The answer may be closer to you than you think! Many organizations today have an entirely untapped idea repository right in their back yard. Each and every person that works for the organization is a living and breathing innovation factory!

Granted not every idea that everyone comes up with is the next billion dollar idea. But if you combine enough of these ideas together and brainstorm within the organization you can mine those one or two nuggets that may well transform your organization. The key to harvesting these innovative ideas is to create an easy process and shift the culture your organization.

This is exactly what we are doing at SummitQwest. We are tapping into our deep wealth of knowledge and breadth of experience in our employees. We have created a process for the submission and review of any idea that our employee base has come up with and they are delivered to our dedicated business innovation team. During the process we keep the innovator informed of where their idea is and let them know what the good and bad are of the idea. Everyone knows not all ideas will make it through to implementation final implementation. But many of the ideas that are being submitted can be used directly by our existing organization to streamline process and/or help our customers save money or improve their products.

The part that takes a lot of nurturing is the culture. Each employee must change their way of looking at their work and think outside of the box. Innovating is often a process of asking yourself is there a better way to do this? Why am I doing something in this particular way? Can I make this better or improve it? In the beginning of the innovation process everyone is on board the program. But after time people can easily revert back to their existing practices and ways. In order to combat and help shift the daily culture to one of innovation, we regularly conduct brainstorming sessions to help mine those nuggets of information that people may not have thought could be an innovation. Innovation is not a onetime thing, it is an ongoing process that must be nurtured and grown over time.

We at SummitQwest have chosen not to participate in this recession. We have chosen to innovate and drive our organization forward by tapping the vast knowledge of our employees. The ideas that are harvested from within the organization will be fueling our new products and services to our customers in the near future and for years to come. Maybe you should look into your organization and mine some nuggets!

Tom Schraer
SummitQwest

Don't Let Staff Cuts Cost You Money

2009-06-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Paychex, Inc. is an industry leader in helping small business owners achieve their goals and keep costs to a minimum. In response to the recent downturn many of small business’ found that they had to cut their staff. When doing so, they thought they could handle the payroll processing, in-house and on their own. As a result, we have seen a significant rise in penalties sent by the IRS because of small errors. An error as small as $0.08 can result in $250 in penalties. The IRS even changed the 941 quarterly form that needs to be used.

So, Paychex, Inc. listened to those of us out here with our owners and developed a solution called Small Biz Payroll. The cost is only $59 per month! That’s right, per month, not per pay period as is customary of billing payroll outsourcing. It is designed to be 100% online, all employees have direct deposit, end of year W-2’s and reconciliation are free. The company can use this for up to five employees, at no extra cost and can even pay them weekly. But, most importantly our business owners have the peace of mind that Paychex, Inc. retains 100% of the tax liability.

Visit www.smallbizpayroll.com for more information.

Michelle Grunberg
Paychex, Inc.

Pay Attention to Your Industry and What Your Customers Need and Want

2009-06-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

LEDS of Sarasota, Inc. has serviced the computer needs of its customers for the past 12 years and knows it needs to stay one step ahead of technology and customer needs in order to provide excellent service to its customers.

Times are tough - no amount of positive thinking can change that. The defining moment is what you do about it that makes the difference - while respecting our core values, we look to enhance the service to our customers; we offer free computer advice to those who need it; we work to invest in the technology tools that allow us to provide new and improved services to our customers rather than just stay with how we've always done it.

We have invested in computer Managed Services software that allows for proactive, rather than reactive, monitoring and maintenance of computer and network systems, which can save customers time, money, and their valuable data. We have also incorporated a VoIP telephone system line called Allworx, which is specifically suited to small businesses, that provides all the tools of other telephone systems at a more economical price.

In times of change, we all must open our eyes and ears to new possibilities, new opportunities, and new paths to success. Answering, fulfilling, and exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers has always been important, and that has become the highest priority in these challenging economic times!

Lori Denny
LEDS of Sarasota, Inc.

Don't Take the Recession Passively

2009-06-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Living Out East & On The Bay is not taking the recession passively. We are fighting back with our launch of a summer advertising special for businesses being forced to cope with the twin evils of the summer business doldrums and a stubborn recession. Our customers were e-mailed details of special pricing for as little as a three month quarter-page ad commitment. Several have already taken advantage of the offer and similar savings are being offered to new customers. It is working. Our June issue is four pages larger than our May issue.

We have also partnered with the Manatee Chamber and gathered marketing and business development experts and organized two lunch seminars. The first one is Marketing Revisited in a Recession and the second one is Positioning Your Business For The Coming Recovery.

We have also launched a multimedia initiative with new marketing opportunities in digital editions of the magazine, web video, banner ads and online coupons. Several value packages have been put together.

Believing that we have to take advantage of the opportunities that lessened competition bring in a recession, we have beefed up our business with some major new hires as well. Sondra Guffey is our new Multimedia Editor and, in the sales realm, we are pleased to welcome Pat Shemek, Susan Short and Kristina Bentley to our sales staff. All have attended Manatee Chamber events and will become familiar faces to Chamber Members.

Jeffrey R. Orenstein, Ph.D.
Living Out East & On The Bay Magazine

Invest in Technology - Maintain Control of Your Systems

2009-05-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Suncoast Business Technologies continues to invest in everyone’s future and remain a financially solid firm. We at Suncoast, even in recession times, are upgrading our own infrastructure and technology toolbox.

SBT owns all of our technology resources and tools, that provide improved solutions to our prospects and clients. We have more control over our pricing models, since we own our solutions and infrastructure, as opposed to some of our competitors who may rent or lease “their solutions”. These cost variables have allowed us to continue servicing clients and be there for them in dire times, knowing that we’ll be there also when the good times return.

We haven’t put any fancy names or catching slogans to flexible client pricing. It is simply old-fashioned good business relations and practice.

Kevin Baylor, Managing Partner

Be Open to Change and New Ideas

2009-05-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

As the Manatee County business community works through the current economic climate, we can see the changes that take place in the marketplace on a daily basis. Now, more than ever, the phrase, “But we always did it that way”, needs to be banished. Looking for new ways to package or repackage a product, add additional services or simply promote them to the public, is crucial.

Recently, the Small Business of the Year Committee of Judges spent two days interviewing candidates for the five awards that will be given this year. The businesses which are thriving and surviving are the ones who were not afraid but saw the recent economic conditions as opportunities.

The role the Internet plays in our success can never be under estimated. Web sites, e-mail, and Twitter have changed how we present our services or products to the world.

Having spent many years in marketing and advertising, it is always fascinating to work with businesses which are ready to take chances, make changes or expand their markets. Vendors who are open to renegotiating contracts or discounting services understand the need to keep business relationships open.

For myself, we are working with new products and going into areas we’ve never been. It is exciting-I look forward to the future.

Linda Cinque, President
Cinque Advertising