Hoosiers Helping Hoosiers
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Years ago I heard a story. I can’t remember the names involved, or even who told it, but the lesson it conveyed is forever branded in my mind. The story went like this: A guy goes to New York on a business trip, checks into his hotel well into the night, and as he unpacks he realizes that he forgot a shirt for his 8:00 AM meeting the following morning. What can he do so late at night? His trip was lemons, but the idea it gave him was lemonade.
Our unfortunate traveler decided to start a catalog business selling premium quality merchandise to a targeted distribution that included only a few New York city blocks. The key to his idea is that his merchandise could be ordered any time of day just like ordering a pizza. His customers would have premium items delivered on demand exactly when they needed them: a value proposition entirely about saving time, not money.
So, how would he pull it all together? First, he went to Brooks Brothers, Godiva Chocolates, and Nike Sportswear to pitch his concept. They all agreed to be included in the catalog. Next, he approached FedEx about arranging delivery. Finally, since this was before the advent of the internet, he would need a call-center as well. He contracted with AT&T and the deal was done.
In this way a company of just one man was able to offer top of the line products with a sophisticated delivery team and an experienced call center. What’s more is that all parties involved benefited. That is outsourcing. Taking the best in class resources and adding them to your core competency to get the maximum in leveraged capital and time.
If you read the news today, you’ll likely get depressed. Markets are slumping and people are unemployed. Guess what? It’s not that bad. Even at 9% unemployment, we still have 91% of the people employed. Add to it the fact that typically 3-4% of the population are unemployable, you really have about 95% of the workers working.
I started my business in 1999. If I would have listened to most people’s opinions I never would have started my company. I would have been too damn afraid. But in the past ten years, I’ve learned one thing: without people helping me, I would never have gotten where I am today. Sometimes it’s friends that just want to help out. Sometimes it’s a vendor with a vested interest in seeing me succeed. Everyone, however, benefits from my success.
I often refer to these partners as my “dream team”. This dream team includes my accountant, my banker, my lawyer, my marketing company, my sales trainer, and the list goes on. I clearly believe in the concept of outsourcing. Outsourcing allows me to leverage the best available talent—experts in their field, mind you—at a price that is actually less than hiring the “joe average” employee. Add to the fact that I don’t have to train them, I pay for only what I use, I can fire them any time, I pay them monthly instead of weekly, they’re not on my 401K, I don’t have to supervise them; I really could go on and on…
So, what can you take from this? If Indiana is going tp thrive, it’s going to take our helping each other. We have plenty of brain power, work ethic, and a wealth of resources in this state. My hope is that we take more of a vested interest in each other. I believe Indiana can be the #1 State in the US for economic growth. Even as we think Global, I hope we really and truly ACT Local!
If you’re receiving this publication it’s because we targeted you. We want to do business with you. We want to share stories on how to make your business better and more profitable. And we’re targeting the movers and shakers. The executive-level people in our State that know how to get things done. So please take the time to read our publication. But, even more importantly, please share some of your stories with us. With your permission we will include them in the next issue.
If you read on, I know you’ll find some good ideas to help your business.
Dale Miller
Miller Consulting Group, Inc.
www.mcg-inc.net
at 1:50 PM Link to this Article 0 Comments
Comments:
Our unfortunate traveler decided to start a catalog business selling premium quality merchandise to a targeted distribution that included only a few New York city blocks. The key to his idea is that his merchandise could be ordered any time of day just like ordering a pizza. His customers would have premium items delivered on demand exactly when they needed them: a value proposition entirely about saving time, not money.
So, how would he pull it all together? First, he went to Brooks Brothers, Godiva Chocolates, and Nike Sportswear to pitch his concept. They all agreed to be included in the catalog. Next, he approached FedEx about arranging delivery. Finally, since this was before the advent of the internet, he would need a call-center as well. He contracted with AT&T and the deal was done.
In this way a company of just one man was able to offer top of the line products with a sophisticated delivery team and an experienced call center. What’s more is that all parties involved benefited. That is outsourcing. Taking the best in class resources and adding them to your core competency to get the maximum in leveraged capital and time.
If you read the news today, you’ll likely get depressed. Markets are slumping and people are unemployed. Guess what? It’s not that bad. Even at 9% unemployment, we still have 91% of the people employed. Add to it the fact that typically 3-4% of the population are unemployable, you really have about 95% of the workers working.
I started my business in 1999. If I would have listened to most people’s opinions I never would have started my company. I would have been too damn afraid. But in the past ten years, I’ve learned one thing: without people helping me, I would never have gotten where I am today. Sometimes it’s friends that just want to help out. Sometimes it’s a vendor with a vested interest in seeing me succeed. Everyone, however, benefits from my success.
I often refer to these partners as my “dream team”. This dream team includes my accountant, my banker, my lawyer, my marketing company, my sales trainer, and the list goes on. I clearly believe in the concept of outsourcing. Outsourcing allows me to leverage the best available talent—experts in their field, mind you—at a price that is actually less than hiring the “joe average” employee. Add to the fact that I don’t have to train them, I pay for only what I use, I can fire them any time, I pay them monthly instead of weekly, they’re not on my 401K, I don’t have to supervise them; I really could go on and on…
So, what can you take from this? If Indiana is going tp thrive, it’s going to take our helping each other. We have plenty of brain power, work ethic, and a wealth of resources in this state. My hope is that we take more of a vested interest in each other. I believe Indiana can be the #1 State in the US for economic growth. Even as we think Global, I hope we really and truly ACT Local!
If you’re receiving this publication it’s because we targeted you. We want to do business with you. We want to share stories on how to make your business better and more profitable. And we’re targeting the movers and shakers. The executive-level people in our State that know how to get things done. So please take the time to read our publication. But, even more importantly, please share some of your stories with us. With your permission we will include them in the next issue.
If you read on, I know you’ll find some good ideas to help your business.
Dale Miller
Miller Consulting Group, Inc.
www.mcg-inc.net
at 1:50 PM Link to this Article
Comments:
###
Post a Comment