Will Limkemann
Business Advisor
The Constant Entrepreneur:
Advice for Running a Productive Business
Should you hire “star” employees?
As you grow your staff, is it better to recruit and hire “star” employees, or build a diverse team of competent producers? This is the subject in a news letter I just received from the law firm Licata & Torek. Read it here.
Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com
Bank overdraft charges
At one time I had a business client in financial distress. In reviewing the financial records I questioned a line item of $30,000 in bank fees. A little research revealed these fees were mainly overdraft fees. Almost every day checks were presented to the bank for payment against insufficient funds and the bank would pay the checks and charge the client a fee. Just think what the client could have done with the $30,000!
Today’s business section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer had a feature article about the insane fees banks are charging for overdrafts. It quoted the policy of Bank of America which can levy a $35.00 overdraft charge for each of up to ten transactions in a day. Of course, the underlying problem is poor money management by folks who write checks or use debit cards to withdraw money that is not in their account! No one should put themselves in a position of overdrafting their accounts, but banks are taking advantage of people who are not good money managers and who probably can least afford to pay large overdraft fees. There has been great concern in Ohio over the past year or two of the usurious fees charged by “payday” lenders. Are $35.00 overdraft charges really any different?
Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com
Low-tech successful innovation
I first met Leon Yulkowski roughly seven years ago. He was recovering from hip surgery but wanted to give me a tour of his factory, Total Door Solutions in Pontiac Michigan. Although I considered myself healthy and he recently had undergone hip surgery, I was barely able to keep up with Leon as we moved from department to department.
Leon was both physically and mentally hyperactive, as I image he has been his whole life. He is a true entrepreneur who started a lock company in 1950. After selling the business to Slage, he invented a unique door system and started Total Door Solutions. Rather than just creating a door and incorporating hardware from many sources, his factory designs and builds doors integrating unique hardware created by his own plant. I don’t know how many patents he’s credited with but there are many. At the time of our interview he was making ten to fifteen patent applications per year!
Leon came to mind when I recently came across an article that his company has bought an old department store in Pontiac and is spending $3.25 million to turn it into a state-of-the art new factory. Leon is not a young man. While his daughter is listed as general manager, Leon is still listed as CEO and I can imagine that he is still innovating.
His is the kind of innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that is so very keen in turning around our old industrial cities into robust centers of innovation and employment. His is not a glamorous businesses of electrons and biology. His is a very practical nuts-and-bolts type of business with products needed by every architect and builder. While so many government leaders concentrate on encouraging and promoting high-tech businesses (many of which are also high-risk), they might do well to take a close look at attracting, encouraging, and financing practical low-tech manufacturing companies that offer innovative solutions and products.
Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com
Small businesses picking up big-company talent
Large companies who need a particular talent can often find it within their ranks. On the other hand smaller businesses generally need to go outside to fill talent voids. Older workers, in particular, who have found themselves without work may well find that small and mid-sized businesses are eager to pick them up for the experience they can bring in the door. This is a boon for both the worker and for the business.
See the Wall Street Journal article, “Layoffs Allow Small Firms to Attract Big-Company Refugees“.
Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com
Blog talk radio interview
www.blogtalkradio.com is an Internet radio station with a vast array of programming. Among the programs is a weekly review of blurbs authors submit about their books. Of seven or so blurb reviews, the best of the week is chosen for an Interview the following Wednesday night. My blurb about The Successful Home Business Guide won last week, so I’ve been featured on their web site and am being interviewed live tonight at 9:40. Here is a link to the featured page.