Payroll Services

One piece of advice I give consistently to small business owners, even those with only two or three employees, is to engage a payroll processing service. Why? I’ve seen way too many small businesses get into serious financial difficulty by failing to file quarterly tax returns on time, and worse, not making payroll tax payments when they are due. As trustees of taxes withheld from employee paychecks, employers are obligated to timely and properly deposit these taxes. The IRS and other taxing authorities can impose not only interest but severe penalties when taxes are not deposited, and they can go after the owner and anyone else who may have the authority and responsibility to make the tax deposits.

So how is this problem solved with a payroll service, such as Ahola or ADP? The payroll service makes the deposits and files the tax returns. An established and reputable service can be counted on to make all the filings when required. The payroll processing fees are well worth the peace of mind and will most likely be less than the costs of late filings or deposits.

The small business owner needs to keep track of countless details. Delegating payroll-related details is just smart.

Will Limkemann

Listening to customers

One of my goals in exhibiting at the AIO convention, two weeks ago, was to solicit comments that might result in improvements to the line of lamps we were exhibiting. The goal was wonderfully accomplished as we returned with two significant ideas which will dramatically improve the product line.

I wonder, though, how often we, as business people, truly listen to and take to heart comments that customers and prospects make about our products and services. My conclusion is that most often inertia takes over and we really don’t want to hear criticism or listen to ideas that may cost time and money, even if the net result is increased sales and profit.

Trade shows are great venues for feed-back. But every customer can also be a key resource for product and service improvement. I don’t mean to say that we need to include every hair-brained idea that is suggested. But we should constantly ask for feedback and listen to what is said. It may be that the next idea presented will, when implemented, may be the breakthrough the business is looking for.

How well do you listen to your customers?

Will Limkemann

Is it time to return to “snail mail”?

At the COSE Small Business Conference last week I led a workshop titled “You have the business card, what do you do now?”, where we discussed techniques for follow-up after getting business cards at networking events, trade shows, and conferences.

Among the techniques we discussed was sending notes, letters, brochures, and postcards by regular mail. The rationale is that today people are so bombarded with e-mail that they are more likely to pay attention to a physical paper that gets delivered to their desks. Who can resist opening a hand-addressed note card envelope? Then opening the card with an attractive, yet appropriate, picture on the front? A simple message inside can be very powerful.

A young lady, in the generation that considers no media valid if not electronic, approached me after the workshop. She said at first she thought I was nuts to suggest snail-mail – but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how powerful it can be to send out appropriate mailings, and that she would be trying snail-mail in her business.

Sometimes the old becomes new again!

Will Limkemann

Help for small businesses

If you are a small business owner intent on implementing best practices that will improve your income, don’t miss out on the once-a-year opportunity to mingle with other like-minded people and learn from some of the best people in Northeast Ohio. Where? The Council for Smaller Enterprises (COSE) annual small business conference at the IX center next to Cleveland Hopkins Airport. When? Wednesday and Thursday, October 21 and 22.

I will be leading a seminar titled “I got the business card – now what do I do with it?” On Thursday morning.

The past three conferences have been outstanding and have each drawn well over 1,000 small business owners from around the region. I understand this year has three keynote speakers, an exhibition with 75 exhibitors, and countless learning opportunities.

For more information, visit: http://my.cose.org/sbc/index2.asp

Will Limkemann

Getting business cards at trade show

In a prior post I commented on using a give-away to accumulate business cards at a trade show. As one of the current hot electronic items is GPS navigation, I settled on a GPS device as a giveaway. What I failed to take into consideration is that most traveling folks already have either a built-in or portable GPS unit. Thus, GPS was not the attraction I had hoped for. Even so, over 20% of the convention attendees registered for the drawing. No one, as far as I could tell, were drawn to the booth by the prospect of winning a GPS device. Rather they were attracted by our products and display!

I’d be interested in hearing about other trade show giveaways and the response they have have generated.

Will Limkemann

Trade show follow-up

The American Institute of Organbuilders convention is over. Our careful planning for the exhibit paid off in spades! Our attractive and appealing exhibit drew in most of the 180 people in attendance. One visitor even told me that he normally walks around an exhibit hall in a daze (don’t we all?), and it was refreshing to find an exhibit that caught his attention. We ran out of literature and I almost ran out of business cards – so I know next time to print twice as many as I think will be needed. While no orders were signed on the spot (I didn’t expect any), many folks said they would be ordering our products, and any number of people asked to be put on our mailing lists.

All in all the convention was a total success for us.

Thank you notes have gone out to everyone who gave me contact information. Now begins the delightful task of personal follow-up.

Life is good.

Will Limkemann

A good night’s sleep

I can’t count the number of hotels I have stayed while traveling on business during my long career. The hotels have ranged from cheap motels to five star properties. My expectations of hotels are modest: clean and odor-free rooms; comfortable beds; and rooms that are quiet. If these basic expectations are not met no amount of amenities or service matters.

Sunday afternoon I checked into the Crowne Plaza hotel in suburban Columbus, Ohio, for the convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders. In many ways it is an average hotel. But, what a surprise I have had with the core amenities I require. First, the hotel is a total non-smoking zone, with a $250 fine for any room that must be “de-smoked” if someone violates the rule. Second, all rooms have king-sized and very comfortable beds.

The biggest surprise was to find the club floor, where I’m staying, to be designated as a “quiet zone”. A sign opposite the elevators announces: “Welcome to the quiet zone. Please be considerate to other guests. Our promise to guests staying in this area is to extend the following courtesies: No housekeeping or maintenance activities between 9:00 PM and 10:00 AM; No children, leisure groups, marching bands, or circus animals will be assigned  to this area. We ask you to do your part in keeping noise to a minimum by: Keep your TV and radio at a low volume; Ensure guest room doors do not slam; No loud singing in the shower.”

My encounters with the staff have been brief, but friendly and cordial. The hotel does offer some interesting amenities such as an indoor/outdoor pool and a walking trail around a pond.

I do hope other hotels start following the lead of the Columbus Crowne Plaza in providing the basics for a refreshing night’s sleep.

Thank you Crowne Plaza.

Will Limkemann

Outsourcing

Somewhere along the line outsourcing has become a bad word. It is true that many jobs have been lost in the United States (and other major western economies) as low-cost production has moved to emerging economies with low-cost labor.

But, I would venture to guess, most outsourcing is done at home. No business has the resources or core competencies to do it all. Website designs are outsourced to specialist firms; legal matters to a law firm; marketing to an advertising firm.

Whenever a business has a need, it should carefully examine whether the need should be filled internally or externally. Which will be most cost effective? Which will provide least distraction to core business practices?Does the business have the expertise and equipment to do the job internally? What are the long-term implications of outsourcing or insourcing?

In my own little manufacturing operation we have been creating a wood lamp base with the total cost of material and labor amounting to about $30 for each piece. In examining the costs and in an effort to increase profitability, we requested and received quotes to have the piece made at larger shops with computer-controlled equipment. The cost for outsourcing will save about $18 for each piece! A no-brainer!

The fact is that from time-to-time all processes and costs should be re-examined to determine whether they can be reduced through internal process changes or from outsourcing (and the outsourcing can often be to a local business).

Will Limkemann
Siqua Group Limited

Inkstop store closings

Articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and elsewhere  have be chronicling the sudden closing of its 161 stores by Cleveland-area retailer Inkstop, owing back wages to hundreds of employees and canceling health-care insurance. There are also stories of suits being filed by, and on behalf of, former Inkstop employees.

Legal issues are up to the attorneys and courts to sort out. I am outraged at lousy treatment of employees and apparent poor management that let the company get to this point. According to today’s Plain Dealer article, employees can’t even qualify for COBRA health insurance benefits because the Inkstop health insurance plan no longer exists (apparently because premiums have not been paid). (This could certainly be part of the growing health-care debate, but that is beyond the scope of this posting).

While I have no knowledge of boardroom discussions, many management questions come to mind. How could management not foresee running out of cash and put into place contingency plans? According to various articles the company had been attempting to raise capital – but what were the plans if insufficient capital was raised? Were underperforming stores closed in an effort to conserve cash and take proper care of laid off and continuing employees? Did management really pay sufficient attention to costs, cash flow, and profitability? Could not the company have closed all stores sooner and provided final checks, extended health care, and even outplacement service to employees?

Inktop’s failure could be a casualty of the recession but, in my view, is probably more a casualty of poor planning, strategy, and management.

Will Limkemann

Trade show success rule # 4 – follow-up

Many businesses greatly diminish the potential and value of exhibiting at trade shows be doing poor, and sometimes no, follow-up. To maximize trade show benefit follow-up needs to be included as a strategy and be made part of the planning process. Here is my planning for follow-up after exhibiting at the AIO convention next week:

1. Take thank-you notes, envelopes, and stamps to the show. Each day I will write and send a personal thank-you note for each person I spoke with during the day who provided me with a card or contact information. I’ll also send a thank-you note to each person who dropped a card in the fishbowl for the GPS drawing.

2. Create a database of all contacts made at the show and include pertinent notes for each person. Again, I’ll do this daily while information is still fresh.

3. Follow-up each contact after the show, in writing, with a letter and marketing literature.

4. A week after the show call each person with whom I discussed our products and who showed specific interest in the products.

5. Within two weeks after sending out letters, follow-up with each prospect by phone. The purpose of the call is to: a) determine need and interest in our products; b) gauge reaction to the products we exhibited at the show.

6. Do additional follow-up as situations dictate.

Using this process I should be able to significantly “touch” each person who visited the booth and generate both short-term and long-term business.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

Will Limkemann