14 GREAT POINTS IN BUSINESS!!

"Dr. W. Edwards Deming is known as the father of the Japanese post-war industrial revival and was regarded by many as the leading quality guru in the United States. Trained as a statistician, his expertise was used during World War II to assist the United States in its effort to improve the quality of war materials. He was invited to Japan at the end of World War II by Japanese industrial leaders and engineers. They asked Dr. Deming how long it would take to shift the perception of the world from the existing paradigm that Japan produced cheap, shoddy imitations to one of producing innovative quality products."

What does this have to do with sharpening? Everything! In fact, Dr. Deming's 14 Points is a great outline for any business to adopt as their modus operandi. Take a look at all 14 points and see which ones you think you should apply to your business!

CLOSE OUT SHEARS

Got a BIG announcement for you today! Wolff is discontinuing their line of Ookami Beauty Shears!

All the Ookami Shears are on sale until they are sold out! Here's the discount schedule:

300 Series Ookami: 40% off wholesale price
400 Series Ookami: 50% off wholesale price

This is a GREAT DEAL! We announced this sale at the Wolff/ Huff Show and there was a big run on the shears there. There are still many in stock, so don't delay! At these prices, we will soon be sold out!

After the Ookami Shears are phased out, we will be vamping up our Wolff Economy Line 200 Series Shears. We plan to make most of the 200 Series models available in 5", 5 1/2" and 6" lengths.

HARRISBURG SHOW WAS GREAT!!!!!

Wow! Talk about busy!! I've been going non-stop since I left for Harrisburg on Thursday!

I just finished entering all the show orders yesterday, so everything is on its way! Thank you to all that made this show such a success! We had a few return visitors and each said this was the best one, even Mike who has been to all three.

The show is evolving. These smaller, more personal shows are new to us as well. We're working on improving them each time. One of the best evolutions is the marketing brainstorm session! I've always said that the real value to any show isn't the teaching (that's best done one-on-one), it's the networking! This brainstorm puts a group together and lets them exchange ideas and find help in overcoming problems. It's my favorite part of the show!

As for the teaching seminars, Mike did great! His nipper machine is easy to use and well worth the investment if you're looking at targeting that market! The Huffman's were great as always, and I got to hammer set into a shear for everyone and show off some of Wolff's new equipment. All the details will be in the write up in On The Edge! I'd love to know what those of you that attended the show thought about it. Drop me an e-mail when you get a chance! Thanks!!!

MADE IT TO HARRISBURG

It was a good trip! The hotel is nice enough and the training room looks to be a good size. Should be a great show!

Andrew and I met Bobby and Brittney for dinner. We did a little planning and we're looking forward to tomorrow. I'll drop an update on the blog tomorrow letting everyone know how Mike's nipper class goes. Talk to you later!

FLAT HONE TRICK

When applying polishing pads or back up pads to the metal plates for flat hones, it's hard to center them! Glen made a cool little jig to help overcome this problem.






You can see in the pictures that he just pressed two pins into an aluminum base that helps keep the pad you're applying in line with the metal plate. Thought it was pretty cool! You may want to build one yourself. You could make it out of a block of wood and a couple of dowel pins.




The new Felt Polishing Discs are packed and ready to go out tomorrow! Would have gotten them out sooner, but we had a huge run on the Hira-To machines and had to spend time building more for my show samples!





Speaking of the show, I have a pile of boxes ready to be loaded into "His Majesties Chariot", also known as David's Yukon. Andrew and I hit the road first thing in the morning.

CATCHING EVERYONE BACK UP!

Sorry for the lull in posts!!! My week started with preparations for the Wolff/ Huff Show and then it just got crazy from there!

I trained John Welin on Tuesday. He came for some advanced training on setting and just to touch up his skills on the Hira-To. Everyone should do this from time-to-time. All of Wolff's classes are one-on-one and tailored to each individual. Come with questions and we'll get them answered!

On Wednesday and Thursday I took my family to the low-country of South Carolina for a trip to the zoo and to visit my brother and his family. My brother David is a preacher and he just got called to his first church a few months ago. He lives in a small town called Blackville that reminds me a lot of Knox City where the Huffman's live. We had a great visit!

Today, I'm putting the finishing touches on the new Hira-To website I'm designing! I'll attempt to upload it to the web next week. This is a basic template site, but I'm learning how to create websites in CSS format. It's a little complicated, but I'm catching on! Look for a better looking site in the future!

I've also had a few calls come in about the new felt disc with the diamond compound I told all of you about last month. My hold up has been the diamond paste! It took forever to get here, but it's here now! We'll be send them out the first of next week, so if you have a Hira-To, keep an eye out!

That is pretty much it! Next week I will start chronicling the events leading up to and through the Wolff/ Huff Show. So drop in each day for updates. There will also be a full write up in On The Edge.

SELL LIKE A KID!!!

Kids are crazy! Take Aidan here for example (my 4 year old). He wanted to play with my oldest son and his friend, but they said no. He stood at his brother's bedroom door crying and asked, "Why can't I come in and play too?" Michael, my oldest son's friend said, "Little brothers aren't allowed!" Then they closed the door.

I guess Aidan thought about this, because he went into his sisters room, grabbed one of his sister's play dresses, threw it on over his clothes and headed back to his brother's room. He knocked on the door and when they openned, he yelled, "Can I come in now?!" After the two boys stopped laughing, they told him take off the dress and get in here!

What's the point in all this? Sometimes we have to be a little creative when we want to get into someplace we're not welcome! Look for ways you can make your business stand out! Walk into that shop that won't let you in with a shoe filled with candy and say, "I've been trying to get my foot in the door!" Then give the shoe to the person at the front desk. I'll bet they'll laugh! Try something different! (Not a dress though, pleeease!!) Be creative and fun! Smile when you enter! You'll be surprised the barriers you'll break down!!!!

Kids are great salesmen, and negotiators. They have to be because they don't have any money! Want to sell? Watch a kid!

THE WOLFF/ HUFF SHOW SCHEDULE

I just added to show schedule to the Wolff website along with some links to the hotel for info and directions. Click here to go see.

On The Edge hit the mail today, so if you're a subscriber, you'll have it in hand soon! I'll be busy over the next few days prepping for the show, so if you need me and I can't get to the phone, leave a message with the ladies up front and I'll call you back!

THE CURRU-GATOR

As promised, here is a look at the new Wolff Corru-Gator!

This machine works great! You've already seen the teeth it can cut in last weeks Corrugation Post. This will be a very popular machine in the industrial sector! Furniture and other household goods manufacturers are now required to incorporate fire retardant materials into their products. Most of these materials can only be cut with a corrugated shear.

To find out more about the Corru-Gator, give Glen a call here at Wolff. The number is 1-800-888-3832. He can answer all your questions on the price of replacement of wheels and replating charges. The price for the Corru-Gator is $1,250.00.

I will be demonstrating this machine at all future Wolff/ Huff Shows. So if you'd like to see it in action before deciding it's worth the price, sign up for a show near you!