The daily goings on in the world of sharpening. Discussing sales, marketing, scissor sharpening, flat hones, clipper blade sharpening, sharpening training and equipment. This is the sharpening blog!
Showing posts with label Entrepreneurship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entrepreneurship. Show all posts
Wolff has scheduled their first show for the 2011 season. It will be held on Saturday May 7th and Sunday May 8th at the Crown Plaza Park Central Suites in Dallas, Texas.
The show times will be 9am - 6pm on Saturday, and 9am - 3pm on Sunday. There will also be a separate vendor room that will be open each day so you can spend time with a number of our supporting vendors. The price to attend is just $89.00 if you sign up by March 24th, and then $109 thereafter. The price includes access to all seminars and the vendor room.
Speakers will be Bob Schiessl, Bruce Nihart, and myself. We will be touching on all aspects of sharpening shears and clipper blades, business growth, and increasing sales.
Seating will be limited to just 50, so sign up right away to get the discount $89 dollar rate and your seat. If you have any questions, give Wolff a call at 800-888-3832. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the show!
I think Professor Jeff Cornwall hits the nail on the head in his August 16th post titled Survival Strategies the New Normal. He starts the article out saying:
Even the optimists are saying that we have at least two more years of economic stagnation. Other experts are warning of a possible double-dip recession.
There is even growing talk in some circles of America experiencing a "lost decade" in its economy. That refers to the 10-plus dismal years of economic doldrums suffered by Japan in the 1990s.
Recent employment and bank lending rate data seem to support a prolonged recession for small businesses.
So what does this "new normal" in our economy mean for entrepreneurs?
To read on, click here and jump down to the 5th paragraph. Professor Cornwall gives some good advice to anyone who is in or starting a new small business. Take a few moments and read the rest of his post.
Here are some long awaited Wolff Show pictures. Sorry for the delay, but I was slammed after the show and then was out of town the week after that. There is a full write up of the show in the August Issue of On The Edge.
Bill at the Wolff Table.
Mike doing an adjustment to a nipper.
There was never a time where Mike didn't have a crowd. :)
Dennis going over the testing procedures they use at the NBTSG.
George going over the ins-and-outs of the Lucky Hare Line with Bruce.
George doing the same with Robert and Chad.
The Nebraska Blades booth was also full all day. Everyone was glad to see Bob back at a Wolff Show.
Bonnie and Gene going over the Bonika Line of shears.
Randy from Shark Fin going over the benefits of the Shark Fin Shear design with Bruce. These two really know how to sell.
This was a display that generated a lot of interest. Glen spent part of the show going over a new pressure tester Wolff has put together. It tests the poundage it takes a shear to cut through different mediums and then feeds that info to a graph on a computer. The graph shows any imperfections in the edge and grades the cut of the shear. Some really neat technology we've been working on to help industrial plants improve their sharpening.
Bruce sharing his story about how he got into sharpening.
Bruce is one of the top selling sharpeners I know and he came to share some tips with us. He did a dynamite job!
Here I am doing a little Q & A.
Thanks to all of you that attended the show. It was great to see everyone and I had nothing but good reviews from those that came. In fact, here is a quick look at part of a letter sent by a sharpener that has been wrestling with going full time with his sharpening business:
"I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the show in S.C. this past weekend. I bought my sharpening business from a family friend a few years back and have been working it part time ever since. I'm a welder by trade and I'm eligible for full retirement soon, but haven't been able to take that step emotionally as of yet. I've been wonder just how well I could really do in my sharpening business if I focused on it full time.
My trip to the Wolff Show has been most helpful in convincing me that - yes, this is a viable business and there are many folks making a good living doing this work. I made a number of new friends that have offered to help me as I take the plunge into full time sharpening and this alone was worth the trip. Great people, great show. Thank you for all you do."
We are looking at putting together the next Wolff Show. Keep and eye on Jim Sharp. As soon as I have a date and place I'll let you know. If things pan out with a place we're looking at right now, I may have info within the next two weeks.
Remember, if you'd like to see a full show write up, visit www.otenewsletter.com or call me at 864-909-3381 to find out more about On The Edge.
Many sharpeners start their businesses part-time. Not an easy thing to do. Sometimes you're tired at the end of your regular work day, other things come up, and more often than not; it adds extra stress to your life. This last point is important to think about and prepare for. Stress affects health, we all know that; the trick is balancing work/ambition/stress when your starting something like a part-time sharpening business.
One of my friends on Twitter passed a link to a great blog post that talks about the importance of maintaining your health while working on a start up business like sharpening. It's filled with good advice and I think you should take a few minutes and give it a read.
To be successful at sharpening, you need to be healthy. This post will help you stay that way, even during the stressful time of starting things up. Here's the link:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Wolff Show in Greenville, South Carolina on July 17th and 18th is officially sold out. Wolff is starting a waiting list though, so if you'd still like to try to come be sure to call right away. The higher up you are on the waiting list the better chance you have of getting a seat.
I will be sitting down with David and Bill this next week to put together the show schedule. I will list it here when it's done. I look forward to see all of you that signed up. If you have any questions, just give me a call.
IT'S SHOW TIME!!! That's right folks! Time again for another Wolff Show!
Where? Good ol' Greenville, South Carolina. It's one town over from the Wolff Headquarters in Spartanburg and a great place to visit. To check out some of the things to see and do in one of my favorite places on earth, click here.
When? July 17th - 18th, 2010. I'll have a full schedule for you soon.
Which hotel is this? The Greenville/Spartanburg Airport Marriott. For more info on the hotel itself, click here.
How much? That's the great part! It's only costs $89.00 to attend all the seminars and gain access to the vendor room. To book your seat, call Wolff at 800-888-3832. Don't wait too long though! Seating is limited to only 46! So if you want to come, sign up right away! If you choose to stay at the hotel, they've given Wolff a special room rate of $89.00 per night on a limited number of rooms. To see what the rooms look like, click here. To book a room, call 864-297-0300 and ask for the Wolff Industries Rate while these rooms are still available.
What's gonna go on? Let me tell ya...
Sharpening on Wolff Equipment I'll be doing some indepth training on the Hira-To®, the Ookami Gold®, and the Twice as Sharp®. I'll also be showing how the Corru-Gator and Rotary Blade Sharpeners work as well. Throughout all of these seminars I'll be peppering in some shears that...well...let's just say they'll be "fun" to work on in front of a group *shuddering already*. So whether you're a newbie or a seasoned sharpener, you'll find my presentations interesting.
Clipper Blade Sharpening As of right now, Bob Schiessl plans to be at the show to go over clipper blade sharpening with you. Bob's been at this for over 20 years and I've seen him teach people more tricks in a hour than most sharpeners could teach a person in a week.
Nipper Sharpening Mike Borsch will show all of us how to put his nipper sharpener to work. More and more we're seeing Day Spas pop up that offer one stop shopping for beauty needs. That means more places will appreciate it if you can service nail techs as well as stylists. Come learn how.
Up Your Income with more Sales One of Wolff's top selling sharpeners will be at the show to share some of the methods he uses to sell shears every day; three to five shear or more per day as a matter of fact and how you can do this too. He set a business goal this past year in the six figures and beat it! Whether you're looking to sell shears, or just yourself, Bruce will teach you a number of tips and trick you can take to the bank, literally.
Separate Vendor Room For the first time since Wolff has started doing these smaller shows, we'll have all of our supporting vendors in a separate room from the seminars. So if you'd like to spend a little more time looking at some of the lines of shears we carry, or some of the other equipment Wolff sells besides our own, you can visit with the owners and representatives of those companies at your leisure. The vendors that plan to be at the show as of this writing are:
Wolff
Nebraska Blades
Clipper Shack
Kenchii Shears
Shark Fin Shears
Lucky Hare Shears
ProLine Shears
More are signing up as I can get in touch with them. I'll be sure to update you on this in the future. This room will also be open late on Saturday night so you can play with the machines, look at products, and socialize with us.
Wolff has set the standard in this industry when it comes to sharpening shows! Everyone that's attended in the past has had nothing but praise for the quality of the education, the time and attention Wolff and it's supporting vendors give each attendee during the show, and the fun and fellowship they get to have with their fellow sharpeners. One of my favorite parts about my job at Wolff is putting together these shows. Come join me and find out what sets the Wolff Shows apart. Call me 800-888-3832 or email me at Jim@wolffind.com if you have questions. I look forward to hearing from you!
Image of Greenville at top of post provided by linkerjpatrick via Flickr.com
I use Twitter as a spring board to share small business info with friends and followers that I find on the internet. To follow me on Twitter, click here.
Stylists will pay someone to sharpen their shears. Will that someone be you? I mean really, at some point every stylist you talk to (or groomer, or tailor, or upholsterer) will eventually need to have their shears sharpened. They all go dull, so you can count on this being true. The question is, will these customers think of you when the time comes?
Now, I know you can make money cold calling every day and finding the ones that need the work done right then. Sharpening is somewhat of a numbers game and to some degree your success is tied to the needs of the moment. But if you really want to grow. If you really want to make money. You have to make yourself valuable to your customers and make it easy for them to connect with you. So...what are you doing to make yourself valuable? Hopefully you're providing your customers with unforgettable, top notch service! But what are you doing to stay connected? Here are a few suggestions you may want to consider incorporating into your business if you aren't doing them already:
Have good sales/marketing materials Now I'm not just talking about just a full color brochure, I'm talking about having a full gambit of tools. These would include:
A well designed business card with up-to-date contact info including cell phone, website or blog or facebook fan page.
A website or blog or facebook fan page. Probably saw this second bullet point coming :)
A well designed sales/marketing packet. The brochure mentioned above would go in this, but so would price lists, catalogs of shears you carry, fliers with information about route schedules, and extra business cards for friends.
Have a way to collect contact information First and foremost, collect business cards! Almost all your customers will have one, and the majority of them will be happy to give you one if you ask.
Check and see if there's an email address on the card. If there is, ask if you can use the email address to contact them via email to share route schedules and/or any specials you may be running on products you sell. Make a note on the card if they give you the okay.
If there isn't an email on the card, ask if you may have one. With today's cellular technology, if they say yes, collecting contact information like this is easy. Just punch the info into your smart phone, then sync it with your computer when you get home. Don't have mobile cellular technology that allows you to do this? Why not? If you're a mobile sharpener any mobile tools that can help you be more efficient and stay in touch with your customers is a good investment. Consider upgrading.
Finally, ask your customer if they are on facebook. If they are, point out your facebook fan page on your card and ask them to become a fan. Tell them this is another way you keep customers informed of schedules and specials.
Stay in touch Once you have contact info, be sure to contact them. Put together a simple postcard you can send to customers that don't want to be contacted by email or facebook. If you get the customers email, enter it into your database and send a quick email thanking them for their info. Then send a short email once a week with updates. Make sure the email you send has a signature line with your cell number, email address, and any links to online sites you're using. Also, be sure to pay attention to your facebook fan page if you choose to start one. When someone becomes a fan, be sure to say thank you and update this site regularly. If you do a blog or website, do the same. People only come back to sites on line if there's something to come back to.
This seems like a lot of work It is a lot of work, but in the long run it will pay off big time. Maintaining a presence online or maintaining a database and staying on top of it to use them to effectively communicate with your customers takes a certain level of dedication, I admit that. But staying in front of your customers consistently is the only sure fire way that I know of to be the first Sharpener they think of when they need their shears sharpened, or a new set of shears to play with. Why not look into some of the tools to stay in touch with your customers in quick and easy ways like email and facebook.
If you have questions about these things, drop me an email at jim@wolffind.com or call me at 864-909-3381. I'll be glad to walk you through the steps to do these things or point you toward good books or websites if you'd like to study this further.
I mentioned back in August that I was working with my web designer on a new site for the Wolff Hira-To Scissors Sharpening System. We are just putting the finishing touches on it now and getting ready to load a really cool video that will play on the front page that advertises this awesome unit! I've already put the video on YouTube and wanted to embed it here as well. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.
As sharpeners we hear the word "no" all the time. Let's face it, the sharpening business is a business filled with hardcore sales/cold calling, especially when we first start out. Hearing "no" can be depressing and drain all the life out of your day, but it doesn't have to. Take a look at this video I shot a couple of months ago that talks about the book, Go for No; one of my favorite sales books. View the video now, then read on:
Go for No really is a great book. It will help you see the value of going after "no" and will show that if you willing to hear this word enough times, you'll be able to achieve every goal or quota you’ve ever dreamed of.
Here is a link to the Go for No website where you can find the book: http://www.goforno.com/
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at a Pecha Kucha in Greenville. This is a speaking format where each speaker gets a total of 20 slides for 20 seconds each and they have to time their presentation to fit. It was much hard to do than I though it would be. (There is a video of my presentation at the bottom of this post if you're interested. My topic was Business Networking.)
One of my friends, Olivier Blanchard, was speaking as well. While there, I gave him one of my Wolff KAI 5220's to take home to his wife as a gift. This is what he said about them on Twitter.com:
Okay...so he was one number off. Shortly after, he received this note from one of Fiskars friendly Fisk-a-teers:
He then wrote back and said:
To which she replied:
To which I responded:
and:
Well, I waited and waited. Two weeks to be exact, and guess what, no shears. So I made good on my promise and bought a Fiskars Razor Edged Shear, sent it to Olivier with some testing cloth, and then put this on Twitter:
So far no reply from either, but I've heard that a third party that helps Fiskars with some of their online marketing has taken it upon himself to see that some shears are sent.
So why am I writing this to you? To show how important it is to DO what you SAY you are going to do! Now don't get me wrong. I think Fiskars is an excellent company and they have a dynamite selection of craft shears. The Fiskars Razor Edged shears I sent Olivier are, in my opinion, a fine set of shears that cuts well with a good edge life. The problem here is that Fiskars didn't follow through and now they are in the reactive mode instead of the proactive sphere!
When you tell a potential customer (or promoter in Olivier's case) that you are going to do something, DO IT!!! Being proactive feels great! Being reactive feels awful! I'll let you know how things shake out after Olivier compares the two shears on his blog.
Fiskars is a Registered Trademark of Fiskars Brands, Inc. Wolff is a Registered Trademark of Wolff Industries, Inc. KAI is a Registered Trademark of KAI International
One of the things I try to pound into the heads of my students is service is everything, especially in this business. Getting our customers to trust us, see that we're reliable, and stand behind what we do is a must!
Here recently, I had the chance to benefit from this kind of service from Spartan Copy, the copy machine sales and service center I use. I had bought a new copier from them for the newsletter I do for professional sharpeners called On The Edge. When I went to hook this new unit up to my computer, I couldn't get the driver to load properly on my computer or ledger size paper to print. I called them after hours, left a message telling them my problem, and hoped they'd be available to help the next day.
I got a call at 7:50am while on my way to work. The tech told me he would meet me that afternoon and he fixed my problems. Great example of quick, thoughtful service!
Now I had no doubt that Spartan Copy would handle things this way, I've used them for years and the confidence I have in them is why I continue to buy from them when I need new equipment and pay for their service contract. Instilling THIS kind of confidence in your customers about you and your business should be a daily goal. Confidence is king in a service business!
Ron, today's interviewee, is without a doubt one of THE BEST Andis Master Clipper Repairmen in the country. He has been a friend for many years and excels in both scissors and clipper blade sharpening. Come join me as he gives us a tour of his mobile unit and shows us some of the sharpening equipment he uses.
Jack has been a great friend to me over the years and is an excellent sharpener. He's one of the few sharpeners that specializes in the Large Animal Segment of the business and has built a large following of horse and cattle customers in southern Texas. He is a wealth of information to me and others in the sharpening trade! Let's visit with him for a few minutes:
While at the Huff Show I had the chance to interview a few of the sharpeners. Here is the first of a number of these interviews I'll be sharing with you over the next few days.
If you have any questions concerning scissors sharpening, clipper blade sharpening, or clipper repair; feel free to call me. I hope you enjoy today's video.
Over the next few days I'll be getting ready for the Huff Show. I love this show! It's without a doubt one of my favorite shows of the year! Here are a few details:
The dates are June 12th and 13th in Edina, MO; a town just 10 miles west of the Huff's shop in Knox City. The focus of this show will be on clipper blade sharpening and clipper repair.
The price to attend is just $275.00 per person. This price includes 6 meals, and for those of us that have been to the Huff Show in the past, we know the food is half the fun. Also, Oster has agreed to give a shear from their Convex 2 line to each of the attendees as a gift and Andis has agreed to give a clipper to everyone that attends too. These two items, when sold, will allow you recoup much of the cost to attend.
The Huffman's will also be hosting their famous auction on Friday night! If you have something to sell or you're thinking of buying some more equipment, this is the place to be.
To sign up, please call 660-434-5535. I hope to see many of you there. Talk to you soon.
There are still seats available for the Wolff Show in Richmond, VA in a couple of weeks. So if you'd like to come, just give Wolff a call at 800-888-3832.
The host hotel is booked up already, but Bill has found a number of places you can stay at a reasonable price. Be sure to ask to talk to him if you decide to come. Here is a quick list of some of the things that will be covered at the show:
Hira-To Flat Hone Twice as Sharp Convexing on the Ookami Gold Proper Sharpening of Right & Left Hand Shears Thinning Shears Corrugating on the Corru-Gator Industrial Shears Sharpening Pinking Shears Forged vs Cast Handle Bending Setting Shears Hammering Set Building Sharpening Routes Marketing & Selling Shears & Sundries Coated & Painted Shears Recognize a Bad Hollow Grind on a Beauty Shear Repair Bad Inside Work Recognize Welded Handles Advantages of Different Handle Styles on Beauty Shears How to Size a Shear to Your Customers Hand and more...
"He's turned to the darkside. " Obi Wan said, speaking of his former student Anakin Skywalker. One of my favorite movie series is Star Wars, I just never thought I'd get to play the part of Obi Wan. Unfortunately, I am.
I started to write a whole post about what has happened with a former student of mine, but then thought the better of it. I don't want to give the shifty people of the world any ideas, and I have no idea who might be reading this. Instead, I'll be writing about it in On The Edge, the newsletter I write for the sharpening industry.
What I WOULD like to say here is integrity is everything in this business. The most important thing you can do as a sharpener is gain the trust of your customers. Once you have that trust, the second most important thing you need to do is keep it!
I've been sharpening for a long time. I love this business and those in it. It breaks my heart when I see a sharpener turn to the darkside. It hurts all of us when they do.
If you'd like to subscribe to On The Edge, give me a call at 864-909-3381. If I can't pick up when you call, just leave a message and I'll call you back. To find out more about On The Edge, click here.
One of my favorite things to do is spend time with like-minded people. People that love sharpening, people that love business, people that love marketing and sales. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having lunch with one such individual, Olivier Blanchard.
Olivier writes The Brandbuilder Blog. It's one of my favorites, one of the few I visit every day, and I encourage you to visit Olivier's blog too. For someone like me that does much of the marketing at Wolff, The Brandbuilder Blog is a Godsend. I'm also fortunate that Olivier lives in my area, so I get the added benefit of a personal relationship as well. There's nothing like setting aside a couple of hours from time-to-time to trade ideas with people you respect and that aren't afraid to challenge you to improve your business and yourself.
But why am I telling you this? The reason is, I was reminded yesterday just how important networking is, and how encouraging it can be to sit down with someone that's on the same page as you. This is why sharpeners need to spend time together. We need each other! One of my favorite things I hear from sharpeners that attend shows like the Wolff/ Huff Show coming up this weekend, is not how great the classes where, but the stories of relationships sharpeners develop with each other. Many have made friends that last far beyond the show, and these friends often become cheerleaders for each other as they each grow their businesses.
So I encourage you to do two things. First, if you've never attended a show where sharpeners meet together, consider setting aside some time in 2009 to do so. Second, look for like-minded people in your area that love business and have an entrepreneurial spirit like you do. Look for others that will help you stretch and grow.
I was reading Seth Godin's Blog today. He was writing about luck versus effort. It's a great post and I wanted to share a few points from it with you.
Seth said...
People really want to believe effort is a myth, at least if we consider what we consume in the media:
politicians and beauty queens who get by on a smile and a wink
lottery winners who turn a lifetime of lousy jobs into one big payday
sports stars who are born with skills we could never hope to acquire
hollywood celebrities with the talent of being in the right place at the right time
failed CEOs with $40 million buyouts
It really seems (at least if you read popular media) that who you know and whether you get 'picked' are the two keys to success. Luck.
I've known a number of "lucky" sharpeners in my time, but the reality is, most of the sharpeners I know that have created successful businesses have done so through hard work and diligent effort.
Seth also wrote...
Effort takes many forms. Showing up, certainly. Knowing stuff (being smart might be luck of the draw, but knowing stuff is the result of effort). Being kind when it's more fun not to. Paying forward when there's no hope of tangible reward. Doing the right thing. You've heard these things a hundred times before, of course, but I guess it's easier to bet on luck.
A great list! And one many of us can relate to, especially the "showing up" part. How many times have we heard from our customers that their regular sharpener only shows up when it's convenient to them.
But Seth goes even further...
...here's a bootstrapper's/marketer's/entrepreneur's/fast-rising executive's effort diet. Go through the list and decide whether or not it's worth it. Or make up your own diet. Effort is a choice, at least make it on purpose:
1. Delete 120 minutes a day of 'spare time' from your life. This can include TV, reading the newspaper, commuting, wasting time in social networks and meetings. Up to you.
2. Spend the 120 minutes doing this instead:
Exercise for thirty minutes.
Read relevant non-fiction (trade magazines, journals, business books, blogs, etc.)
Send three thank you notes.
Learn new digital techniques (spreadsheet macros, Firefox shortcuts, productivity tools, graphic design, html coding)
Volunteer.
Blog for five minutes about something you learned.
Give a speech once a month about something you don't currently know a lot about.
3. Spend at least one weekend day doing absolutely nothing but being with people you love.
4. Only spend money, for one year, on things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest, relentlessly.
If you somehow pulled this off, then six months from now, you would be the fittest, best rested, most intelligent, best funded and motivated person in your office or your field. You would know how to do things other people don't, you'd have a wider network and you'd be more focused.
It's entirely possible that this won't be sufficient, and you will continue to need better luck. But it's a lot more likely you'll get lucky, I bet.
Growth and success takes dedication and a willingness to do what others won't. Most people are not born sharpeners, they develop into them over time with training and with practice. Take Seth's challenge to heart and start working on ways to help you become the sharpener you want to be. Whenever I forget that "luck" takes hard work, I watch this video below and wonder how many year of effort and practice it took this musician to get this good.
