Working "with" the enemy...
Here is the link to the interview (please read article first)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpwYZNycZdo
Like it or not, our industry is dominated by national assembly companies (NAC’s). Do you consider the NAC’s your enemy? If so, is it ever ok to work for them?
If you are an NAC, do you consider the tech that runs his or her own assembly business “your” enemy? If so, do you have any techs with their own assembly business working for you?
If your mentality is considering a resource or competition as your enemy, you will never get anywhere in today’s world and that goes for both parties! People becoming more Internet savvy everyday and you better keep up.
Our industry (in its present state) has been around for a very long time, and I am not sure it is going to change anytime soon. The techs have issues with the NAC’s and the NAC’s have issues with and problems keeping good techs.
Some NAC’s claim that the tech needs to take the bad with the good; you may be wondering what does that mean. The good is a job that you can drive to within twenty minutes or so. The bad means if you are dispatched a job out of your area you need to take it or risk the NAC developing an attitude with you. However, when you factor in extended travel and one low paying job… the bad is just not worth it.
The NAC’s are the ones that need to take the bad with the good. What that means is, if there is a job out of a techs area, the NAC may need to payout twice or possibly more of what the job pays to ultimately keep the client happy. How many of you have refused to do a job because it was just too far away? How many NAC’s (do you know) lost accounts and went out of business because of this scenario?
If there are three or four of similar low paying jobs that are a long distance and in the same area from where the tech starts, it’s more likely the tech will make the trip, but that rarely happens and when it does, the NAC needs to “attempt” hire someone in that area.
Another issue for the NAC’s is they think the tech should only get a certain percentage of the job. Granted, the NAC’s have over head, but I think they forget (or don’t care) about the techs overhead. For that matter I don’t think some techs consider overhead at all, not even their own.
I can’t determine what any tech is worth, that is up to the individual, but a tech working for any NAC should be making at least $25 per hour for their work (including the drive time).
All independent business owners should be somewhere in the range of forty to sixty dollars an hour or more depending on there company size. WHY??? “I believe” the tech has more overhead and the percentage ratio of profit is much lower for the tech than any NAC.
A tech (as a contractor) pays for his or her own gas, vehicle maintenance, insurance (business and vehicle), licenses, yes tech, read your contract…you are responsible for any local license requirements but I do believe that could be challenged and the NAC’s could find themselves in deep trouble with local municipalities; the tech also pays for their own tools, work clothes, cell phone, Internet connection, office supplies and that list goes on.
If you contract with one of the NAC’s, you “are” in business for yourself; and if you understand that and are not pursuing work outside the NAC you are cheating yourself.
If you are a contractor, and go after more jobs than the NAC you contract with dispatches to you, there may be a few other things you need to take into consideration that the NAC’s do not. Already mentioned… licenses, some municipalities require a contractor’s license to install products such as basketball goals. Then there are the dreaded taxes, when the store they contract with collects for services they should be collecting sales tax. That’s right; some states require businesses to collect sales taxes for consumer services, even assembling products.
What it all comes down to is the independent and NAC’s need to learn to work with one and other until the industry is able to figure out a way for us all to make money and get along…
Right! Like that’s going to happen 
The battles rage on…
Mike Mehrle
http://TheSavvyTech.com
614-218-1861
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What are you doing to grow your business?
This is a very basic question. Let everyone know what you are doing to promote your business or how you plan to do it.
Paul Bryant of PDQ Assembly Services knows where ROI come in at it's highest... SIGNS! You buy a sign one time and it advertises as long as you have it, in this case, on his truck. So again... what are you doing?
Here is a short video of PDQ's Truck:
By the way... Thanks for sharing Paul!!!
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What can the Internet really do?
The Internet has been around for a long time. I’ve been playing around on it since the mid 70’s and can remember 8-bit processors and dial-up speeds that only displayed text. I think it was about 1983 when we started seeing the 286 processor. Broadband Internet didn’t become widely available until late 2001. At that time I thought, WOW “can it get better than this”… well it did.
Today we have computers and Internet connection speeds that can stream live video from almost anyone’s desktop and in some cases a data phone… again, WOW!!!
As it goes with that kind of power, the only sources that had it was the network media broadcasting over air. Within the last few years or so the Internet has taken over as the choice for consumers to find products or services.
Not long ago, newspapers were a great choice to advertise any business. But as it goes today, how many of you actually take time to read the newspaper and much less subscribe to one?
As for the phone books that show up on your doorstep… how long does it take for them to end up in the trash?
Let’s get to the point of where I am going with all this…
Small businesses built this country, but corporations started using network media to advertise their businesses, building empires that no small business could compete with because of the cost involved.
I remember many local grocery stores as a kid that was family owned by people who lived right down the street from me. And it wasn’t just grocery stores… barber shops, drug stores, clothing stores, etc… were all owned by someone who lived near by.
The assembly industry is no different; some of you reading this had accounts or stores that handed out your card to customers who needed your services. Then the deep pocket corporations came in and made promises to the “corporate” stores that they could do a better job and in turn make the store money.
Although part of this could be true… the problem with our industry is the technicians are the backbone and few people, for whatever reason, never see it that way, even some of the technicians themselves. We are not losing due to corporate promises; we are losing because the really good techs are giving up.
With that said, the assembly industry for most independents was not lost to corporations through advertising. It was lost through shallow promises that have “NEVER” been delivered on… consistently. In addition, some of the really good technicians (again) just gave up; because by the time they get their cut, there wasn’t enough left to make it worthwhile.
So how do we deal with that?
Today, the independent tech has the power to get the consumer and ultimately the industry back. It doesn’t take that much money; maybe a lot of work, but the work is not labor as much as it is gaining knowledge through education and experience.
The knowledgeable independent technician must be an insightful marketer and learn how to effectively promote their business, but that takes time. That is where this network comes in.
The United Assemblers network “works” the Internet daily and that in turn optimizes every one of its subscribers that have a Website get noticed through daily updates, prospecting for on-line dealers to exchange links with us, teaching techs about sponsored ads, teaching how to use social media and ultimately passing all that on to it’s subscribers.
It “is” time to reinvent the proverbial wheel!
Advertising will never be the same, so if you want on this band wagon, you must start with a Website. You cannot run sponsored ads without a website, and today… customers expect you to have one.
Once you get a sponsored ad campaign going like Google AdWords, you should start seeing results with customers calling you directly, and guess what… you make 100% of what you do.
Depending on what you want to do, you can run more than one campaign. But be very careful on your key word or key word phrase selections. Your campaign funds could be depleted quickly.
For example, if you do furniture assembly, and you use Sauder or Ikea as one of your key words or key word phrases, someone looking for Sauder or Ikea furniture may click on your ad, but when they see your Website doesn’t offer furniture products, they will hit the back button. You just lost money.
All of our goals (if you actually have any) ultimately, are pretty much the same. We want to be successful. If you learn how to work the Internet and how to network locally, I can guarantee you will become successful. It will also greatly help if you become a member of this network.
This network can help with your personal quest, making you and the rest of us become powerful as collaborating businesses in the same industry. All you need to do is get involved. We may already have some of that power, but until more of us get the vision of what it will bring through unity, count on continuing working for a much smaller cut… Did you know some national assembly companies will pay you more “IF” you have the credentials to prove you are actually a professional assembly/repair business?
One very sad fact… some of you will just sit at home complaining about the way it should be instead of doing something about it. You can do something about it by getting involved with this network.
Time, Time and more Time
Time management is the KEY to a successful business.
We are in the New Year... So Happy New Year!
Times are probably slow for you right now; but, that allows you to get your business in order to make the coming year easier for all the new business you should be getting, if... you follow the lead of the veteran techs on our network, learn from the articles in our news letters and participate in our blog.
Just like last months article "Work it Baby", if you actually take the "time" to work it, business will start to come in more naturally. Time management has got to be worked if you want to "get the work" and probably more important, so you can get the work done.
When things are in order, conducting business is easier giving you more time to generate new business or to spend more time with your family and your own recreational activities. I think you should seriously consider family first but it takes good business practices through time management to enjoy that very important part of your life.
So what do we do to get things done in a timely manner? I mean there "is" only 24 hours in a day. If that is your question and thought, you need to consider time management. If you don't schedule your daily tasks in some sort of logical order, there could be 48 hours in a day and you still wouldn't get done what you feel needs to be.
If you are not getting what needs to be done with work in a timely manner, everything else suffers... family, friends and your own recreational time off from everything.
Here's where you can start... write down everything you do or need to do in a day on a piece of paper; don't concern yourself about the order right now just write, and don't spend more than 20 minutes on it.
After you have written down everything "you think" you need to do in a day's time, put that paper aside for a few hours or better yet come back to it the next day. When you came back to it, your thoughts will be fresh and you will be able to look at your own writing with a different perspective.
Have you ever watched a game of chess or checkers, and as a spectator, you see moves the players didn't? It is the same thing when you put aside your own work and come back to it later; you have a different perspective and you will probably find your own mistakes or omissions.
This same practice should be used when you are posting or replying to a Blog; but more on that in another article.
Edit your paper and set it aside again. What is the point in that? Believe it or not, this is a habit building process to get a routine developed that will make your life much easier.
When you return to your paper for the third time you should start arranging the order of the topics by prioritizing them in some sort of order.
Now you need to figure out what needs to be done first, how much time needs to be spent on that activity and so on for each item on your list.
Making your list and checking it twice. When you think you have it done... Yep!!! You guessed it; set it aside and go over it one more time by the next day. Don't ever put your list aside for more than a day because you will loose the routine it will become unimportant and the lesser things start taking priority.
As time goes on, priorities change and most times for a good reason... things are under control and you are finding more time than you ever thought you had.
Do you time manage? Are things under control for you? Do you get to spend quality time with your family, call on a friend, go golfing or fishing and not have to think about what you should really be doing?
If you take the very simple lesson from this article and apply it, you will get your business in order; and you will find more time to do the things that will keep your stress levels down.
Relaxation is a staple part of being successful and time management will help you do "all" that and more.
MikeM
http://UnitedAssemblers.com
http://The-Savvy-Tech.com
The Repair Technicians Tool Bag
Get the job done right the first time...
Having the right tools will make your job much easier and help you make more money.
For the PDF tool list click here to comment on this video Click Here
If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to introduce yourself and be sure to add the link to your website where provided on the form.
MikeM
http://unitedassemblers.com/
http://the-savvy-tech.com/
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What are you really worth?
OK...
Voice your opinion about pay here. What should the company you are contracting with or working for pay you?
Wanting to go out on your own and don't know what to charge... ask here!
Do you think you are getting short changed?
Has one of the companies not paid you for a job?
Before you rant on this issue make sure you have fulfilled your contracted obligations with them.
Underpaying an employee or contractor is not the fault of any company since the employee or contractor agreed to work for said money; however, cutting pay or not paying at all is not acceptable!
It may be possible both parties will not like what I say next... These no pay situations "sometimes" are because a national company hires "bodies" and not technicians. This industry is losing more and more great technicians everyday because of pay problems and pay is a BIG problem.
This network is "ALL" about quality; so, for the national company... don't hire bodies and expect technicians and for the technician... don't take on jobs unless you know how to do it. If you don't know how, put your pride aside and ask another technician on this Blog, most are here to help you.
This Blog is moderated, so don't just blatantly trash a company because you are mad at them.
Before posting here and if you are having a pay issue with a company, e-mail the company in question about your issue and copy (cc) or blind copy (bcc) us at info@UnitedAssemblers.com. You may also let us know separately by e-mail with your contact information, you "will" get a call to get the information needed. If warranted... and if you are a subscriber to this network I will call the company you are working for and attempt to remedy the problem "with you"... I promise to help but there are no guarantees!!!
If you post an issue before contacting this Blog privately, it will get posted... if it sounds valid. But, any national company or independent technician being called out here has the right for rebuttal. If you feel a post about you is in error, please contact this blog asap at info@UnitedAssemblers.com or 614-364-4232 so the issue can be addressed and fixed.
MikeM
http://unitedassemblers.com/
http://the-savvy-tech.com/
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Work it baby!
I know that in these trying times we are all looking for more exposure, whether you are the retailer, manufacturer or service provider. But where do we get this great exposure and how?
The United Assemblers network is here to help!
Having a website is a start but not enough. Today social media is where it’s at and is very important for you to learn how to use and exploit; the United Assemblers network is doing just that, so you too will benefit from our efforts and learn how to work it yourself if you have the time and want to. But we will talk social media from another article at a later date.
There is a constant demand in keeping your website updated with relevant and rich content. The search engines are constantly analyzing to see if content changes on all websites; if your website content does not change, page rank can suffer for your website and so will the position.
If you currently have first page results and want to keep that position, you need to look at keeping your page rank high (at least a 3 or 4 out of 10). There will be an instructional video soon on our blog about how to monitor your page rank or anyone else’s.
Page rank is the importance of your website as the search engines see it. As search engines analyze your website content and check where it is linked to and hopefully from; you want the search engine to see you are cross linked from as many websites with similar content as possible, that will help you’re your website make it to organic first page results, especially when any website linking to yours has a higher page rank than you… even if “they” are not on the first page for your key search term.
Be aware that linking to any website that links back to you and the other website has little to no relevant content as yours will not help you with positioning and could adversely affect your page rank and ultimately your position. So be careful with who you link to.
There are terms and conditions to cross linking if you have a link from this network. The reason for the rules is to protect the integrity of your website and this network. There have been (only a couple) people who got very angry with me because of this; but this network is not here for a popularity contest with it’s subscribers but is with the search engines.
Sure, some of you have a better search engine listing position (for now) than our network, but not very many of you… and not for long as we are now on Google’s first page for the organic search term “furniture assembly”. Most of you know the magic I have worked over the years for website positioning. That magic is why many of you that “have websites” became a part of the network when it was called Assemble4You.
Today we are under a more appropriate name that has made our network stronger than ever before and I am working it even harder to make sure every single one of you benefit from it.
Everyone involved with our network including retailers and manufacturers will benefit their own websites as our network effectively works the social media scene and by all of us working together.
Everyone also has the opportunity to interact with these articles by visiting the United Assemblers Blog and placing their comments. That is another place to ad back links to your website. But the only websites that get that opportunity are the paying subscribers.
You can sign-up with UnitedAssemblers.com to be listed on the free off-line directory (not a listing) for work as it becomes available in your area for the assembly or repair services you provide. This is great if you have no intentions on having a business and just want someone passing work to you.
You can get more than just information and the occasional job passed to you by signing up for a basic or premium listing on our website. A listing is where you have the exposure to have a consumer call you directly. Although it is not guaranteed to actually get jobs, it is your best source for back link popularity. And, even more appealing… you keep 100% of what “you” charge. Learn more on how to do that from upcoming articles.
Retailers and manufacturers can also get more by subscribing to banner ads on our website. We would love for them to get more out of our efforts too. We get hundreds to thousands of visits to our website every week and that number keeps growing as we optimize our network and website.
You can confirm our stats from a link on our website.
There is already an impressive line-up of professionals all over the country that service retailers, manufacturers and the consumer; and we would love to see all of you as part of our successful network.
Remember… There should “NEVER” be an exit sign for your destination from the highway in which you are traveling on for success…
MikeM
http://unitedassemblers.com/
http://the-savvy-tech.com/
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Most people just can't do it... Professionally!
You know the product... ready-to-assemble (RTA); comes in a box and most people don't even want to put it together. Those who do, are usually doing it wrong, then blame the stores for selling a bad product, considers the product junk or both; either way it’s a bad image for the store and maker of the product. Manufacturers, retailers and on-line dealers will sell more product if they had a source (that they can depend on) who assembles and services these products. There have been many independent professional technicians and national assembly companies who compete for the end customers business. With the independent technician being the real professional and the national assembly company being the entity promising better service because of a corporate structure and tracking programs. Independent professional technicians and national assembly companies have their positives and negatives; but when these two sources come together with an understanding and true collaboration… The manufacturer, retailer, on-line dealer and (most important) the consumer; they all win when RTA products are assembled correctly the first time. There are too many manufacturers, retailers and on-line dealers that are gun-shy with the service providers of the RTA industry. The major reason is greed and little consideration for the technician who is the backbone of the industry. The retail stores rightfully collect a fee for processing a purchased assembly at the time of checkout. I personally think it should be a flat fee but the reason for that later. There is a very valid reason for collecting the fee at checkout… to get the consumer to buy it; it’s that simple! And as stated earlier, most consumers don’t know what they are doing when it comes time for the do-it-yourself scene; so if the store wants to be known as selling good product, it behooves them to sell someone who knows what they are doing when it comes time to put-it-together. Then we have the national assembly companies; who are no more than order takers (I don’t care how much they spent on a tracking software package). Most national assembly companies take as much as sixty percent of what the retailer pays them, leaving the tech forty percent. OK… the national assembly company has over-head like a commercial building, employees, insurance, sales-people, utilities and yes tracking software; so they too need to collect a fair fee to keep their operation profitable. But if they truly want to service the retailer like promised, they need to make sure the technician is paid well for what “they” do. The technician is (most times) not an employee who shows up to a job puts in eight hours of work and goes home. The technicians are usually contractors and they too need to be compensated accordingly.
The whole point here is the bottom line, when that original $96 was collected it seemed like a lot of money until it is broken down in fact that the technician is not always making good money. Many of the techs don't even break it down like a business even though they are one. |
This article was written by Mike Mehrle and is the property of UnitedAssemblers.com any reposting in part or whole without written permission is prohibited by law.
Why Join Our Network? Jobs, Jobs, More Jobs and Unity
I use to work for Diamond Retail Services and as you may know they are no longer in business. If you have been in the assembly business for any length of time; you will know that at least a dozen national assembly companies have gone out of business or have been absorbed by another assembly company because of losing one or multiple accounts.
Diamond is one of those companies and many of you may think they deserved to lose their business. There are a “small” number of companies like Diamond still in business but they may not be around much longer if an emerging company has their way.
That emerging company is Go Configure. They are cutting what you make even more than companies like Diamond paid or for the ones left, what they are paying now… and most all of us have had enough with all of it!!! Go Configure has this software program and they are using it to sell themselves as the messiah for our industry; but what the software really does is track every single one of your actions that take up even more of your time,, which in turn, you are paying for the software through lost income.
Go Configure is no different than Impact. Today Impact is known as National Product Services (NPS). Impact pretty much dominates the furniture assembly industry and Go Configure will (if we let them) dominate the recreation and sports equipment industry.
I have always had my own business here in central Ohio where (as of today) I mostly repair treadmills; lots of opportunity… lots! If you are interested in treadmill repair, ask me about how I make as much as $225 a day, and sometimes even more that is 100% mine to keep. The great part is I usually only work a morning or afternoon three or four hours a day. I also rarely work evenings or weekends, I spend that time recruiting.
If you want to see how I am doing this, check out The-Savvy-Tech.com. I would like you to see my Web site so you can see how “you” can do it too. I have a video commercial on the front page and many customers comment on it without me asking. They say the video helped them make their decision to hire my services.
I am also the founder and “member” of the UnitedAssemblers.com network (UAN). The network helps guide technicians how to properly build or even start an assembly/repair business of their own. The network also connects you with other technicians across the country which gives us all “strength in numbers”… to make a difference!
You need to know there are options and it is not always necessary to depend on a national company. However, most of us still work for one or two of those national companies because it fills in the gaps. There are companies like JEZ, General Assembly and Urban who try to do right by their technicians and they may still be hiring and are good companies to contract with.
It would be great if we could have another technician (you) join us to support our cause and help build the largest “network” of professional assemblers where we are banding together for a common cause of quality service, fair business practices and reasonable wages so we are not taken advantage of.
You can be a part of the network with or without a listing by just signing-up and informing us of what part you would like to be involved with. Whichever direction you go, you will be in-the-know with an occasional e-mail.
You can also sign-up for this Blog!
Best of luck to you,
MikeM
http://unitedassemblers.com/
http://the-savvy-tech.com/
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Getting the job done... One referral at a time
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I often asked myself what it would take to get a customer like & trust me. If you've never thought about it before, you should start thinking about it now. Getting to know your customers and understanding their personalities is one of the key ingredients in getting them to like and trust you. From one of my mentors over the years, I've learned and believe there are four major personality traits. I also associate four different colors that I feel match these "typical" moods in each of these personalities.
Here's a brief rundown of each:
YELLOW
This is what I like to call the organic personality. This personality just wants everyone and everything to be okay. All natural, peace, love, joy, recycle and everything that goes with it. You'll also find this type of personality likes to offer you something to eat, drink and makes sure everything is OK every 15minutes. Be courteous, kind and sympathetic to these personality types and you will surely win them over... at least for some of water and a smile.
GREEN
Okay, everyone get out your calculators! This type of personality looks at every nickel and dime! They will go through your list of items, compare your prices to what they wrote down when they spoke to you on the phone and may even want to squeeze in a couple other items that they try to "oh, and I forgot these items…" schmooze you into including. Though you should be this way with everyone you deal with, be especially up front with all your project terms and conditions you provide to this personality type BEFORE you get there to do the job whenever possible . Account for everything, keep a tidy work area and have a nice clean work order copy for the customer to keep when your done and this customer will surely be a plus... but they probably won't tip. :(
BLUE
Girls just want to have fu-hun! This personality needs you to put their stuff together because the night before they were having way too much fun, way too long into the night and they're still happy to see you in the Morning! Or they got somewhere to go ASAP! Be confident, smile and act proud to be there. This personality type, as long as it's fun, will always be an enjoyable customer. If you have a good time with this customer while working hard on the project, they will be so glad you're doing it instead of them. They will surely tell all there friends about you... and you may just get a good tip with that ice water! :)
RED
AGGRESSIVE! "I am in charge and I'm always right! At least I think so". It's going to cost me how much?” “I could build them myself, but I just don't have the time...I... uh... have more important things to do... over here... while I sit and watch you build everything." Yeah yeah... we've all heard this story before. This personality type loves to be in charge, always wants to know what you're talking about and never wants to appear stupid (not that anybody does). Win this personality over by sticking to the business at hand, complementing them and their dwelling, office, car, electronics... you name it! If they feel like you feel they are important...then this could be a big referral opportunity! Of course, be fun at the same time as this personality type is attracted to BLUE personality types.
As you learn these four different personality types, the next step to master is how to mirror them or to reflect their attracted personality type that they prefer to have around them (Like RED to BLUE). Believe me, we are not born with these skills. However, just like any other important tool you learn to use in your daily life, learning how to identify personality types will earn you endless referrals... and hopefully a few good tips along the way... "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Good Success!