For most PROs, it’s time to put on an extra layer of clothing as you watch the thermometer dip into frosty territory. In many respects, November is about slowing down. As the leaves fall from the trees, your business will probably drop off too. You’re in the midst of that seasonal lull after frantic special events and construction work fades away.
The distractions of the holidays and the new year will soon come, but you have a few weeks to catch your breath and ponder the future of your company. It’s a perfect time to get a start on the activities that will fill your winter and help you get ready for 2012. Here’s my small business fall checklist to get you going:
Maintain trucks
Your vehicles have been run hard and put up wet every day for the last six months. Hopefully you’ve been taking notes on what needs attention to keep your vacuum trucks, pickups and other rigs in good working order. If it’s close to maintenance intervals, be on the safe side and replace belts, tires and other wear parts, and change the engine oil, transmission fluid and antifreeze sooner rather than later.
Organize your vehicle records so you have a better handle on needed maintenance, and think about a replacement schedule for active-duty equipment. Educated decisions on the optimum time to replace service trucks can make a big difference to your business bottom line.
Line up repair work
Idle hands can become a profit-robber this time of year. The crews went gangbusters on summer routes, but as the weather turned cold, the workload eased and your crew is looking for something to do. At the same time you probably took a duct tape and baling wire approach to equipment repairs to get through the busy season.
Make sure every restroom is inspected and refurbished so they’ll be ready for service. Tighten bolts, replace worn springs and tires and paint road-weary trailers. Spend downtime fixing broken equipment now and it won’t fail you when you need it.
Bolster inventory
Remember how you ran out of a consumable product during the heat of last summer, and you wasted valuable time reordering or hunting down an everyday item at a time when the big box retailers were sold out? Perhaps you had to buy a paper product in small quantities and paid more than usual, eroding your profit margin on a big job. It’s almost always better to buy bulk.
Now’s the time to take an inventory of consumables and make a better projection of usage for 2012. Do you have a lot of one product left over in the warehouse, while the shelves are bare and you’ve dealt with a constant demand situation with another? Resolve to improve your inventory situation.
Something new in 2012
There’s so much talk these days about becoming more of a “one-stop shop’’ for customers. Is there a product or service you can begin offering next year that will add convenience for your customers and build revenue for your company?
Diversification may require several changes in your business plan, and you’ll want to start soon to be ready to market a new offering next spring. If you decide to add fencing for construction or special event use, trash containers or a VIP restroom trailer, you’ll need to spend time researching the best products and developing a marketing plan.
Meet with your crew
You and your business family have been fighting side-by-side in the trenches the past months. You’ve endured hot weather, big crowds, dusty and dirty outdoor venues and met every challenge to the best of your abilities. But you’ve been too busy to review how things went and look toward the future.
Make time to sit down with each employee to review job performance. Pat them on the back for months of hard work. Talk about the challenges they can work to overcome in the future. If you have a formal review process, now is a good time to start it and, if the ledger sheet calls for it, work toward handing out raises at the first of the year.
And remember that meetings with employees are most valuable if the discussion goes both ways. Ask workers to assess how you and managers have done over the past year. Encourage them to tell you what changes should be considered to help them become more productive. Maybe their suggestion for a new piece of equipment or a streamlined procedure will save money for the company. They have a lot to offer; explore their ideas.
Assess space needs
Do workers run into each other or knock over piles of paperwork when they navigate the office? Are you frequently running out of consumables because you just don’t have a place to store adequate toilet paper and deodorant products? Every time it snows or rains (depending on your climate), do you wish you had more indoor storage space for equipment and vehicles?
If you answered “yes’’ to these questions, it might be time to think about taking out a wall and expanding your complex or moving to a new address.
Plan a getaway
I know how hard you work all year, but especially from May to October. The suggestion to take a few days off during these peak service periods will often meet with a chuckle from a hardworking PRO. But this time of year, most of you don’t have an excuse not to slow down and relax.
Take a plane, train or automobile away from your business for a few days to recharge the batteries. And while you’re away from the phone and other distractions, your overworked brain might even come up with a few good business ideas you can implement later.
Make Expo Plans
I can’t help myself from putting in a plug for the 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo Feb. 27-March 1 in Indianapolis. A visit to the Expo will help you put check marks alongside many of the items on this list.
Education Day, Monday, Feb. 27, offers dozens of seminars to help you run more efficiently and learn ways to diversify your business. The exhibit hall, open Feb. 28-March 1, features the world’s greatest collection of products and services related to your industry. You’re sure to find a product to complement your menu of services and help grow your business in 2012.
The Expo is certainly a great way to bolster your inventory, whether you simply make connections with vendors to plan for the 2012 busy season or if you buy a truck, trailer or portable restrooms off the show floor and take them home.
And last, but not least, the Expo provides the means to get away from your daily grind … though it’s not a time to escape thinking about your business! Quite the opposite. While you’re relaxing far away from home, the Expo will energize you to return to the office with newfound enthusiasm for our industry. Come and learn, shop and enjoy the camaraderie of other portable sanitation contractors from across the country.
