Ron Sturgeon 
You simply must spend more time understanding inventory turns and cost of goods. (I don’t mean cost of cars.) One of my good friends, Gary McKinney, a new car dealer, taught me to focus on turns first, margins last. If you are analyzing a return on something over a yearly basis and you put money … Read more Inventory Turns: You’ve Got Time to Understand Them
I know, I know, you don’t have much money for advertising. But… surely you are interested in it if it’s free? Don’t underestimate the value of press releases for your business. In fact, you should set a goal of issuing one every other month, no less than 6 times a year. It’s easy and costs … Read more Do You Need Free Advertising?
You have sat in class after class, talked to other yard owners about switching over to paying employees for performance, and you are still paying them hourly, thinking all your employees will walk out or that making this change might cause chaos in the business. Yes, just like you, I was slow to change to … Read more Pay for Performance for Your Team
I know, I know, you don’t have much money for advertising. But… surely you are interested in it if it’s free? Don’t underestimate the value of press releases for your business. In fact, you should set a goal of issuing one every other month, no less than 6 times a year. It’s easy and costs … Read more Do You Need Free Advertising?
Not everyone is the same in your world. If, as a boss, you can’t talk to employees with a proper tone, they won’t like you and won’t produce as well. As entrepreneurs and managers, we need to get along well with many kinds of people to achieve our goals: vendors, service providers, professionals, employees and … Read more Tools for Success: Learn to Talk Up as Well as Talk Down
Those of you who know me well can recall when I lived in a mobile home. I wasn’t broke, but I wasn’t rich. But, even back then, I like to think I was never too cheap. Yes, I can remember having a pole truck to pull engines and move cars around, and I can recollect … Read more Being Cheap is Unlikely to Make You Really Rich (And it’s a Crummy way to Live)
Chapter two of my book How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business discusses this month’s topic. Bigger can be better, but many times it simply isn’t. First, you have to make several decisions: Do you really want to be bigger, with the commensurate problems? Are you willing to tolerate more mediocrity that will inevitably … Read more Is Bigger Really Better?
I continue to hear from folks who say their business is tougher than it has ever been. I always chuckle when I hear from a recycler that business in his area is off, after I’ve just spoken with another recycler in the same area who is having record sales and/or profits. How can this be? … Read more My Business is Down, What do I do?
I know many of you are reeling from the current crisis caused by Coronavirus. I hope that you have taken these two steps: Apply for your PPP Loan through your bank This is quite easy and I have spoken to many operators who have already gotten checks. Apply for your SBA Disaster Assistance loan … Read more Coronavirus — Is it Going to Put You Out of Business?
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Ask for the Sale
Conventional or traditional advertising for most recyclers, including print and direct mail, has declined in value and ceded ground to the web for most recyclers. The other advertising mistake I see businesses, including recyclers, making is trying to build a brand or just making sure that prospects are seeing their name out in the marketplace. … Read more The Ability to Build a Brand is Dead. START SELLING!
What is a successful leader? My definition, which is likely different from those of many others, is one that is well liked by all his stakeholders in his business world and loved by those in his personal world. He or she has proven the ability, maybe even multiple times, to “bring home the bacon”, build … Read more 13 Traits of the Best Successful Leaders
It’s easy to say, but harder to execute. Twenty years have passed since I wrote my first consulting article, but I see it over and over: folks who are trying to get rich fast. If you are young and are reading this article, you really do have a lot of time, but you need to … Read more Get Rich Slowly: It Doesn’t Happen by Accident
In last month’s issue, we discussed how creating content can increase traffic, the psychology of how users interact with your website, and how to grab their attention, leading them to take a specific action. In this issue, we’re going to discuss how you convert this newly acquired traffic into leads and ultimately new revenue for … Read more Converting Your New Website Traffic Into Cash
Of course, we only have a limited amount of time; it’s not something we can get more of, so we better learn to do more with the time we have. In the business world, there are two main reasons to hone the skill of valuing and managing your time: Lower Stress and Better Quality of … Read more The Advantages of Doing More in Less Time
Are You A Survivor? Or Are You Going Out Of Business? Not all businesses whose sales are going down go out of business. But all businesses that go out of business had sales going down. Think about it. Who is most at risk of closing? Yards with annual sales of less than $500,000 are almost … Read more If Your Sales Aren’t Going Up Then They Are Going Down
Focusing on the customer is almost always the right place to start. Whenever you are thinking about changes in strategy, marketing, or other policies that could affect the customer, try to error on the side of doing what benefits your customers. When the customer wins, you will likely win. In 1978, when I opened, we … Read more Focus on the Customer
After blocking and tackling (another in this series), you have to think out of the box to stay ahead of the competition and the industry in general. Here are a few ways to stimulate your out-of-the-box thinking: Read, read, and then read more. Your competitors aren’t doing it, so they don’t know what they don’t … Read more Thinking Out of the Box
You are unlikely to achieve maximum success on your own. You need people to like you and want to see you do well. When others like you, they can buy into your goal, and you get everyone pulling on the oars at the same time, the same way. Your results will be catapulted to success, … Read more Tools for Success: You Can’t Make it on Your Own!
I am always amazed at the quality of computer skills those that are looking for work have, or don’t have. We use Excel a lot and test for it when hiring. Most applicants say their skills are rusty, but in reality can’t even create a simple 9-cell spreadsheet. What amazes me even more is that … Read more You Simply Must Have Modern Computer Skills
I get a few calls a month from “I want to be an entrepreneur, and this is my business idea.” My investor friends tell me that the world is full of great ideas, and the world is awash with money to fund them. There are very few people that can connect the ideas and the … Read more On Your Mark, Get Set, Don’t Go!
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more It’s a Noisy World – Why Should Anyone Notice You?
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Understanding your Profit and Loss Statement
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more The Pie Conspiracy
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools for Success: Master Blocking and Tackling
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools For Success : Pulling People Through Keyholes
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools For Success: Inventory Turns and Purchasing
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools For Success: Shine Your Flashlight for Results
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Use Email and Texts When Efficient
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools For Success: Building a Network List
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Tools For Success: Never Underestimate the Value of an Hour!
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Keep Shooting the Gun
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Positive Energy – The Way To The Top
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Don’t Create A Solution For A Problem That Doesn’t Exist
“Teach less. Charge more.” That was the advice I gave to a friend of mine who has graduated from college and been pursuing his career as a professional musician for a few years. He has moved to Nashville and has steady work as a session drummer and a touring musician. Not long ago, he came … Read more Think Big To Do Big
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your level of formal education. Email me to get the first article (or … Read more 70-Distractions And Focus: What Should You Do When Your Best Salesperson’s Numbers Drop by 50%?
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Find A Good Mentor And Be A Good Mentee
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more How Much Does Procrastination Really Cost Us?
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article or any of the … Read more Know When It’s Showtime (Let’s All Look Good)
Watch and Understand Your Competitors, But FOCUS ON BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS! The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success. I have used all of them. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail … Read more Tools For Success
Here’s What a Perfect One Looks Like! The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success. I have used all of them. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the … Read more Tools for Success — Do You Have A Succession Plan?
Many successful people start businesses because they have a skill to create something for which there is a market. Unfortunately, they may or may not have the other skills it takes to be an outstanding businessperson. A great chef produces fantastic food and he may even be outstanding at getting the team to deliver peak … Read more Tools for Success — Know How Your World Will Change When You Start Running a Business
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article or any of the … Read more Tools for Success — Need to Borrow? There’s Money Out There If You Understand How a Banker Sees Your Business
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article or any of the … Read more Tools for Success — Always Have Positive Dissatisfaction!
Remember only you can make business great! The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics you can use to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing. I didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail … Read more Tools for Success — Do The Hard Stuff First!
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success. I have used all of them. I started with nothing. I didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your level of education. E-mail me to get the first or any of the … Read more What Are You Doing to Move Your Business to the Web?
Without peer benchmarking I would not have been nearly as successful in the auto-salvage industry as I was. In an industry not known for making millionaires, I sold my auto salvage operation to Ford Motor Company in 1998 for an 8-figure sum. I considered it to be so important that I wrote a book on … Read more The Difference Between Doing Pretty Well and Selling My Yard for 8-Figures was Saying Yes to an Invitation, the Same One I’m Giving You Today
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing. I didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, no matter what your level of education. E-mail me to get the first article (or … Read more Tools for Success – Know When It’s Time to Sell
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article or any of the … Read more Tools for Success – Why Training Makes Sense on So Many Fronts
Remember only you can make business great! The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics that worked for me and that you can use to increase your business success. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your level of education. … Read more Tools for Success – Systems Run Dependably; People Let You Down