Ron Sturgeon 
The Big Trends in Small Business newsletter on LinkedIn touched on a subject that is vexing many entrepreneurs, the labor shortage. The article featured a pair of San Francisco-based family restaurant owners who have had to close their pizzeria from time to time because of labor shortages. Their problems aren’t unique to their industry, they … Read more
Business is complicated today and it’s certainly not for the faint hearted. Many of my friends say that the reason that I was so successful is because I was so creative, innovative and so willing to try new things. Of me, they have said, “Ron throws 100 things against the wall, and only five of … Read more
Many people have heard of pay by the delivery (delivery stop), but most people do not really understand how it is correctly computed or what the hidden value is. The simple explanation is the rate per delivery or attempted delivery (dry run), times the number of deliveries or attempted deliveries completed is route pay. Route … Read more
To compete in today’s environment, you’re going to have to learn to do more with less. One of the most important skills you can learn is how to organize better. It’s a complex subject with 100 different opinions about how to do it best, but I will try to hit the hotspots. I encourage you … Read more
Let’s face it your single biggest expense is cars. Your second largest expense is labor. It’s important that you have all your people on pay for performance so that you can get more performance with fewer people, and we’ve discussed this point in prior recent articles. I know it’s hard to implement, but it’s imperative … Read more
I talk to a great many people who are trying to borrow money to start a business or expand their business. Most don’t have a business plan competed. If you’re going to borrow money to try to start or grow a business, you must have a business plan which includes a pro forma financial analysis … Read more
Whenever you are wondering whether you should continue to run an advertisement or whether your last mailer was worth the cost, you need to consider customer acquisition costs. Customer acquisition cost is not hard to understand, but few businesses do the math required to evaluate their advertising efforts. I first learned about calculating customer acquisition … Read more
Three old men are at dinner. They have a splendid meal, but they have a problem. They have only one set of teeth. It’s going to take them a while to eat. I’ll let you imagine whether they share a little at a time or one finishes before passing the teeth on. Gross, I know. … Read more
When asked about some of the fundamentals that I’ve written about — offering extended warranties, taking steps to reduce dismantling costs, or putting salespersons on commission — none has been done. My response is generally the same: You just need to be a little better to beat your competition. Even more encouraging: Once you make … Read more
I recently lost an accounting person who had been with me a few years. When I went to replace her, I found that I had to pay considerably more than I was paying her. These are unprecedented times we are in, and labor markets are certainly not acting normally. Most of your employees, and likely … Read more
You should surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are. Being successful in business takes brains. No doubt that you are smarter than some of the people who work for you. However, if you are always the smartest on in the room, you need to do a better job hiring. The person in … Read more
Over the last 20 years, I have consulted for and watched as my friends and myself sold out to the consolidators. At this year’s ARA convention in Dallas on November 12th, I spoke on “Succession, Sales and Yard Valuation.” Here’s a summary of my presentation: All of us are getting older and eventually, it will … Read more
I often hear theories about why pay for performance doesn’t work in the auto recycling business. In my 25+ years of consulting, I’ve heard more reasons than I can count. In that same 25 years, I can honestly say that I haven’t seen any yard do it that didn’t get large increases in both sales … Read more
I believe trouble comes in bunches. There’s no such thing as luck, good or bad. We all have storms in our life. Some weather the storms better than others. By working hard and being honest, you’ll find that when a storm comes your way, you will always have the money, friends, and resources to see … Read more
When my partners and I bought Ford’s auto recycling subsidiary, it was losing huge buckets of money. As we prepared our financial forecast on the turnaround, the asset-based lender and venture capital firm that were our stakeholders wanted to understand exactly how we were going to increase sales and reduce expenses. The stakeholders required us … Read more
My comments here are very philosophical and general in nature, but because I get so many inquiries on this topic, I thought it might be good to discuss it. Most, if not all of the principles here, apply to most any business, not just recycling businesses. I have been hired many times to help determine … Read more
Before I start, let me say this. The resume isn’t the operative tool for getting looked at. Imagine how many resumes the employer is seeing! What really gets you in the door is the cover letter. Research the company where you are applying. Exhibit passion for the job… discuss your qualifications in the framework of … Read more
Chapter 2 of my book, How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business, discusses making a plan and understanding your customer. It’s funny how we wave our arms in the air (figuratively speaking) and talk about what we are going to do, but never get around to putting the plan on paper. Equally humorous is … Read more
Are you really on your game on the net, or did your cousin Vinnie put up your website? What a bargain! He charged you only $250, and you found a place to host it for free 8 years ago, and you have a Facebook account for the business. Today, that’s just not enough to claim … Read more
I get so many calls from folks who insist that their only problem is that they need more money. Read my lips: “If your only problem is that you need more money, then you don’t have any problems.” This is true in almost all the cases I have seen. Trust me: there is PLENTY of … Read more
It’s the same old story: how do we find good salespeople? First, let’s take a SWAG (Sophisticated Wild Ass Guess) at defining what a good one is. The following is a rough list of the attributes of good salespeople: Sells at least $75,000 monthly (this can be much more if your average invoices are high) … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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