Hip To The Skippy

Here we go again. Let's just put it out there. My own uncontrollable urges have just cut into "Me Time".

The other day I was chewing on one of Hannah's (CEO of Hannah's Cool World) favorite pencil erasers. Well, my humans went on the Internet and did a search to replace the eraser and, low and behold, they discovered a new product. They're called Japanese Erasers. And before I knew it, my walk was cancelled, and they had created a new website called, Hip To The Skippy.

I have to admit that they're actually pretty cool. These fun mini Japanese Erasers are also puzzles. Once we received our initial shipment, I watched Hannah take apart the erasers and put them back together over and over again. She even discovered that she could mix and match colors to create her own unique creations.

Another cool thing is that they are made in clean, environmentally friendly factories. They are recyclable, non-toxic, lead-free, and meet all international standards in safety and environmental care. For me, this is critical. As you dog owners know, sometimes we canines just can't help ourselves and start nibbling, okay, inhaling things that we shouldn't. Unfortunately, in my court, I don't have a royal taste tester and this has caused me many a late night hunched over with an upset stomach.

Furthermore, Japanese Erasers come in many styles including animals (such as hamsters, pandas, and penguins), vehicles (such as cars, motorcycles, and helicopters), sporting goods (such as bowling pins and basketballs), and even food (such as pizza and hamburgers) and tons more on CoolZips.com.

Now, my intention with this blog entry was not to just push a new product. But to let you know, once again, you just never know where a new product idea comes from. We need to keep our eyes and ears open and, sometimes, our mouths too.

Anyway, Japanese Erasers are Hip To The Skippy! So, Dive In . . . Have Fun . . . and Chill Out!

CoolZips Mutts Speak Up

Sometimes you can only take so much injustice. View the following YouTube video for the real story on how my family stole my idea for CoolZips® Zipper Pulls.

Collections

I want to let you know that I’m very pleased with the enthusiasm and effort that Tucker has shown in learning the family business over the past few months. He has shown such savvy in revising current processes and finding new business, we decided to let him deal with collecting money from our wholesale customers and distributors who refuse to pay us for the CoolZips® Zipper Pulls that they have ordered and received.

Now, Tucker is a little guy. He’s 17 pounds; fit and trim. I’m sure you’ve heard stories of small dogs or maybe have even witnessed their ferocity in action. Therefore, you would think that Tucker would be a mean SOB. And that was what I was expecting; you should see how he reacts to someone coming on our property. But Tucker is very sensible.

Anyway, as we’re learning, collections is the worst part of owning our business. It’s certainly no fun demanding payment from a person that you entered into a business relationship with, filled with excitement that they actually liked your product and viewed them as a partner in growing your business. However, as we’re finding out, some people are just dishonest and will do anything they can to cheat and steal from you.

Tucker says that if a customer is not paying their bill, for whatever reason, then they are simply not a good customer and one that you can do without.

Here are a few suggestions that Tucker has used to help us avoid collection issues.

1. Ask the customer for a valid credit card to be charged before the order is shipped.
   
   
2. Shorten the billing cycle from 30 days to 15 days or due upon receipt. This way, you know sooner if the customer is not going to pay you.
   
   
3. Make sure that the billing terms on your invoice are visible and clear. If not, there is a good chance that your invoice will go into a stack of other invoices that will be paid only when you initiate your call for collection.
   
   
4. Add a late payment fee to the invoice. If money for a customer is tight, they’ll prefer to pay the bill that will cost them the most if they are late. Again, if there is no penalty for being late, your invoice will go to the bottom of the stack.

Finally, Tucker realizes that if the person is unresponsive to your invoice, numerous follow-up emails, and repeated phone calls, then you should not be fearful that if you push collections you will lose them as a customer; they’re already gone and, with them, your product that they are profiting from without compensating you for your hard work. It’s time to turn them over to a collection agency. And if this doesn’t work, small claims court is your last resort.

In my opinion, not only should these people’s business licenses be taken away, and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but you should sic the dog on them. Luckily for us, we’ve got Tucker. And all I know is that I get a good night sleep knowing that he’s on guard.

Training New Employees

Has it really been a month since I last posted? I apologize. We decided to adopt Tucker; he’s a cross between a Dachshund and a Miniature Pincher. His previous human, an elderly woman who had him for five years since he was a pup, had to go into assisted living and could not take him with her. So, it has been up to me to not only help Tucker adjust to our family (showing him how to let someone know that he needs to go outside, proper eating etiquette, his sleeping arrangements, etc. – not to mention providing emotional support), but also indoctrinate him into the family business.

I’ll tell you, it has been very tiring and initially took me away from my efforts in customer service. And while Tucker has a lot of playful energy and is a pretty good listener, how many hours a day can one play fetch?



Anyway, I started to think about what happens when a company grows and needs to train new employees. This is an area that is often underestimated and, consequently, can become very stressful. With growth comes the need for evaluating current processes and identifying how to improve on the way one does business. One of these areas that companies should focus on is how to more efficiently fulfill orders. We thought that this was the perfect area for Tucker to head up – since he does like to fetch. So Tucker and I held a Kaizen event to help identify areas of waste and to develop solutions to streamline our procedures.

As Tucker and I documented our current process, we noticed that we were keeping our entire inventory in one place which, while at the same physical address, was 112 feet away from where we packaged the product for shipment. Therefore, if someone ordered one CoolZips® zipper pull from our web site, we would have to walk 224 feet roundtrip. Fulfilling 25 orders a day would be the equivalent of walking over a mile. And while this may be good exercise, this is not an efficient use of one’s workday or a company’s valuable resources.

The solution that we came up with was to keep a smaller amount of each style of zipper pull in the same immediate area where we package the product for shipment. By keeping only 50 of each of the 10 styles in arms reach, we can more quickly fulfill the order. Then, once a day, we replenish this stock back to the original quantities of 50 of each style. This is a true cost saving which allows us to spend more time in areas such as marketing, customer service, and new product development.

In the short span of four weeks, I can honestly say that Tucker has been a great addition to our family. I could also say that it wasn’t so hard to teach an old dog a new trick, but that’s cliché. Let’s just say that identifying and leveraging one’s skills is the first step in helping a new employee adjust – both personally and professionally.

Emotional Support

My cat buddy, Rusty, who lives down the street, is having difficulty getting his humans onboard with the cat toilet seat that he’s developing. This is having a negative effect on Rusty’s enthusiasm for the project. So, I started to think about how a family’s emotional support plays into the success or failure of a business venture.

Take a look at me. Most people reading this blog are probably thinking that I’m a gimmick. I’m a dog that can use a keyboard and mouse. So, what’s so unusual about that? However, again, while I may sleep 22 hours a day, I take it all in.

Developing an idea and delivering it to market can be a long and costly road with many bumps along the way. Even though these setbacks may be minor, they can often question one’s decision to take on this endeavor in the first place.

Let me tell you, animals have an increased sense of what physically and mentally ails a human being. Some of us dogs can detect a cancerous tumor in a person’s body. Both cats and dogs can sense the stress and tension one accumulates in the daily grind that we call life.

While I didn’t come up with the idea for CoolZips® zipper pulls, I do sit at my human’s feet while she searches the internet for critical information to take us to the next step. This is something subtle that I do, because I know it has a calming influence. And then, while my humans question why I just stepped all over the sample products that were on the floor that they were staring at for five hours like catatonic zombies, I realize that it will never dawn on them that this was somehow calculated on my part to get them to take a break and then come back with a clear head and a fresh outlook. To me, this is part of the process. This is what I bring to the table. This is what I have to offer to help our product achieve success.

So, if your family is not offering the emotional support that you need, then do something to draw them in. Ask them for their ideas to help solve a problem that you’ve been dealing with for days without resolution. Or take a few minutes break and cuddle with your pet; we’ll help to relieve your stress so that you can move forward and we’ll get a soothing massage; it’s a win-win solution.

Remember, at times, we all get overwhelmed. For god sakes, I wish my tail would stay still for a freaking two seconds! And if, for some reason, Rusty’s family is viewing this blog, pick Rusty up and stroke his fur and calm him down. After all, this may be just what he needs to renew his enthusiasm and get him back on the road to getting his product to market.

Manufacturing Crossroads

Do you stay in the United States? Or do you go overseas? This decision always seems to cause a dilemma. But I’m not talking about where to get that Portuguese Waterdog, Australian Sheepdog, or Chinese Foo Dog (even though I am in the market for a mate). No, the question I’m posing is, where do you go to get your product manufactured?

With the current state of the US and world economies, this is a situation that seems to question our national allegiance. Hey, I’m an American Foxhound: if I were cut I’d probably bleed red, white, and blue. However, sometimes, to help with your country’s economic growth, it does not always mean that the right path is the clearest one.

For us, this was a major decision. We originally came up with 10 styles of CoolZips® zipper pulls that would define our product line and that we wanted to have manufactured and mass-produced here in the United States. We received estimates from a few US companies to produce the tooling that was needed for each of the unique charms. The price was $3,000.00 for each charm for a total of $30,000.00. The quote we received for the tooling from a company in China, who could also take care of the entire manufacturing process, was $300.00 for each charm for a total of $3,000.00.

However, we did have concerns, such as:

• How will we communicate when we don’t speak Chinese?
  
• How do we find a company, let alone the right company, in such a large country over six thousand miles away?
  
• How do we manage lead content in our product and make sure that it is safe?
  
  Just so you know, CoolZips have been lead tested for your child’s safety. All components used to manufacture CoolZips have been lead tested by a certified laboratory in the United States and meet lead safety requirements.

So, even though we would have preferred to keep the manufacturing process here in the United States, we did not have $30,000.00 for this startup venture. Therefore, it came down to either we don’t pursue CoolZips, because the cost for us would put our product’s target piece price too high and make it too expensive to sell, or we go to China to have our product made.

In the bigger picture, our decision to manufacture overseas turned out to be the right path for us. Because we did go ahead and manufacture CoolZips in China, we are now on our way to creating income for many other individuals across the United States (from companies who print our sales sheets, provide shipping materials, US Postal Service, web site provider, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, banking institutions, sales representatives, accountants, to retail store owners across the country).

So, don’t make critical decisions in haste. The United States offers excellent manufacturing solutions and financial benefits to manufacture and produce your product here. However, for some, this path may be different. After all, what if my true love actually ends up being an English Foxhound?

Staying Connected

I apologize for not posting in awhile. My humans decided to take a vacation to Disney World and left me at my cousin Nicky’s, she’s a Portuguese waterdog who is forbidden to use the computer. Anyway, as I sat on my fleece blanket watching yet another winter snowstorm bear down on us, I started to think of how small business owners stay connected to their businesses when they are away for an extended period of time.

If you’re a one person team, then how do you:

• Check voicemail or receive important phone calls?
  
• Respond to email?
  
• Provide customer support?
  
• Fulfill orders?

As most people have cell phones these days, calling to check voicemail messages left on your business phone is easy. You can also have your business phone forwarded to your cell phone or purchase a cell phone as your primary business phone so that you can receive and attend to calls anytime and anywhere.

As far as checking email, many hotels have business centers with internet access. But what if yours doesn’t? One solution is to get a cell phone that allows internet and email access. While this could be an additional monthly, and costly, service, it does allow you to easily keep in touch by answering questions through email to sales reps, retailers, and customers. This builds confidence as companies are not only judged by the quality of their product, but by the quality and timeliness of their customer service.

So, what about fulfilling orders from sales reps, retailers, or direct sales through your web site? I don’t think that many business owners want to pack an extra suitcase full of product and shipping materials just in case they get an order. While this could work if your product is small enough, such as CoolZips® zipper pulls, if you’re selling something larger, this is not really feasible. Therefore, your options are either to role the dice and hope that nobody wants to buy your product while you’re away (negativity that is not in your best interest), or alert your sales reps, retailers, and web site customers that any new orders will not ship for a specified period of time, or train a backup such as a trusted family member or friend to help out in a pinch.

Once again, effective communication is the most important aspect of business. Letting a customer know that there will be a delay in fulfilling an order is better than leaving that customer in the dark, feeling the need to repeatedly call and email to see if you received their order. Building trust between you and all of the people that you do business with will help to bring repeat sales and brand your company and name with a quality product and quality service.

Remember, building a successful company can be a wild ride and takes a lot of hard work, requiring many concessions, especially when you’re waiting in line at Space Mountain.