Another micromulti blog.

Check this one out  http://www.imranbashir.com/index.html

Imran Bashir runs a micromulti called Heaven Fresh.  It’s interesting watching his trials and tribulations.  Hopefully, we’ll also watch his successes.  Whatever happens, it’s an adventure!

 For your reading pleasure, check out this article from July 2006 — http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/07/01/8380230/index.htm

This article is from a magazine called Business 2.0 (rumour has it publication will soon cease).  It’s a tech-heavy magazine mostly focused in Internet businesses, but often has other very interesting articles.  This article was timely for me, because at that point I was pondering the formation of QSS.

Memory Eternal!

My father-in-law passed away last Sunday.  Why is that in a blog on small business?  Those of you that run small businesses will understand the lack of separation between life and business.  Also, he was a great entrepreneur and an inspiration to me.

 Tom arrived in this country from Greece with a few hundred dollars in his pocket and a family of four.  He worked in restaurants, starting at the lowest level, and eventually opened the Hilton Family Restaurant with his son, Gus, and his wife, Maria.  Together, they built the restaurant into a community favorite, and a thriving business.

How is it that an uneducated man of such simple means can accomplish so much?  I think, in his case, it comes down to belief.  Tom had a brilliant natural business sense, to be sure.  But that alone is never enough.  Tom believed in himself.  He made the decision to start the restaraunt and never looked back.  Success was never in question — failure never an option.

Those of us trained in data-driven decision making walk a thin line between “analysis paralysis” and foolhardiness.  What can we do?  Here’s just one idea.  Set a time, a date, when you have to have a decision made.  Study and think.  Figure it out if you can, but don’t delay the decision.  Make it, commit to it, and go for it.  Give yourself time to think, but after the decision is made, don’t look back.  Remember, the alternative has already been “cut off.”  It’s dead, and not available.

Tom, Pethero, may your memory be eternal!  Thanks for the inspiration!!

Athanasios “Tom” Strebenis
Strebenis, Athanasios “Tom” Hilton: Sept. 9, 2007. Athanasios Strebenis, 69. He is survived by his wife, Maria; his children, Stephanie (Blake) Keller, Konstantinos (Sasha) Strebenis; 4 grandchildren, Maria and Faith Keller, Thanasi and Alexander Strebenis; his brother, Thomas (Maria) Strebenis; his sisters, Flora (Thanasi) Trifon, Katina Moushou, Vasiliki (Marcos) Sintziris and Ermioni Tate; brothers-in-law, Vasilaki (Mary), Argiri (Vangelitsa), Mihali (Eleni), Dimitrios Roides; sisters-in-law, Daphni Missias and Anastasia (Evangelos) Lioukras; his aunt, Agapi Tate; many nieces, nephews, cousins, employees and friends of Hilton Family Restaurant. Other relatives in Greece. A special thanks to his niece, Noula (George) Haltses and his nephew, Argiri (Dena) Karras for their caring concern. Funeral Service, THURS. at 10 AM (TODAY) at Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, 962 East Avenue, Rochester. Interment, White Haven Memorial Park. Those wishing may contribute to American Cancer Society in his memory. Published in the Rochester Democrat And Chronicle from 9/11/2007 – 9/13/2007.

It’s about trust!

So here’s my sales pitch.

 You don’t know me.  Please give me access to your company.  I’d like a big stack of engineering drawings and product specifications.  Proprietary data?  Yes, please.  I’ll be taking all of it to China and sharing it with companies you know nothing about.  Don’t worry, just trust me.

Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but not completely.  What I do is help people manage risk.  That is, I help them understand sources of variability and reduce it.  I need to understand their product, and the pain and anxiety they have.  I need to get inside their companies.

 How long does it take before someone gives you that kind of access?  Depending upon the complexity of the product or the companies exposure with a particular project, that time varies.  The only thing I can do is to make sure my team and I are professional in all of our dealings.  We live (or die) by our integrity.

The lag time between first contact with a potential customer and the first billing is long!  A bit too long for comfort, but that’s the only way to build a sustainable relationship, and hence business, with our clients.

Establishing Expertise and Creativity

I think an important part of running your own business is establishing your expertise in the field.  That expertise is largely assumed inside the limited market of a large company.  That is, you are the Director of Engineering, most people assume your trusworthiness, technical accuracy, etc.

As a small business owner, it is important to demonstrate why I am a better choice than another (differentiation, unique selling points, etc, in marketing-speak).  One way to do that is through blogs and online articles.  Of course, these require time and creativity to develop.  A good friend told me that 90% of the stuff he writes is useless dribble.  I usually love the stuff he writes, so either I’m not a very discriminating reader, or he’s an unusually prolific writer!

 I struggle to come up with clever things to write about.  One reason may be that I underestimate the value of my knowledge and experience.  That is, maybe things that seem normal to me are actually valuable to someone else.  That’s likely true, considering I’ve done business pretty successfully in an international setting.  Anyway, I’m trying to write more — hopefully good stuff comes of it, but if nothing else, I’m getting practice.  Check out the sourcing blog and articles at www.go-qss.com and see if I’ve come up with anything of substance.

It can be exciting on occasion!

Don’t think that all days are impossible.  Yesterday was pretty close.  The good news is that since I started working for myself, I get up every morning and am excited about what I’m going to do.  How long into the day the excitement lasts is the measure of the day!

I had a couple of great sales conversations today with people who found me through Google AdWords.  These were people that had a great understanding of global sourcing — a path to grow their business by allowing them to concentrate on what their business does well.  This is so refreshing — not just looking for another cost down!

I had a great chat w/ my good budro and fellow small business owner, the Samurai Appliance Repairman (www.fixitnow.com — return the love my brutha, link back at me, please).  He always makes me feel great!

A happy day is deserving of some pictures that represent some of the benefits.  I get to travel and see some fantastic sights!  Here I am cooking up some grub in Saigon, Vietnam, and hanging with the locals in Lhasa, Tibet!

Web sites!

I’ve been staring at my advertising numbers today.  I do this most days to try to figure out the right levers to pull.  Many people (engineer types, I’m riding the fence on this one) think that web sites are required elements of business presence, but don’t actually sell.

 When I ask purchasing agents and others how they do business today, they reply “Google.”  If true, that means that web sales are more important than ever. 

I can say for certain that I’ve had a lot of traffic bouncing off of my site — visits, but no messages.  Granted, my site’s pretty basic — after all, I did it in my spare time!  Maybe it’s time to reconsider investing in some professional website design.  If it captures even a fraction of the traffic hitting the site, I’ll be much better off.

Opinions?  Anyone else with a small business attempting to balance investments? 

Starting a Micro Multinational Company!

Ok, that sounds much fancier than it actually is.  Especially since many days end up like this!

 I run a small engineering and QC company called Quality Sourcing Solutions, or QSS.  We help people source product from China and other countries in Asia.  My team and I are good at what we do.  We’re not a trading company.  We’re engineers and technical specialists that can really help industrial companies manage projects, engineer for the local Chinese environment, and manage the risk of sourcing.  We can help their companies grow and take on projects that they couldn’t have done otherwise!

 It’s so tough some days finding people to give you a chance!  I’m an engineer and technical manager, and a good one, too, but sales — oh man, my skin isn’t thick enough for this.  If I can find the right place to talk, I can sell QSS, but making cold calls, etc. is really tough.  How many polite piss-offs can a guy take in a day?  I still think the answer is — as many as it takes.

 If you want to check out the business side of this — www.go-qss.com

Want to know what starting a small, technology-based, international business is about, follow along.  Already done it, or doing it, let’s share ideas!