First let me start by defining "small business." For the purpose of this article, let's say a small business is one that produces less than one million mailpieces per month. For the past few years, I have had the pleasure of working as production manager for a small business. We have experienced tremendous growth and an increase in our profits accordingly. Teamwork is a large part of the reason. One of the main things to keep in mind while reading this is that there are no set rules for running a small business. My ideas and methods may not be conducive with another point of view, but here and now they appear to be working for us. As I said earlier, small companies have their own methods of what works and what doesn't.
One of the first things I hear from most small lettershops is the old saying, "our market is a lot different than most." I have heard this from plants in Texas, Maryland, California, Florida and many other parts of the nation. One thing I have found is that this is not necessarily the case. The people and culture may be different but the market is the same no matter where you are. We are a mail center in the mailing industry. There is a demand and we are here to meet the needs of the customers. Every mail house in this nation has strange and unique requests brought by their clients. Once you realize this and stop using the excuse of "different markets," you can focus on selling and producing your material. I consider such statements negative thinking, brought on by poor sales or production workers who have become stuck in the "I only do the jobs that are easy" routine.
This brings me to my next topic, adaptability. This is the single most important aspect of our company. We cannot realistically compete in a profitable manner against a major mail house on standard inkjet and insert jobs especially if the large mail house is connected with a print shop. What we can do is provide a more personal and adaptable production department, which is capable of handling those special requests that do arise. By doing this, a bond is formed with the customer, and jobs start to come from reliability and appreciation by the customer. The key to making adaptability work is with simple teamwork and discussion.
Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork it is imperative for a small company. We don't have the benefit of years and years of large volume and college graduates with business degrees and hundreds of employees. Most often, it is a small staff of 10 to 20 people working in a small environment. Tempers flare, illness strikes and arguments arise. All these things occur on a daily basis and without teamwork, the company will simply not make it. One thing I find most enjoyable about a small company is that you are no longer a "number." You are a part of a machine that depends on you and you depend on it. It becomes a small family. I feel all this not only provides a more relaxed atmosphere in the work place but also the employee begins to feel a part of everything. Employees to feel they are important to the company and by knowing them, (laughing and feeling their pain) they become more dedicated to the business and the quality of work increases.
They also realize that the customer affects their livelihoods. Teamwork starts from the moment a customer contacts the company. If there is no communication from sales to production, a simple job may turn into an overtime project that ends up making no profit. Overtime can kill a small business. You cannot increase your price to adjust for it, or if you do, you risk losing the customer. Remember that the object of the business is to show a profit. Overtime eats those profits away.
Simple communication can solve this problem before it arises. There will always be those circumstances that are unavoidable, but for the most part, if you're honest with the customers, they will understand and work with you. Communication, honesty and trust are what make teamwork. These three things are important in the daily operation of a small business. I trust that sales, customer service and other departments are going to do the best they can, and they trust I will do the same. I am honest with employees, they in turn are honest with me. I remember an incident with a production worker who asked me for a day off. When I asked for the reason, she point blank told me that she wanted to get her hair done. I knew at that moment that my honesty with the workers was paying off since she didn't lie and call in sick or offer some other excuse. She was honest. I granted her request. Would this employee lie to me about the completion time of a job or whether it could be done? It's doubtful. She took a step and trusted me by displaying her honesty and because of that, my trust in her grew.
Open and honest discussion is important. When we are presented with a job, it is discussed by all and ideas are suggested by everyone. Because of honesty, the employees are aware of profitability and how it relates to both the company and themselves, and they often come up with better and quicker ways of completing assignments in a more profitable manor. Because of that trust, when they say it can or cannot be done, I give it merit. This concept works throughout the company. If sales says we can make money or increase business by doing a job, then I trust them. Communication brings it all together. We communicate on the way jobs are scheduled, the way jobs are billed and the way jobs are produced. This is what I call teamwork.
Small business is not a science but an ever-growing learning experience. If you can get a good core group together and are fair and honest with them, then you will find miracles performed on almost a daily basis. This is not just my job, it is my career, and most importantly, this is part of my family that exists beyond common blood. Once you stop fighting the urge to be like a large corporation and start seeing yourself as another important part of a large and diverse industry, you will not only see your profits rise but your work ethic and outlook will also reap many rewards.
This article was contributed by Mel Gallia in association with the Mail Advertising Service Association (MASA). Gallia is production manager of Mail Comm Inc., in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Founded in 1984 by Ben Pace, Mail Comm is an all-inclusive mail processing operation.
MASA is an 80-year-old trade association representing lettershops, mail houses, fulfillment companies and direct marketing agencies. MASA has recently changed its name to the Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) in an effort to place more emphasis on fulfillment. For more information visit www.mfsanet.org.
